Teachers' Perceptions of Principals’ Instructional Leadership in Omani Schools

Yasser F. Hendawy Al-Mahdy^1, and Amal R. Al-kiyumi²

¹Department of Comparative Education & Educational Administration, Faculty of Education, Ain Shams University, EGYPT

²Department of Educational Foundations and Administration, Sultan Qaboos University, OMAN

Cite this paper:
Yasser F. Hendawy Al-Mahdy and Amal R. Al-kiyumi. Teachers' Perceptions of Principals’ Instructional Leadership in Omani Schools. American Journal of Educational Research. 2015; 3(12):1504-1510. doi: 10.12691/education-3-12-4

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of their school principals’ instructional leadership (IL), and the impact gender might has on those perceptions. The Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) Thai-form of Hallinger and Lee [15] was used to collect data from 368 teachers for measuring principals’ practices of instructional leadership in Omani schools. The main results suggested a moderate level of school principals’ engagement in the three dimensions of instructional leadership. The lowest rated dimension was managing the Instructional Program whereas the highest rated dimension was Creating School Mission. There were significant differences in the first dimension of IL (i.e. creating a school mission) based on gender in favor of female teachers. This study contributes to the body of research on instructional leadership from the Omani cultural context.

Keywords:
instructional leadership PMIRS model school principals teachers' perceptions

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Alghanbousi, N. (2010). Can you try this model? Introducing an instructional leadership model for teacher performance evaluation. OIDA International Journal of Sustainable Development, 1 (2), pp. 61-76. Available at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=1663332.
[2]	Bellibas, M. (2014). A mixed-method approach to the exploration of principals’ instructional leadership in lower secondary schools in turkey: the principal and teacher perspectives. (Doctoral dissertation) Michigan State University.
[3]	Berlin, B., Kavanagh, J. & Jensen, K. (1988). The principal as curriculum leader: Expectations vs. performance. NASSP Bulletin, 72 (509), pp. 43-49.
[4]	Bossert, S.; Dwyer, D.; Rowan, B & Lee, G. (1982). The instructional management role of the principal. Educational Administration Quarterly, 18 (3), pp. 34-64.
[5]	Bridges, E. (1967). Instructional leadership: a concept re-examined. Journal of Educational Administration. : 5 (2), pp. 136-147.
[6]	Bryk, A. S., Sebring, P. B., Allensworth, E., Luppescu, S. & Easton, J. Q. (2010). Organizing schools for improvement: Lessons from Chicago. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
[7]	Cuban, L. (1988). The Managerial Imperative and the Practice of Leadership in Schools. SUNY Press, Albany, NY.
[8]	Donmoyer, R. & Wagstaff,J. G. (1990). Principals can be effective managers and instructional leaders. NASSP Bulletin, 74(525), pp. 20-29.
[9]	Duke, D. & Stiggins, R. (1985). Evaluating the performance of principals. Educational Administration Quarterly. 21, pp. 71-98.
[10]	Dwyer, D.; Lee, G.; Rowan, B. & Bossert, S. (1983). Five Principals in Action: Perspectives on Instructional Management. Far West Laboratory for Educational Research, San Francisco, CA, ERIC Document number 231085.
[11]	Elmore, R. (2000). Building a new structure for school leadership. Washington, DC: The Albert Shanker Institute.
[12]	Fullan, M. (2007). The NEW meaning of educational change. New York, NY, Teachers College Press.
[13]	Ginsberg, R. (1988). Worthy goal...unlikely reality: The principal as instructional leader. NASSP Bulletin (April), pp. 76-82.
[14]	Glanz, J. (2006). What every principal should know about strategic leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press
[15]	Hallinger, P & Lee, M. (2013). Exploring principal capacity to lead reform of teaching and learning quality in Thailand. International Journal of Educational Development, 33(4), pp.305-315.
[16]	Hallinger, P., & Lee, M. (2014). Mapping instructional leadership in Thailand: Has education reform impacted principal practice? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 42(1), pp. 6-29.
[17]	Hallinger, P & Murphy, J. (1985). Assessing the instructional management behaviors of principals. The Elementary School Journal, 86, (2), 217-247.
[18]	Hallinger, P. (2003). Measurement Properties of the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale.
[19]	Hallinger, P. (2005). Instructional leadership and the school principal: a passing fancy that refuses to fade away. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 4 (3), pp. 221-240.
[20]	Hallinger, P. and Wang, Wen-Chung (2015). Assessing Instructional Leadership with the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. New York: Springer.
[21]	Johnson, L. (2006). Making her community a better place to live: Culturally responsive urban school leadership in historical perspective. Leadership and Policy in Schools, 5(1), pp. 19-37.
[22]	Johnson, R. G. (Ed.) (2009). Educating for both advocacy and action. New York, NY: Peter Lang.
[23]	Leithwood, K., Jantzi, D. & Steinbech, R. (1999). Changing Leadership for Changing Times, Buckingham, Philadelphia: Open University Press.
[24]	Lipham, J., 1961. Effective Principal, Effective School. National Association of Secondary School Principals, Reston, VA.
[25]	McEwan, E. (1998). Seven steps to effective instructional leadership. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
[26]	Ministry of Education. (2009). Guide for Educational Administration Work. Muscat: Ministry of.
[27]	Ministry of Education. (2014). The annual educational statistics 2013/2014. Muscat: Ministry of.
[28]	Murphy, J. (1990). “Principal instructional leadership”. In L.S. Lotto and P.W. Thurston (Eds.), Advances in educational Administration: Changing perspectives on the school, vol.1. Greenwich, Conn.: JAI Press
[29]	O'Donnell, R. J. and White G. P. (2005). Within the accountability era: principals' instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement. NASSP Bulletin, 89, (645), 56-71.
[30]	Rassekh, S. (2004). Education as a motor for development: recent education reforms in Oman with particular reference to the status of women and girls. Retrieved from: http://www.ibe.unesco.org/fileadmin/user_upload/archive/publications/free_publications/IBE_en.pdf.
[31]	Sheppard, B. (1996). Exploring the transformational nature of instructional leadership, The Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 42(4), pp. 325-344.
[32]	Smith, W & Andrews, R. (1989). Instructional leadership: How principals make a difference. Alexandria, VA: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
[33]	Stronge, J. H. (1993). Defining the principalshipPrincipalship: Instructional leader or middle manager. NASSP Bulletin, 77 (553), pp. 1-7.
[34]	Stronge, J. H., Richard, H. B & Catano, N. (2008). Qualities of Effective Principals. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
[35]	Thomson, P & Blackmore, J. (2006). Beyond the power of one: Redesigning the work of school principals. Journal of Educational Change, 7, 161-177.
[36]	Valentine, J. & Prater, M. (2011). Instructional, Transformational, and Managerial leadership and student achievement: High school principals make a difference. National Association of Secondary School Principals, NASSP Bulletin, 95 (1), pp. 5-30.
[37]	Weber, J. (1996). Leading the instructional program. In S. Smith & P. Piele (Eds.). School leadership. (pp. 253-278). Eugene, Oregon: Clearinghouse of Educational Management.
[38]	Westrick, J. & Miske, S.(2009). Leadership for innovative Omani schools in the 21st century: Transforming principal identity through culturally contextualized training, in A. Wiseman (ed.) Educational Leadership: Global Contexts and International Comparisons (International Perspectives on Education and Society, 11, pp. 1-47, Emerald Group Publishing Limited.