A Study On Schoolmasters' Instructional Leadership Performance

Schoolmasters' effective leadership plays a significant role in the improvement of instructional results and the advancement of the current curriculum reform. However, various factors have resulted in the backward leadership ideology, the misunderstanding of a schoolmaster's duty, the inversion of means and aims, and the inappropriate style of leadership among schoolmasters, which dramatically lower their leadership quality. These factors include the absence of the theoretical study on instructional leadership, inaccuracy in ideological understanding, the lack of professional competence, the harassment of administrative affairs, excessive intervention from other departments, the imperfection of selection-appointment-assessment system of schoolmasters, and the conflict between teachers' professional authority and schoolmasters' executive authority, just to name a few. Therefore, this dissertation provides a full-scaled and in-depth study on schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance, with the purpose of enhancing the quality of education in elementary and secondary schools.Based on the theories of management, leadership and organizational behavior, the study is carried out with various research methods including literature analysis, questionnaire survey, interview, comparative research, logical analysis and mutiple-case approach. Meanwhile, the study also combines quantitative analysis with qualitative analysis. An overview of the six parts of the essay is as follows.The reasons of choosing this subject are explained first in the introduction, then comes a review of literatures concerning schoolmasters'leadership behavior, instructional leadership behavior and its performance,and the purpose, significance and methods of the study are elaborated last.The first part analyzes the connotations of schoolmasters' instructional leadership and its performance. Although performance is a general concept with three branches——individual performance, team performance and organizational performance, here because of limited time and energy and also for the sake of profundity,this author solely endeavors to study schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance. A standpoint is also put forward in this chapter:Performance=(Behavioral processes+Contingent factors)* Results.At the same time, this chapter carries out a comparative analysis on the differences and connections between schoolmasters' instructional leadership, administrative leadership and curriculum leadership.With the help of multiple-case approach, the second part applies an investigative analysis on the current situation, problems and causes of schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance. Moreover, descriptive analysis and analysis of differences are given to the ideology, behavior and result of schoolmasters' instructional leadership. All these analyses contribute to a finding that most schoolmasters have relatively advanced ideology of education and required instructional leadership behaviors, and that schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance in developed areas are generally better than that in underdeveloped areas. Yet, there also exist exceptions. It is also noted that there is great potential for improving schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance in all areas, which shows the ultimate purpose and value of this dissertation.The third part analyses the major factors affecting schoolmasters'instructional leadership performance, which are cultural, environmental and human factors. The cultural factors include the deviation or absence of spiritual culture, the hindrance of institutional culture and so on. The environmental factors lie in three aspects, which are the excessive expectatThis authoron from parents, the negtive social morality and the insufficiency of physical surroundings. Human factors consist of the lack of professionalism and competence of schoolmasters'instructional leadership, inefficient leading and teaching group.The fouth part ponders over the guarantee mechanism of schoolmasters'instructional leadership performance. In this study, the author maintains that schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance should be guaranteed in four aspects:first of all, schoolmasters must define the responsibilities of their instructional leadership:establishment of school visions, application of moral leadership, promotion of school culture, allocation of various resources, observation, conduction and assessment of course teaching, as well as coordinated communication both in and out of school; secondly, to formulate standards measuring the performance, including students' development, teachers' professional development, school culture and teaching environment standards; thirdly, to bring into full play schoolmasters' functions of coordination, unity, promotion and support; fourthly, to reinforce the assessment and feedback processes of schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance. The fifth part puts forward strategies of improving schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance. The main strategies are:firstly, in ideology, schoolmasters should enhance the understanding and promote the quality of school culture; secondly, in system, the current system of schoolmasters'election, appointment, training and assessment should be reformed; thirdly, in behavior, to see to it that measures of effective instructional leadership be fully implemented on the side of schoolmasters; fourthly, to further define schoolmasters'authority and responsibility, and to improve schoolmaster accountability mechanism; finally; fifthly, to form a strong leading and teaching group.The innovations of this study are mainly reflected in two aspects:firstly, the dissertation, based on comprehensive classification and analysis of relevant literature on schoolmasters'instructional leadership performance, makes a breakthrough in guarantee mechanism of schoolmasters' performance in instructional leadership, as well as strategies of improving schoolmasters' instructional leadership performance, which are innovative in contents. The second innovative aspect lies in the research methods:in spite of the traditional methods of literature research, survey research (questionnaires and interviews), comparative research and logical research, this study has expanded its vision and broadened its depth by using multiple-case approach and statistical analysis.