Social justice directed instructional leadership: Does it make a difference for teacher professional learning

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between principal instructional leadership and teacher professional learning in Chinese primary and middle schools. Survey data were collected from 3219 teachers across 121 schools. Researchers employed a multilevel moderated mediation model to explore links among principal instructional leadership, social justice leadership, teacher resilience, and teacher professional learning. Social justice leadership was a moderator, and teacher resilience was a mediator. Results showed instructional leadership was positively associated with teacher professional learning both directly and indirectly through teacher resilience. Social justice leadership strengthened the association between instructional leadership and teacher resilience, as well as the indirect pathway to teacher professional learning. When social justice leadership was lower, the association between instructional leadership and teacher professional learning was not statistically significant. This underscores the importance of an explicit equity focus in instructional leadership. Key contributions include identifying teacher resilience as a mediator and social justice leadership as a boundary condition that shape how instructional leadership relates to teacher professional learning. These findings offer both theoretical advances and practical guidance for balancing performance and equity in schools.