Comparison of Public and Private School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Skills: Mixed-Method Approach [doi: 10.14527/kuey.2014.018]

Abstract

The purpose of this research is to compare public and private middle school principals’ skills in instructional leadership. The study depends on the explanatory approach of mixed method research. Starting with a quantitative inquiry, it focuses on the differences between public and private school principals’ instructional leadership, drawing upon TALIS (Teaching and Learning International Survey) data conducted by OECD in 2008, which involves 187 middle school principals. The qualitative part of the study further explains findings from quantitative section drawing on the interviews of a purposefully selected total sample of 4 principals and 8 teachers from both school types. The study found contradictions between quantitative and qualitative results in terms of differences between public and private school principals’ instructional leadership behaviors. Despite significant difference in favor of private school principals as highlighted by quantitative study, the qualitative inquiry found that private school principals were involved in in-person instructional leadership practices less often than public school principals were.