Influence of School Heads&#039; Innovative and Instructional Leadership on the Classroom Practices of Teachers

Maedel Joy  Escote,; Judy Ann  Padasas,

Influence of School Heads' Innovative and Instructional Leadership on the Classroom Practices of Teachers

Discipline: Education

Abstract:

Inconsistencies in classroom practices and leadership effectiveness remain pressing challenges in Philippine elementary education, particularly in rural districts. These issues often result in varied instructional delivery, uneven student outcomes, and limited teacher support. Resolving these concerns requires a deeper understanding of how school leadership affects teaching quality. This study examined the influence of innovative and instructional leadership of school heads on the classroom practices of teachers in the Montevista District, Davao de Oro Division. Anchored in Transformational Leadership Theory, the research was driven by challenges in instructional consistency and leadership effectiveness in Philippine elementary schools. Utilizing a descriptive-correlational design, data were gathered from 130 elementary teachers through adapted survey questionnaires. Results revealed that school heads demonstrated very high levels of innovative leadership, with mean scores of 3.57 for action patterns, 3.58 for innovative thinking, and 3.60 for strategic thinking. Instructional leadership was also rated very high, particularly in coordinating the curriculum with a mean of 3.59 and framing school goals with a mean of 3.58. Teachers exhibited very high levels of classroom practices, with educational skills scoring the highest with a mean of 3.81, followed by classroom management and subject matter mastery with a mean of 3.77. Correlation analysis revealed a moderate positive relationship between innovative leadership and classroom practices (r-value = 0.400, p < 0.001), as well as a stronger positive relationship between instructional leadership and classroom practices (r-value = 0.468, p < 0.001). Regression analysis identified instructional leadership with a β of 0.459 and a p-value of 0.002 as the most significant predictor of classroom practices. In contrast, innovative leadership showed no significant predictive value, as seen in a β of 0.011 with a p-value of 0.939. These findings emphasized the role of instructional leadership in enhancing teaching quality and suggested that strategic supervision and curriculum coordination are key drivers of effective classroom practices.

References:

Burns, J.M. (1978). Leadership. Harper and Row, New York.
Creswell, J. W. (2014). Research Design: Qualitative, Quantitative and Mixed Methods Approaches (4^th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Fenuku, S. D., & Akpaku, E. (2024). The Impact of Standardized Teaching Methodologies on Student Learning and Teacher Autonomy in Ghanaian Schools. Journal of Linguistics Literature and Language Teaching (JLLLT), 3(2), 83–97.
Garcia, C. L. M. (2023). Leadership Style of School Heads in Relation to Teachers Classroom Practices in Selected Secondary Schools in PASIG. International Journal for Research in Applied Science and Engineering Technology, 11(3), 684–695.
Hassan, H. H., Alwan, Z. Y., & Berto, M. F. (2024). Examining the impact of the dimensions of strategic thinking on outstanding performance. The American Journal of Management and Economics Innovations, 6(2), 23–39.
Hernandez, M. M., Mendoza, S. D. C., & Pacheco, M. M. (2023). Innovative Leadership Practices and Management Styles of School Heads in the Schools Division of Bulacan. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Applied Business and Education Research, 4(6), 1904–1913.
Kumari, N. M., & Biswas, N. D. S. (2024). Classroom Management Strategies and Their Influence on Student Social Behavior. International Journal of Humanities Engineering Science and Management, 5(1).
Magboo, J. A., Velasco, C. Q., & Luis, L. F. (2023a). School Heads’ Instructional Leadership Behavior and Teachers’ Work Engagement in Public Elementary Schools. International Journal of Social Science Humanity & Management Research, 2(06).
Mahardhika, B. N., & Raharja, S. (2023). The Importance of Strategic Planning With Modern Trends in Education. AL-ISHLAH Jurnal Pendidikan, 15(2), 1807–1820.
Parveen, N., Rubab, U. E., Rahman, F., & Yousuf, M. I. (2023). Instructional Leadership Practices and Students’ Academic Achievement. Qlantic Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 4(4), 277–285.
Siddique, A., Noorani, Z., & Moin, M. (2024). An investigation on classroom management challenges faced by teachers at primary school level in Punjab. Journal of Social Research Development, 5(2), 130–140.