INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP AS A PREDICTOR OF ADMINISTRATIVE EFFECTIVENESS IN NIGERIAN SECONDARY SCHOOLS

Abstract

Instructional leadership is increasingly recognized as a core determinant of school effectiveness, particularly in developing education systems where quality assurance and accountability remain major concerns. This study examines the relationship between principals’ instructional leadership skills and administrative effectiveness in secondary schools in Adamawa State, Nigeria. Using a descriptive survey design, data were collected from 570 teachers across 110 schools using structured questionnaires. Regression analysis revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between principals’ instructional supervision and measures of administrative effectiveness, including discipline, teacher performance, and student learning outcomes. The findings suggest that principals’ emphasis on classroom supervision, teacher support, and curriculum implementation plays a crucial role in strengthening overall school administration. The study recommends professional development programs that enhance principals’ instructional leadership capacities to improve teaching quality, teacher accountability, and student achievement. Introduction / Background Globally, instructional leadership has been described as the heart of effective school administration. Unlike managerial leadership, which focuses on structures and processes, instructional leadership is directly concerned with teaching, learning, and curriculum implementation. Principals who adopt this model prioritize classroom observation, teacher professional development, and curriculum monitoring as the foundation of school improvement. In the Nigerian context, concerns about poor student performance in WAEC and NECO examinations, declining teacher morale, and weak accountability structures have renewed interest in strengthening principals’ instructional roles Instructional leadership is now viewed not just as a school-level responsibility but as a critical policy instrument for raising educational standards. This paper situates instructional leadership within the broader discourse on school effectiveness and investigates its predictive power on administrative effectiveness in Adamawa State public secondary schools