Instructional Leadership Practices: Teachers Perceptions of a Rural School Principal in Fiji

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which teachers perceive their principal to be effectively exhibiting an instructional leadership role. Data for the study were collected from teachers (N=24) in a rural secondary school in Fiji using the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) developed and advocated by Hallinger (1990). In addition to Likert scale items, the questionnaire included open-ended questions to gain deeper insights into teachers’ ratings of each item. Analyses of the data revealed that ratings for the principal were the highest for communicating school goals to students and protecting instructional time while supervision and evaluation of instruction were the lowest-rated items. The lack of professional preparation for an instructional leadership role and the dual role of the rural principal as school leader and teacher, which appears to compromise both roles, may together explain the scant attention paid to the instructional leadership role. These findings have implications for principals’ workload and in turn instructional leadership practices, which the Fiji Ministry of Education could re-visit to avoid compromising either the leadership or teaching role.