Instructional Leadership in Turkey and the United States: Teachers’ Perspectives

Abstract

The aim of this study was to better understand the instructional leadership styles adopted in Turkey and the USA. This is a quantitative study which used the “Instructional Leadership Inventory” for data collection. Study data was collected from a diverse sample of urban elementary school teachers: 157 in Turkey and 150 in the USA. The general statistical findings indicate that teachers tend to develop a positive perception towards instructional leadership styles adopted by school principals in Turkey and the USA. An analysis of study results in terms of the similarities and differences between the instructional leadership styles adopted in both countries indicated that American teachers scored higher than their Turkish counterparts in terms of subscales as well as the total score. Key words: instructional leadership, school improvement, school management, comparative study.

Comparison of Transformational Leadership Practices: Implications for School Districts and Principal Preparation Programs

“…Exemplary school leaders generate new and novel ideas through challenging the process. The principal leader and faculty develop innovative reform efforts through experimentation and risk-taking (Sahin, 2011). Challenging the status quo allows the stakeholders to test their skills, learn new effective teaching strategies or procedures, and turn ideas into action (Abu-Tineh et al, 2009;Saban & Wolfe, 2009).…”

“…The school leader builds trust with the faculty by cultivating teamwork and support (Gulcan, 2012). An environment based on trust and self-respect allows stakeholders to create positive change at the classroom and organizational levels (Sahin, 2011). Roby (2011) asserted that high performing principal leaders support their staff members frequently and inspire their teachers to become leaders.…”

Pengaruh Kepimpinan Instruksional Guru Besar dan Kepuasan Kerja Guru dengan Kualiti Kerja Guru

“…Lokman, M. Al Muzammil dan Mislina (2013) dalam kajian mereka bahawa beberapa orang sarjana kepemimpinan instruksional seperti Hallinger dan Murphy (1985) dan Glickman, Gordon dan Ross-Gordan ( 2004) telah mendefinisikan kepemimpinan instruksional sebagai interaksi formal guru, keterlibatan holistik, pengembangan profesional guru, pengembangan kurikulum, dan implementasi, diteliti dalam bentuk tindakan yang ditujukan untuk meningkatkan kredibiliti dan kompetensi guru di kelas. Justeru itu, Guru Besar sekolah merupakan pendorong untuk mencapai kecemerlangan di sekolah (Sahin, 2011). Melalui kajian ini, dapat disimpulkan bahawa kepimpinan instruksional ialah amalan semua tingkah laku yang diajar dengan tujuan jelas bagi mempengaruhi, mengarah, mengajar dan menggalakkan guru dalam usaha untuk memperbaiki dan memperhalus program yang berkaitan dengan proses terhadap pembelajaran anak murid untuk mencapai setiap matlamat sekolah yang telah diberikan.…”

Case Study of the Personal Experiences on Instructional Leadership of Middle-Level Leaders during Pandemic

“…A number of studies have used instructional leadership about teacher academic optimism (Allen, 2011), school culture (Sahin, 2011), and school academic excellence (Alig-Mielcarek, 2003;Cheboi, 2016;McCoy, 2011;Sotarat et al, 2018), the teachers' performance (Hejres et al, 2017), the leader's performance (Harris, 2014;Issa, 2014), comparison of one school leader to another school leader (Staples, 2005). Other studies have used teachers' perceptions in order to evaluate their respective leaders, whether principal or assistant principal (Atkinson, Jr., 2013;Bada et al, 2020;DeVries, 2017;Finley, 2014;Gurley et al, 2016;Howard-Schwind, 2010) while one study analyzed the policies involved for instructional leadership (Chuta, 2018).…”