Subject-Specific Instructional Leadership in K8 Schools: The Supervision of Science in an Era of Reform

• Published in: Leadership and policy in schools Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 460 - 484
• Main Authors: Lowenhaupt, Rebecca, McNeill, Katherine L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Philadelphia Routledge 03.07.2019; Taylor & Francis; Taylor & Francis Ltd
• Subjects: Academic Standards; Accountability; Administrator Attitudes; Administrator Role; Education reform; Educational Change; Educational leadership; Elementary School Science; Instructional Improvement; Instructional Leadership; Leadership; Mathematics; Middle Schools; Principals; Public Schools; Reforms; School principals; Science education; Science Instruction; Secondary School Science; Supervision; Teacher Administrator Relationship; Teacher Supervision; Teachers; Massachusetts
• ISSN: 1570-0763; 1744-5043
• DOI: 10.1080/15700763.2018.1453937

Purpose: In U.S. public schools, principals must implement reforms that require instructional leadership across subjects, though little is known about subject-specific supervision. Methods: Through interviews with 26 K-8 principals, we examine instructional leadership for science. Findings: Our findings showed that science supervision occurred rarely; principals used a "content-neutral" approach that did not emphasize science-specific aspects of instruction. Principals explained this in terms of external accountability pressures in literacy and mathematics, as well as their own lack of science knowledge. Implications: We argue for subject-specific resources for principal supervision. For classrooms to change, principals must provide subject-specific support for teachers.