Role of Superintendents as Instructional Leaders and Learners During Instructional Rounds
Open AccessRole of Superintendents as Instructional Leaders and Learners During Instructional RoundsSchool districts face the problem of superintendents who have several demanding, fragmented, and competing roles and who lack the knowledge of learning theory and the skills for collaborative instructional leadership needed to guide instructional improvement. The purpose of this single case study was to address the instructional leadership role of a district superintendent by exploring his perceptions and practices when leading learning for instructional improvement through instructional rounds, a classroom observation process. In this case study, a superintendent demonstrated and conceptualized instructional leadership during instructional rounds. Instructional rounds is a vehicle for superintendents and fellow educators to collectively participate in a community of practice grounded in on-site classroom observations focused on large-scale instructional improvement. Through instructional rounds, a superintendent can build the instructional capacity of principals and teachers by facilitating a common understanding of the instructional core. Data were analyzed using the lens of role theory. The study participant was a practicing school superintendent who conducted instructional rounds within his school district. The data collected consisted of observations of the superintendent during his participation in instructional rounds, a semi-structured interview before classroom observations and following rounds observations, questionnaires completed by participants, interviews with a subsample of school-based participants, and documents that captured the instructional rounds’ process and actionable next level of work. The data were analyzed and interpreted as an instructional leadership practice for superintendents and their school leaders. The first key finding was that the superintendent and school participants agreed the superintendent’s instructional leadership was collaborative. The second finding was that the superintendent and school participants agreed he used instructional rounds to promote continuous instructional improvement. The third finding was that the school participants described the expanded leadership capacity of school administrators. Findings are discussed and recommendations for future research are included.
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