How does instructional leadership influence opportunity to learn in mathematics? A comparative study of pathways for grade 4 students in the U.S. and Belgium

While achievement gaps have been well-established, much remains to be understood about the manner and extent to which school leadership either increases or decreases student access to opportunity to learn. The current study uses nationally representative samples of U.S. and Flemish students in Grade 4 from the 2011 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS2011) to test a series of structural equation models. U.S. and Belgium have contrasting academic tracking (formal vs informal) systems and Gini Index scores (economic inequality). Flemish schools had no significant paths between student family resources, instructional leadership, and learning; however, for the U.S., we found a negative path across these measures. This current study extends the instructional leadership literature by demonstrating that school leaders can implement goals intended to close achievement gaps but instead might unintentionally exacerbate them.