This research examined leadership practices in the unique context of primary schools with smaller levels of enrolment, specifically small schools in Malaysia. These are schools with an enrolment of up to 150 students that are primarily located in rural areas. This study explored the challenges encountered by experienced head teachers of such schools and, more importantly, identified the strategies head teachers employed to overcome these challenges. This was achieved through a qualitative analysis of interviews conducted with experienced head teachers from five small schools. The findings demonstrate that all five schools faced similar challenges: financial constraints, a dilapidated infrastructure, lack of human resources, and competence-related issues among teachers. All respondents overcame these challenges with creativity and passion. They found alternative methods with which to generate school funds, adopted the role of learner leaders by developing their information and communication technology skills, and served as role models for instructional leadership. The findings will enable policymakers and school leaders, particularly those involved in small schools, to provide quality education for every child. Nevertheless, further studies involving a greater number of respondents are needed to understand the complex challenges involved in managing small schools and the optimal ways of overcoming these.

The challenges faced by principals in small schools are unique due to its context. Small schools which has less than 150 enrolments of students are mostly located in rural areas. Yet, educators are concerned about the ability of the principal to adapt to this context considering many limitations and multitasks at the same time. This paper discusses the principals' instructional leadership practices in three different types of small schools which are Sekolah Kebangsaan (SK), Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) and Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) in Perak state. The purpose of this preliminary, quantitative study was to examine how their instructional leadership practices differ in these schools. Through the use of a cross-sectional survey, responses made by 92 teachers from nine schools were compared. The Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) Teacher Short Form was used for data collection. Findings showed that principals' instructional leadership practices in this study is at moderate level. Although the principals' instructional leadership practices level is the lowest for SK principals, the findings also showed that there is no significant difference in principals' instructional leadership practices level among all schools. Nevertheless, the areas of significance identified by this study showed that despite all challenges, the principals from different types of schools are practicing instructional leadership at their best.

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Teaching principals exist in small schools. These principals have classroom responsibilities, administration duties, and educational instructor duties simultaneously. There are still some uncertainties on the dual role of school principals in small schools due to the lack of studies in this area. It is well-known that principals’ instructional leadership practices are an imperative predictor to the success of small schools. Following this concern, the dual responsibilities taken by principals in small schools must be understood comprehensively. This paper discusses the excellent role of teaching principals in small schools. The objective of this qualitative research is to determine the dimensions of principal’s teaching practices that influence the transformation of ordinary small schools into excellent small schools. Three principals in excellent small schools were interviewed and the themes that emerged from the interviews were matched with the dimensions drawn from the instructional leadership model used in this study. The results suggested that although a dual role teaching principal seemed to be burdened with responsibilities, the principals interviewed took the roles positively and excelled as instructional leaders. The teaching principals interviewed stated that their dual role increased their abilities in providing instructional leadership from many dimensions. The outcomes of this study may assist district school superintendents and preparatory program personnel in developing the right knowledge and in constructing a framework to support teaching principals in small schools in fulfilling their dual responsibilities.