Abstract
The focus of this study was on the district's role in influencing instructional leadership practices in schools by strengthening the principal's instructional leadership capacity, in order to achieve high-quality educational outcomes. The policy on the Organisation, Roles, and Responsibilities of Education Districts paved the way for education districts to assume a main role in education delivery and acknowledge their value in the education system. While the policy outlines the various roles and responsibilities of district officials, this study is specifically concerned with how districts work together with school principals to provide them with direction and support for their instructional leadership role. A qualitative approach and single-case study design was used to execute this research. The case was one school district in the Gauteng province. Data was collected using both individual and focus group interviews from ten principals, four curriculum specialists and ten cluster leaders previously referred to as Institutional Development School Officers. Findings revealed that principals and district officials regarded curriculum delivery as the main role of the principal, that principals’ professional development for instructional leadership is neglected and that district officials’ deeper engagement with principals is needed regarding school related challenges. Furthermore, there is a need for strategies to resolve the day-to-day distractions that shift the principal’s focus away from instructional leadership. The findings further indicated that the reluctance of principals to implement district recommendations are due to a perceived lack of skills or the heavy workload of principals. The recommendations include the development of short learning programmes by service providers for building the instructional leadership capacity of district officials and principals. Furthermore, a district model for instructional leadership should be conceptualised by the education district. A distributive leadership approach is relevant to assist principals to manage the day-to-day distractions that hinder their instructional leadership role. The study contributes to new knowledge for practice in the form of guidelines for school districts and a framework that highlights the role of school districts.
Keywords: Instructional leadership, professional development, education district, principal, school district, educational leadership.