Best Practices of Collaborative Leadership among Instructional Leaders

Abstract

This research describes collaborative leadership practices among primary schools’ instructional leaders in mathematics education in Malaysia. The rationale for this research is to understand how collaborative leadership is practiced, especially in mathematics education in primary schools. Results from TIMSS and PISA evaluations have shown a tremendous decline in the mathematics performance in Malaysia, which worries educators and policymakers. To improve mathematics performance, researchers conducted a qualitative case study on school improvement, primarily focusing on collaborative leadership. The conceptual framework was developed from the distributed leadership model by Spillane (2007) and collaborative leadership model by Rubin (2009). Three primary schools were selected; two are cluster schools and one is normal daily primary school. Data were collected using interview, observation and document analysis techniques. Ten participants were chosen from the three schools using a purposive sampling method to participate in the interview session. Observation was done using videotapes, and school documents such as meeting minutes, examination results, etc. were analyzed. Findings suggest empirical evidence of the informal practice of collaborative leadership in the selected schools. Furthermore, to improve school performance, school leaders do play important roles in their organization.