Analysis of principals' instructional leadership behavior in selected Cambodian secondary schools

• Main Author: Lim, Pak
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2008
• Subjects: Educational leadership—Cambodia; High school principals—Cambodia; Teaching—Cambodia; Educational Administration and Supervision; Secondary Education
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etd_masteral/6076; https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/context/etd_masteral/article/13121/viewcontent/CDTG004779_P.pdf
• Institution: De La Salle University

The study aimed to analyze the principals’ instructional leadership behaviors in selected Phnom Penh public secondary schools, to see the extent of performance in each dimension of instructional leadership behavior of Hallinger (1987) based on both their own and their teachers’ perceptions. It also aimed to compare the actual instructional leadership behaviors of selected principals with those suggested from the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport. Finally, this study aimed to find the strategies in improving instructional leadership behaviors in Cambodian high schools during year 2006-2007. The study employed the descriptive methods of research including number, percentage, and table. The instrument used were the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scales of Hallinger (1987), interviews, and related literature in instructional leadership. The study revealed that the principals in selected Phnom Penh high schools frequently perform the six dimensions of instructional leadership behaviors namely: framing school goals, communicating school goals, supervising and evaluating instruction, protecting instructional time, promoting professional development, and providing incentives for learning. However, they do not frequently perform tasks such as monitoring students’ progress, rewarding teachers, coordinating curriculum and maintaining visibility. The principals’ actual instructional leadership behaviors are similar to those proposed by the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport. The strategies in improving instructional leadership are mentoring systems, shared leadership and succession leadership, training, criteria for selecting and promoting principals. The research concludes that the instructional leadership behaviors are clearly demonstrated in framing school goals, communicating school goals, supervising and evaluating instruction, protecting instructional time, providing incentives for learning and promoting professional development. They performed the tasks less often because they are busy so they x just delegate them to their subject coordinators. The expectation of the Ministry on principals’ instructional leadership was mostly accomplished by selected principals. The study recommends that principals should learn how to delegate the task to the subject coordinator when they cannot manage it by themselves. However, they have to check it through the whole process to make sure that it would really work. Principals should take the tasks that they need to improve into consideration, especially, in the time that they devote on learning and teaching. Further research should be done in the whole city and other geographical locations, especially, in the provinces of Cambodia.