Teachers’ opinion and experiences of the application of instructional leadership: evidence from history teachers

ABSTRACTIn this study, we sought from a sample of secondary school history teachers their opinions and experiences of instructional leadership. We adopt the mixed methods approach that involved 200 and 13 respondents each, for the quantitative and qualitative strands of data, respectively. Two instruments (survey questionnaire and focus group discussion protocol) were used for data collection. The results indicate a limit to the instructional leadership experienced by teachers in secondary schools. Despite the inadequacy in the leadership experienced, regular meetings on students’ performance were reported highest among the instructional leadership practiced in secondary schools. Findings from this study emphasized the distribution of leadership among formal and informal leaders, which include the teachers, to sustain the achievement of school goals and mission. We conclude that the practice of instructional leadership should be extended to other crucial stakeholders, especially history teachers. The study contributes to scholarship by arguing for collaboration between school leaders and teachers to make the achievement of school goals and mission easier. The study also argues for a flexible leadership framework that meets the local condition(s) peculiar to the research site of interest. AcknowledgmentsThis article is generated from an unpublished doctoral thesis of C. Musandu. The details will be captured here after peer review.Disclosure statementNo potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).Additional informationNotes on contributorsC. MusanduCosmas Musandu is a College Lecturer with over 13 years teaching experience. He bagged his Doctorate Degree in Curriculum Studies (History Education), from the University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa, in the year 2019. Prior to this, he obtained a Diploma in Education from Hillside Teachers’ College and later graduated from the University of Zimbabwe with a Bachelor of Education Degree. He won a book prize from the University of Zimbabwe in 2001 and proceeded to attain a Master of Education Degree with merit, from the same university in 2010. He obtained another Bachelor of Science Special Honours Degree in Monitoring and Evaluation (first class) from Lupane State University, and a Master of Social Science Degree from the same university in 2022. He has attended conferences both nationally and internally.L. C. JitaLoyiso Jita is the Dean and SANRAL Chair in Science, Mathematics and Technology Education, Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein (RSA), South Africa. He holds a multi-disciplinary PhD in Curriculum Studies, Science Teaching, and Education Policy Studies from Michigan State University (MSU) in the USA. His research interest are teacher change, classroom reform and instructional leadership for the improvement of teaching and learning in science and mathematics education.A. A. BadaAbiodun Adekunle Bada is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction, Adeyemi College of Education, Ondo, Ondo State, Nigeria. He holds Bachelor of Science Education (Physics) from Obafemi Awolowo University, Adeyemi College of Education Ondo, Nigeria. He bagged his Master of Education (Science Education) and Doctor of Philosophy (Science Education) from the University of Ilorin, Nigeria. He is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow in the Faculty of Education, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein (RSA), South Africa.