INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP TOMORROW

Smylie and Conyers (1991) conclude that teaching has become a "complex, dynamic, interactive, intellectual activity . . . (not a practice that can be) prescribed or standardized" ( p. 13). In order to meet the rapidly changing needs of our students, teachers must be given the authority to make appropriate instructional decisions. They are the instructional experts. Therefore, the basis for school leadership must include teachers (and parents), as well as the principal, in the role of problem finding and problem identification, a process currently referred to as transformational leadership. Principals, then, become the leaders of leaders: those who encourage and develop instructional leadership in teachers. According to Cooper (1989), this "mode of instructional leadership provides for learning and working with others - teachers, students and parents - to improve instructional quality" (p. 16). This becomes the basis for shared instructional leadership.
This restructuring requires a different view of leadership. School goals would be based on problems identified by teachers and parents - not on a principal's personal vision nor one of the central office. There would be a greater emphasis on problem finding and goal setting by staff and community. Problem solving would be a collaborative activity. Collegiality, experimentation, teacher reflection, and school-based staff development become important issues. Rather than being the source of all knowledge, the principal's role would be to tap the expertise and leadership of teachers. The idea that one model of school leadership or one model of classroom instruction is appropriate for all schools is incompatible with this form of school-based restructuring and improvement. It becomes apparent that school leaders will require a greater tolerance for ambiguity then ever before.
The principal becomes a key player. Even if this approach is collaborative in nature, the leadership taken by the principal is pivotal. Therefore, there is much the principal must know and do in order to become an effective instructional leader