How Do Secondary Principals Influence Teaching and Learning

School leaders have complex roles and carry out a wide range of functions that are necessary to support and develop a strong school organization where students are engaged and learning. Ultimately, everything they do is intended to support student achievement. But their effects on students are largely indirect (Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Supovitz, 2013). School leaders set the goals and mission of the school, promote trust and collaboration, and actively support instruction (Supovitz, Sirinides, & May, 2010). Their efforts can also lead to stronger organizational processes—such as better parental involvement, curricular coherence, and behavior policies—that lead to stronger classroom instruction, which, in turn, affects student achievement. Because their influence is indirect and there are many potential processes through which they can affect instruction and achievement, it is difficult to discern what it is that ultimately has the greatest effect on students. Currently, principals are first and foremost expected to be instructional leaders. But there are so many aspects to ensuring that a school has effective instruction that it is hard to determine where school leaders should put their efforts. Principals are asked to coach and model good instruction, enable professional development for teachers, hire effective teachers and fire ineffective ones, manage relationships among staff members, facilitate collaboration around instruction and student support, set the vision for the building, create ties with families and communities, and maintain order and safety in the building so that instruction can occur. Given limited energy There are so many aspects to ensuring that a school has effective instruction that it is hard to determine where school leaders should put their efforts.