Instructional management is not leadership

The OECD Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), which was last carried out in 2013, brings together a variety of principals’ leadership styles in different countries. Based on the results of TALIS survey management techniques were divided into 1) management for school goals, 2) instructional management, 3) direct supervision of instruction in the school, 4) accountable management, and 5) bureaucratic management. This OECD survey considered principal’s pedagogical tasks as instructional leadership, which is usually related to management style, which includes acting among teachers and students and strictly guide teaching and education, as well as extending principal’s influence into classrooms. On the other hand TALIS survey recognizes that there is no such thing as instructional leadership, only instructional management.  While management and leadership must go hand in hand, there is still a fundamental difference between the two concepts: The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people. The term instructional management confuses these concepts totally.

Instructional leadership as a concept is, however, an internationally well-known form for the school's educational management and also more common than pedagogical leadership (Liusvaara 2014, 35). So especially in English speaking countries everything apart from accountable management and bureaucratic management is seen as instructional leadership, because management for school goals and direct supervision of instruction in the school are actually considered as essential parts of instructional leadership. When you are talking about instructrional leadership, it is administrative management in charge and instructional management serves admistration of school and it is totally accountable to upper administration levels


Figure School management according to TALIS survey (Honkanen 2012, 18)

In my opinion the term “instruction” brings a drill sergeant into my mind, but a school is a learning institution, not an army barrack. Further perceptions connected with the term are “obedience”, “control”, “surveillance” etc.



REFERENCES

Honkanen, M. (2012). Rehtorit ja oppilaitosjohtaminen. [Principals and leading an institution of education]. Helsinki. Opetushallitus [Finnish National Board of Education], muistiot 2012:8

Liusvaara, L. (2014). Kun vaan rehtori on korvat auki. Koulun kehittämisellä pedagogista hyvinvointia.[If only the principal has the ears open – Pedagogical wellbeing through school development] U niversity of Turku, Faculty of Education / Department of Education: Annales Universitatis Turkuensis C388.