Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach with a strong focus on the development of teaching and learning. This study explores how instructional leaders act to promote social justice and eliminate school inequities. The participants in this qualitative study were 24 Israeli elementary school principals. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis was theory-driven. The findings revealed that instructional leaders incorporated a social justice perspective into the three key dimensions of instructional leadership—defining the school mission, managing the instructional program, and developing a positive school learning climate—to address three main areas of inequity in the school: outcomes, belongingness, and discipline. This study suggests that as an instructional leader, the principal has to take specific actions supported by particular intentions to ensure fairness and equity.
AmorAMHagiwaraMShogrenKA, et al. (2019) International perspectives and trends in research on inclusive education: a systematic review. International Journal of Inclusive Education23(12): 1277–1295.
2.
AndersonEPounderDG (2018) Shaping the school-wide learning environment through supervisory leadership. In: ZepedaSJPonticellJA (eds) The Wiley Handbook of Educational Supervision. Hoboken: Wiley & Sons, pp.533–554.
3.
ArarK (2015) Leadership for equity and social justice in Arab and Jewish schools in Israel: leadership trajectories and pedagogical praxis. International Journal of Multicultural Education17(1): 162–187.
4.
BerkovichI (2014) Neoliberal governance and the “new professionalism” of Israeli principals. Comparative Education Review58(3): 428–456.
5.
BerkowitzRGlickmanHBenbenishtyR, et al. (2015) Compensating, mediating, and moderating effects of school climate on academic achievement gaps in Israel. Teachers College Record117(7): 1–34.
6.
BertrandMRodelaKC (2018) A framework for rethinking educational leadership in the margins: implications for social justice leadership preparation. Journal of Research on Leadership Education13(1): 10–37.
7.
BrooksJSNormoreAHWilkinsonJ (2017) School leadership, social justice and immigration: examining, exploring and extending two frameworks. International Journal of Educational Management31(5): 679–690.
8.
BrownKM (2004) Leadership for social justice and equity: weaving a transformative framework and pedagogy. Educational Administration Quarterly40(1): 77–108.
CanlıSDemirtaşH (2022) The correlation between social justice leadership and student alienation. Educational Administration Quarterly58(1): 3–42.
11.
CapperCAYoungMD (2014) Ironies and limitations of educational leadership for social justice: a call to social justice educators. Theory Into Practice53(2): 158–164.
12.
Capstones – The Israeli Institute for School Leadership (2008) Perception of the Principal's Role in the State of Israel: Report by the Professional Committee to Formulate Policy Recommendations for the Ministry of Education. Jerusalem: Avney Rosha.
13.
CelesteLBaysuGPhaletK, et al. (2019) Can school diversity policies reduce belonging and achievement gaps between minority and majority youth? Multiculturalism, colorblindness, and assimilationism assessed. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin45(11): 1603–1618.
14.
ChenA (2017) Addressing diversity on college campuses: changing expectations and practices in instructional leadership. Higher Education Studies7(2): 17–22.
15.
CherkowskiS (2016) Exploring the role of the school principal in cultivating a professional learning climate. Journal of School Leadership26(3): 523–543.
16.
CobbPJacksonKHenrickE, et al. (2018) Systems for Instructional Improvement: Creating Coherence from the Classroom to the District Office. Cambridge: Harvard Education Press.
17.
Copur-GencturkYCimpianJRLubienskiST, et al. (2020) Teachers’ bias against the mathematical ability of female, Black, and Hispanic students. Educational Researcher49(1): 30–43.
18.
CreswellJWPothCN (2018) Qualitative Inquiry and Research Design: Choosing Among Five Approaches, 4th ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
19.
DayCGuQSammonsP (2016) The impact of leadership on student outcomes: how successful school leaders use transformational and instructional strategies to make a difference. Educational Administration Quarterly52(2): 221–258.
20.
DayCSammonsP (2013) Successful Leadership: A Review of the International Literature. Reading: CfBT Education Trust.
21.
DeMatthewsDE (2014) Dimensions of social justice leadership: a critical review of actions, challenges, dilemmas, and opportunities for the inclusion of students with disabilities in U.S. Schools. Revista Internacional de Educación Para la Justicia Social3(2): 107–122.
22.
DeMatthewsDE (2015) Making sense of social justice leadership: a case study of a principal's experiences to create a more inclusive school. Leadership and Policy in Schools14(2): 139–166.
23.
