Leadership in Science Instruction: A Systematic Review of Research

Abstract

There is growing interest in the role that principals play as school leaders. This systematic review was conducted to identify principal leadership practices that advance science instruction including teaching and learning in schools. In accordance with the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines, a systematic review was conducted on Web of Science (WOS) and Scopus. This yielded a total of 20 articles. The review of these articles resulted in seven primary themes: facilitating high-quality learning experiences; monitoring the curricular program; creating a safe school environment; distributing leadership to advance science instruction; resources support; recruiting qualified science teachers; and quality teacher professional development programmes. The review has implications in the field of educational leadership and management in revealing how school leaders may contribute to science instruction, including teaching and learning in schools.