Instructional Leadership: A Systematic Review of Malaysian Literature 1995-2015

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to review the research on school leadership in Malaysia, specifically the role of school principals as instructional leaders. The authors describe the purpose of the review, the methodology and conceptual framework guiding the review process and findings. The authors adopted an exploratory approach to reviewing the Malaysian literature on school leadership and management. This literature review examined the personal antecedents affecting instructional leadership, instructional leadership practices affecting the schools and the school outcomes in the Malaysian school context. We found inconsistent picture of instructional leadership in Malaysia. The review also identifies limitations in the research methodology and findings evident in Malaysian literature. We also compare and contrast the findings on instructional leadership from studies using quantitative and qualitative approaches. The paper concludes by advocating for using variety of methods like explanatory, exploratory, mixed method and 360 evaluations research for future studies of instructional leadership.