Principal Instructional Leadership and School Achievement: The Application of Discriminant Techniques

Abstract
The instructional leadership role of the principal has received much attention in the literature. The present study draws upon emerging research and explores the basis for predicting school academic achievement from the instructional leadership behavior of principals. A model of instructional leadership was examined to determine its predictive power in correctly identifying high‐ and low‐achieving elementary and high schools in two distinct cultural contexts. A total of 265 teachers and principals from California and the Marshall Islands participated in the study. The results indicate that school academic achievement can be predicted from a knowledge of principal instructional leadership behaviors. The theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.