School Leaders’ Perspectives of The UVA Model for Instructional Leadership Competency

Research shows supportive partnerships between school districts and universities can enhance school district performance. Such a relationship was used to address the problem of lacking quality instructional leadership capacity of school leaders placed in target turnaround school settings to improve teacher efficacy and student achievement. The purpose of this study was to create deep understanding of the perceptions of target turnaround school leaders that participated in the target district’s partnership with the University of Virginia Partnership for Leadership in Education (UVA-PLE), to improve their instructional leadership competency. Guided by a leadership competency framework developed by McClelland and applied by UVA-PLE, this basic qualitative study elicited the perceptions of school leaders in three areas: the effects of participation in the UVA-PLE program on their instructional leadership competency, teacher effectiveness, and student achievement. Of the school leaders who participated in the UVA-PLE, 8 completed an open-ended questionnaire and 4 of those completed an additional semi structured interview for in-depth follow-up. Data were analyzed using in vivo and pattern coding to identify themes. Findings indicate that participants perceived increased development of their instructional leadership competency through improved strategies for more effectively customizing application of various leadership tools and skills in their schools, following involvement in the UVA-PLE program. A position paper with recommendations aimed at heightening instructional leadership competency was developed. With enhanced instructional leadership competency, positive social change is possible as increased teacher efficacy and student achievement is fostered in schools