Exploring pedagogical leadership in schools: Teachers’ perceptions on how principals promote teaching and learning

This study explores pedagogical leadership of school principals as teachers perceive and how principals promote teaching and learning in the schools of urban context of Karachi, Pakistan. In the last two decades the focus of policy makers and educators has been shifted from the provision of education to educational outcomes. Different reforms have been introduced to improve quality of education in Pakistan. The role of the principal is central to bringing quality change in schools. Therefore, many attempts have been made to understand principal\u27s leadership styles. However, little empirical evidence is available to explore the principal\u27s role as pedagogical leader with the teachers\u27 eyes under qualitative study and how teachers as key players in school perceive principals\u27 role in promoting teaching and learning in schools. Therefore, this study aims at exploring teachers\u27 perceptions about role of a principal as a pedagogical leader in three schools (public, private and non- profit school organization) at secondary level in the context of Karachi. To achieve the purpose of the study and sufficiently address the research questions, a qualitative research study was designed to explore the perceptions of teachers regarding the pedagogical leadership in schools and how principals promote teaching and learning in the school. The study involved the use of semi-structured interviews, document analysis and field observations. Findings from the study indicate that teachers perceive principals as pedagogical leaders who guide them in classroom teaching and learning through effective pedagogies and strategies, creating collaborative relationships and provide constructive feedback. Whereas, the actual practices of principals rarely meet the perceptions and expectations of teachers because principals most of the time are consumed in day to day administrative tasks. This study is significant because the findings suggest that current and future school principals should attempt to understand how they are perceived by teachers, and, thus, adapt attitude, pedagogical skills, and strategies to demonstrate pedagogical leadership in the school. This study can also be beneficial for the policy makers to develop a policy document on training of teachers, administrative staff, and community members to appreciate and expect the role of principals in teaching and learning apart from the role of administrative matters. The study can further be expanded to teachers of urban and rural context under mixed research method so the result can be generalized. Moreover, perceptions of students about the role of principal as pedagogical leader at secondary level may add value to the study