School leadership and achievement gaps based on socioeconomic status: a search for socially just instructional leadership

Abstract

PurposeThe research literature in this field demonstrates that instructional leadership provided by principals is essential for student learning, but the question of its impact on students with high and low socioeconomic status (SES) has remained largely unexplored. In the present study, the authors focus on the moderating role of instructional leadership in the relationship between SES and achievement at both the school and student levels.Design/methodology/approachUsing cross-national Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2015 data, the authors fitted multilevel models to investigate whether the effect of instructional leadership on student achievement in math, science and reading varies across groups of students with the different individual as well as school SES levels.FindingsInstructional leadership significantly moderates the relationship between school-level SES and student achievement in math, while the moderation effect for individual SES and instructional leadership is not significant for any subject.Research limitations/implicationsThis study calls for more research on the moderation role of leadership in the relationship between SES and student achievement, with a specific focus on the integrated models that include the social justice aspect of school leadership.Originality/valueThe authors conclude that while instructional leadership might be beneficial in reducing the achievement gaps between schools, it may not make much difference in terms of reducing the disparity between different SES groups within schools.

The implications of principal leadership styles on teachers' organizational commitment in the Israeli Arab educational minority

“…The achievement gaps caused by SES discrepancy in Israel's educational system are among the biggest in the world and have barely decreased over time (OECD, 2019). Future research can investigate how the principal's leadership may influence the relationship between school SES and accomplishment and teacher behaviors (Gümüş et al, 2022).…”

“…The achievement gaps caused by SES discrepancy in Israel's educational system are among the biggest in the world and have barely decreased over time (OECD, 2019). Future research can investigate how the principal's leadership may influence the relationship between school SES and accomplishment and teacher behaviors (Gümüş et al, 2022). These results should be replicated to deepen our understanding of the interplay of school SES level, principals' leadership styles, and teachers' OC in Israeli Arab society.…”

The Intellectual Evolution of Educational Leadership Research: A Combined Bibliometric and Thematic Analysis Using SciMAT

“…Previous research also called attention to the socio-economic status of students' families as a strong determinant of achievement gaps. This research provided evidence that principals' instructional leadership might help narrow the SES-based achievement gap by improving learning-related conditions in schools [138][139][140]. Shaked [133] suggested that principals' instructional leadership could eliminate injustices through school improvement 'because it strives rigorously to lead all students to high academic performance, regardless of diverse students' potentially marginalizing characteristics' (p.2).…”

Middle-leaders' transformational leadership: big five traits and teacher commitment

“…in (2008) meta-analysis highlighted that with ongoing professional development, instructional leadership was noted as most important for establishing a disciplined and encouraging atmosphere for students. Recently, research (Gümüş et al. , 2022; Shaked, 2022) have indicated the importance of an instructional focus to overcome school socioeconomic status and to promote constructive parental relationship.…”