This study examines the impact of macro-context factors on the behavior of school principals. More specifically, the article illuminates how a nation's level of economic development, societal culture, and educational system influence the amount of time principals devote to their job role and shape their allocation of time to instructional leadership, administration, and management of relationships with parents and community. The study employed a 2-level hierarchical linear model (HLM) to analyze data on 5,927 principals in 34 societies drawn from the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 2006. The results support the proposition that principal time use and allocation varies substantially across societies and that these patterns of behavior are influenced by economic, sociocultural and institutional features of their societies. The study contributes to a growing body of research that seeks to understand how the practice of school leadership is shaped by the organizational and cultural context.

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Purpose:The purpose of this study is to provide a better understanding of how instructional leadership responsibilities are distributed in International Baccalaureate (IB) schools in East Asia. Research Design: Case studies were conducted in five international schools located in Thailand, Vietnam, Hong Kong, and China. These schools were selected on the basis of location in East Asia, the offering of the full continuum of the IB's three programs, and evidence of prior academic success. In total, 68 teachers and administrators and 25 students were interviewed. Qualitative analysis of the interview data was conducted using pattern coding. Findings: Three broad instructional leadership practices were identified: curriculum articulation, cross-program activities, and strategic staffing. These appeared to enhance curriculum consistency and coherence across the three IB programs, a problem that had been identified in full-continuum IB schools. The qualitative data suggested

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader institutional contexts are critically characterized by high accountability policy environments. Design/methodology/approach -This study utilizes standardized test scores collected from (n ¼ 2,037) students in 42 secondary schools and data collected from key staff's perceptions of leadership practices, to investigate two dimensions of instructional leadership, which are conceptually interdependent but distinctive -i.e. instructional management and direct supervision of instruction. A cross-level interaction analysis of hierarchical linear modeling was employed to investigate the effects of the two dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning. Findings -Leadership practices focused on instructional management were found to enhance student learning by boosting the positive effect of students' attachment to their school on academic achievement. In contrast, leadership practices related to direct supervision of instruction were found to undermine student learning by weakening the positive effect of student perceptions of school attachment on academic performance when other school-and student-level characteristics are held constant. Originality/value -The paper reveals the contrasting effects of instructional leadership as a multi-dimensional construct which is central in the current education reform agenda, rooted in accountability-oriented policy of Hong Kong. It draws a number of implications for principal instructional leadership in Hong Kong Schools as they deal with demands for external accountability.