DeMatthewsDE (2018) Community Engaged Leadership for Social Justice: A Critical Approach in Urban Schools. New York: Routledge.
24.
DeMatthewsDEEdwardsDBJrRinconesR (2016) Social justice leadership and family engagement: a successful case from Ciudad Juárez, Mexico. Educational Administration Quarterly52(5): 754–792.
25.
DeMatthewsDEIzquierdoE (2018) The importance of principals supporting dual language education: a social justice leadership framework. Journal of Latinos and Education17(1): 53–70.
26.
DeMatthewsDEMawhinneyH (2014) Social justice leadership and inclusion: exploring challenges in an urban district struggling to address inequities. Educational Administration Quarterly50(5): 844–881.
27.
DutilS (2020) Dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline: a trauma-informed, critical race perspective on school discipline. Children & Schools42(3): 171–178.
28.
FloresCBagwellJ (2021) Social justice leadership as inclusion: promoting inclusive practices to ensure equity for all. Educational Leadership and Administration: Teaching and Program Development, Special Edition1: 31–43.
29.
FrancoisC (2014) Getting at the core of literacy improvement: a case study of an urban secondary school. Education and Urban Society46(5): 580–605.
30.
FurmanG (2012) Social justice leadership as praxis: developing capacities through preparation programs. Educational Administration Quarterly48(2): 191–229.
31.
GAO – Government Accountability Office (2018) K-12 education: Discipline disparities for Black students, boys, and students with disabilities (GAO-18-258 Report to Congressional Requesters).
32.
GayG (2018) Culturally Responsive Teaching: Theory, Research, and Practice. New York: Teachers College.
33.
GedikSBellibasMS (2015) Examining schools’ distributed instructional leadership capacity: comparison of elementary and secondary schools. Journal of Education and Training Studies3(6): 101–110.
34.
GlickmanCDGordonSPRoss-GordonJM (2017) Supervision and Instructional Leadership: A Developmental Approach, 10th ed.New York: Pearson.
35.
GoddardRDBailesLPKimM (2021) Principal efficacy beliefs for instructional leadership and their relation to teachers’ sense of collective efficacy and student achievement. Leadership and Policy in Schools20(3): 472–493.
36.
GoldfarbKPGrinbergJ (2002) Leadership for social justice: authentic participation in the case of a community center in Caracas, Venezuela. Journal of School Leadership12(2): 157–173.
GrayWS (1934) Evidence of the need of capable instructional leadership. The Elementary School Journal34(6): 417–426.
39.
GümüşSBellibaşMŞPietschM (2022) School leadership and achievement gaps based on socioeconomic status: a search for socially just instructional leadership. Journal of Educational Administration60(4): 419–438.
40.
HallingerP (2012) A data-driven approach to assess and develop instructional leadership with the PIMRS. In: ShenJ (ed) Tools for Improving Principals’ Work. New York: Peter Lang, pp.47–69.
41.
HallingerPGümüşSBellibaşMŞ (2020) Are principals instructional leaders yet?: a science map of the knowledge base on instructional leadership, 1940–2018. Scientometrics122(3): 1629–1650.
42.
HallingerPMurphyJ (1985) Assessing the instructional management behavior of principals. The Elementary School Journal86(2): 217–247.
43.
HallingerPWangWC (2015) Assessing Instructional Leadership with the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale. Cham: Springer.
44.
HouYCuiYZhangD (2019) Impact of instructional leadership on high school student academic achievement in China. Asia Pacific Education Review20(4): 543–558.
45.
HowleyCHowleyAYahnJ, et al. (2019) Inclusive instructional leadership: A quasi-experimental study of a professional development program for principals. Mid-Western Educational Researcher31(1): 3–23.
Jean-MarieGNormoreAHBrooksJS (2009) Leadership for social justice: preparing 21st-century school leaders for a new social order. Journal of Research on Leadership Education4(1): 1–31.
49.
JohnsonDDConstantL (2021) Practitioner-scholars as social justice advocates for discipline reform. In: GriffenJ (ed) RACE Mentoring and P-12 Educators: Practitioners Contributing to Scholarship. Charlotte: Information Age, pp.69–80.
50.
KaparouMBushT (2016) Instructional leadership in Greek and English outstanding schools. International Journal of Educational Management30(6): 894–912.
51.
KoçakS (2021) Does social justice leadership in education improve the school belonging and resilience of students?Educational Administration: Theory and Practice27(1): 1061–1084.
