Perceptions of Elementary Principals’ Instructional Leadership Support of English Learners Academic Achievement in School Divisions in Virginia

Abstract

The ever-growing English learner student population struggles academically more than any other student group except students identified for special education services (Gándara & Hopkins, 2010). Although effective principal instructional leadership behaviors and practices have been directly and indirectly linked to student academic achievement (Elfers & Stritikus, 2014; Gurley et al., 2015; Grissom et al., 2021; May & Supovitz, 2011; Uysal & Sarıer, 2018), literature on the relationship between principal instructional leadership and English learners' educational attainment is limited. Therefore, this study aimed to examine English learners, special education, and general education elementary teachers' perceptions of their principals' instructional leadership behaviors enacted to support English Learners' academic outcomes in Virginia.

Perception data were gathered using Hallinger's (1985) Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS), which included an open-ended question. The PIMRS instrument measures the degree to which principals serve as instructional leaders. This study was guided by the following research questions: To what extent do elementary principals perform instructional leadership behaviors and practices to support English learners' academic needs, as measured by the behavioral statements of the 10 PIMRS functional subscales? To what extent do elementary principals perform instructional leadership behaviors and practices to support English learners' academic needs, as measured by the behavioral statements of the three PIMRS dimensional scales? What instructional leadership behaviors and practices do elementary teachers perceive most supportive of English learners' academic needs?

Based on the results of this study, the three teacher groups perceived their principals frequently to almost always engage in behaviors associated with developing, framing, and using inclusive school goals. The teacher groups also perceived their principals frequently to almost always promote collaborative professional development opportunities. The open-ended question revealed several themes the teacher sample perceived as most supportive of English learners' academic needs. Teacher planning time was the only theme not represented in the PIMRS conceptual framework. Additionally, analyses performed to compare the mean differences between the three teacher groups across the dimension and function subscales of the PIMRS instrument indicated no statistically significant differences in the mean perception scores.