How prepared are instructional leaders to implement effective leadership? An opinion study, concerning their perspectives of the national framework for school leadership.

Abstract

International evidence situates school leadership as the second most important factor for student learning. Educational national policies and research have given increased attention to school principals, evidenced by the creation of a national framework for good governance and school leadership, known in Spanish as the Marco para la Buena Dirección y el Liderazgo Escolar (MDBLE). However, there is a dearth of national research about school leadership from the perspective of the instructional coaches. In this context, this article evaluates the degree of preparation of these middle leaders to exercise an effective leadership derived from the MDBLE, based on a survey of 300 instructional coaches. The results reveal that less than 50% of these middle leaders have a solid understanding of the framework. Furthermore, while overall they consider themselves moderately prepared, there is heterogeneity in their perceptions of how well prepared they are to implement the framework, while most consider themselves highly prepared for some components and thematic dimensions, only 10% perceive themselves to be highly prepared for all components and dimensions of the framework. This evidence points out challenges for the improvement of school leadership through a strengthening of principal competences and better articulation between educational policies and the framework.