The purpose of this study was to examine the impact of instructional leadership on high school students' academic achievement in the Chinese context and to determine which specific instructional leadership dimensions have the most important role. The sample included 26 high schools with 26 principals and 4288 students in Shenyang, China. The principals rated their instructional leadership according to the Revised Instructional Leadership Questionnaire of China (ILQC-R). The hypotheses were tested using hierarchical linear models. The results indicated that, after controlling for student background, school context, and principal demographics, overall instructional leadership showed a significantly moderating influence on the relationship between high school entrance scores and college entrance scores for students. Regarding the four different dimensions, different influence trends were observed. The dimensions of managing instruction, defining the school mission and goals, and promoting teacher development were found to influence students' college entrance scores in both direct and indirect ways; however, no significant impact on students from managing public relations was found.

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A longitudinal designed research study was conducted to provide empirical evidence regarding the influences of three dimensions of students’ school adaptation on their math achievement growth over the first year of high school. These dimensions included learning adaptation, stress management, and personal communication. Student math achievement growth was measured using the student growth percentile (SGP) score. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test for the possible mediating role of self-concept behind those three relationships. Based on the model comparison, it was discovered that school adaptation significantly and positively influences student math achievement growth via mediating effects of student academic self-concept, as opposed to showing a direct impact on students. The findings of this study have important implications for educators and parents to aid students in their pursuit of academic success.

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