Instructional Leadership and Its Effect on the Teaching and Learning Process: the Case of Head teachers in Selected Basic Schools in the Central Province of Zambia

Research asserts that instructional leadership by head teachers affects the teaching and learning process positively and consequently leads to high pupil performance. The National Education Policy of 1996 in Zambia identifies instructional leadership by head teachers as a priority in enhancing the quality of teaching and learning in schools. The purpose of this study was to establish whether instructional leadership was being practiced in the selected Basic schools as stated by the National Policy on Education in Zambia. Thirty-two head teachers and one hundred and sixty teachers made up the sample and were selected using purposive sampling. Questionnaires, face to face interviews, focus group discussions and observations were used to collect data. The findings indicated that the head teachers who participated in this study were not practicing much instructional leadership and that this negatively affected the teaching and learning outcomes. The findings further indicated that the majority of the head teachers who participated in this study did not receive any training that prepared them for this role. The study recommends that the Ministry of Education, Science, Vocational Training and Early Education needs to review its policy to see whether its policy objectives are being implemented and the extent to which the policy is achieving its desired effects. The Ministry needs to review pre-service training programs in order to incorporate training in education administration and leadership and further to expand and strengthen the in-service training programmes for head teachers at the National In-service College and create more institutions that will offer similar programmes.