ABSTRACT
A highlight of the 1988 National Principals’ Center Conversation occurred during a skit in which principals and staff developers representing over 100 principals’ centers shared in a roast of the mythical “principal as instructional leader”. The educational leadership literature exhorts principals to aspire to instructional leadership, leaving guilt and shame for those who would not or cannot reach this lofty goal. High school principals who would exercise strong instructional leadership confront many of the obstacles faced by elementary school principals, and more. Educators have long assumed that principals have the tools to provide instructional leadership because they were once teachers themselves. Instructional leadership is comprised of three dimensions: defining the school mission, managing the instructional program, and promoting the school learning climate. A major problem faced by principals who delegate instructional leadership tasks is the lack of clear areas of responsibility. The organization of the instructional leadership team is also related to the allocation of responsibilities.
