Current Practices And Challenges Of Principals Instructional Leadership In Primary Schools Of Gesha Woreda In Kafa Zone

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to assess the current practice and challenges of principals’ instructional leadership in primary schools of Gesha woreda. A descriptive survey research with both qualitative and quantitative methods was employed. The ten sample schools were drawn from thirty Primary schools in the woreda that were selected through simple random sampling technique .Data for the study were collected through questionnaire, interview, and document analysis. Thirty two teachers were selected by systematic sampling technique and twenty student representatives were selected through availability sampling technique for the questionnaire and ten primary school supervisors and ten primary school principals were selected through available sampling technique for the semi-structured interview questions. The data collected were analyzed by SPSS using frequency counts, percentages, mean, standard deviation and the test. The findings of this study revealed that all instructional leadership dimensions of principals were not effectively implemented in Gesha woreda primary schools. The school principal’s instructional leadership was affected by inability of the principals to lead instructional activities in a systematically coordinated manner, lack of experience as school principals, overburdened with many routine administrative tasks, lack of training on instructional leadership, lack of qualified teacher, lack of appropriate support from woreda education office and lack of nonteaching staff were the major one. From the study results obtained it is safe to infer that due to the challenges identified and some other reasons, instructional leadership is not playing the role of promoting quality education in the sample schools as intended. From the findings, it was recommended that the regional education bureau in collaboration with zone /woreda/ education departments should design long, intermediate and short term training programs for school principals, supervisors and teachers to strengthen their capacity .In order to improve classroom observation school principals should more focuses on identifying instructional limitation, maintain close contact with instructional process, design the appropriate intervention, and control academic activities through classroom observation. Southern nation’s nationalities and people’s regional education Bureau in collaboration with zone /woreda/ education departments needs to minimize the burden of principals by assigning additional administrative personnel and by making school principals free from routine administrative tasks.