52.
KvaleSBrinkmannS (2009) Interviews: Learning the Craft of Qualitative Research Interviewing, 2nd ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
53.
McKenzieKBChristmanDEHernandezF, et al. (2008) From the field: a proposal for educating leaders for social justice. Educational Administration Quarterly44(1): 111–138.
54.
MerriamSBTisdellEJ (2016) Qualitative Research: A Guide to Design and Implementation, 4th ed.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
55.
MessiouK (2017) Research in the field of inclusive education: time for a rethink?International Journal of Inclusive Education21(2): 146–159.
56.
MilesMBHubermanMASaldañaJ (2014) Qualitative Data Analysis: A Methods Sourcebook, 3rd ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
57.
MitchellRMKenslerLATschannen-MoranM (2015) Examining the effects of instructional leadership on school academic press and student achievement. Journal of School Leadership25(2): 223–251.
58.
Moral SantaellaC (2022) Successful school leadership for social justice in Spain. Journal of Educational Administration60(1): 72–85.
59.
MuñizJ (2019) Culturally Responsive Teaching: A 50-State Survey of Teaching Standards. Washington, DC: New America.
60.
MurphyJElliottSNGoldringE, et al. (2007) Leadership for learning: a research-based model and taxonomy of behaviors. School Leadership and Management27(2): 179–201.
61.
NeumerskiCMGrissomJAGoldringE, et al. (2018) Restructuring instructional leadership: how multiple-measure teacher evaluation systems are redefining the role of the school principal. The Elementary School Journal119(2): 270–297.
62.
O'DonnellRJWhiteGP (2005) Within the accountability era: principals’ instructional leadership behaviors and student achievement. Bulletin of the National Association of Secondary School Principals89(645): 56–71.
63.
OECD (2019) PISA 2018 results (Volume 1): What students know and can do.
64.
OplatkaI (2013) The place of “social justice” in the field of educational administration: An historical overview of emergent area of study. In: BogochIShieldsC (eds) International Handbook of Social [in]justice and Educational Leadership. Cham: Springer, pp.15–35.
65.
OxleyLHoldenGW (2021) Three positive approaches to school discipline: are they compatible with social justice principles?Educational & Child Psychology38(2): 71–81.
66.
PearmanFACurranFCFisherB, et al. (2019) Are achievement gaps related to discipline gaps? Evidence from national data. Aera Open5(4): 1–18.
67.
QadachMSchechterCDa'asRA (2020) Instructional leadership and teachers’ intent to leave: the mediating role of collective teacher efficacy and shared vision. Educational Management Administration & Leadership48(4): 617–634.
68.
RigbyJG (2014) Three logics of instructional leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly50(4): 610–644.
69.
Rivera-McCutchenRL (2014) The moral imperative of social justice leadership: a critical component of effective practice. The Urban Review46(4): 747–763.
70.
RossmanGBRallisSF (2012) Learning in the Field: An Introduction to Qualitative Research, 3rd ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
71.
SaldañaJ (2016) The Coding Manual for Qualitative Researchers, 3rd ed.Thousand Oaks: Sage.
72.
ShakedH (2023) New Explorations for Instructional Leaders: How Principals can Promote Teaching and Learning Effectively. Rowman & Littlefield.
73.
ShatzerRHCaldarellaPHallamPR, et al. (2014) Comparing the effects of instructional and transformational leadership on student achievement: implications for practice. Educational Management Administration & Leadership42(4): 445–459.
74.
StrongeJHRichardHBCatanoN (2008) Qualities of Effective Principals. Alexandria: Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
75.
ThapaACohenJGuffeyS, et al. (2013) A review of school climate research. Review of Educational Research83(3): 357–385.
76.
TheoharisG (2007) Social justice educational leaders and resistance: toward a theory of social justice leadership. Educational Administration Quarterly43(2): 221–258.
77.
van RijnsoeverFJ (2017) (I can't get no) saturation: a simulation and guidelines for sample sizes in qualitative research. PloS one12(7): e0181689.
78.
WangF (2015) Conceptualizing social justice: interviews with principals. Journal of Educational Administration53(5): 667–681.
79.
WangF (2018) Social justice leadership – theory and practice: a case of Ontario. Educational Administration Quarterly54(3): 470–498.
80.
YoeliRBerkovichI (2010) From personal ethos to organizational vision: narratives of visionary educational leaders. Journal of Educational Administration48(4): 451–467.
