Instructional Leadership: A Concept Re‐Examined
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/eb009614 |
| Pages | 136-147 |
| Published date | 01 February 1967 |
| Date | 01 February 1967 |
| Author | EDWIN M. BRIDGES |
| Subject Matter | Education |
136 THE JOURNAL OF EDUCATIONAL ADMINISTRATION
VOLUME V, NUMBER 2 OCTOBER. 1967
Instructional Leadership:
A Concept Re-Examined
EDWIN M. BRIDGES
The concept of instructional leadership has been frequently
discussed but rarely subjected to any rigorous analysis. In this
paper four current views of instructional leadership—those of
the principal as evaluator, helper, Integrator and designer—are
examined and the assumptions about human nature, skills, and
knowledge underlying each of these views are identified. Follow-
ing a critique of these assumptions, the author describes a
"principal-as-e.\perimcnter" role which he maintains is a viable
notion of instructional leadership given the present state of
knowledge and the organizational necessity for informed decision-
making.
Of the seven major task areas for which principals have respon-
sibility1 the area of curriculum and instruction has generated the
most sound and fury. On the one hand, the principal has been
exhorted to exert instructional leadership while on the other hand,
he has been told flatly that such a role is beyond his or any other
human being's capacity. The problem with these disputations is
that the exponents of a given position have neither defined
sharply what is signified by the concept of instructional leader-
ship nor made their assumptions explicit. The aim of this paper
is to bring each of these issues into sharper focus by developing
four ideal types representing the major emphases of current
notions about instructional leadership. Following a critique of
these four types, the author will suggest a view of instructional
leadership which is intended to overcome many of the deficiencies
which are cited.
FOUR VIEWS OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP
As implied in the introductory comments about instructional
leadership, the literature dealing with this concept is checkered
DR. EDWIN M. BRIDGES is an assistant professor in the Graduate Institute
of Education, Washington University, St. Louis. His B.A. is from the Univers-
ity of Missouri, his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Chicago. Prior to
his present appointment he was Director of the University Council for Educa-
tional Administration's Articulated Media Project.
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