Does instructional leadership drive educational improvement in South Africa? Evidence from Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition analysis

Quality school leadership and management are important determinants of teaching and learning quality. According to South Africa’s National Development Plan (NDP), principals should provide administrative and curriculum leadership to schools. This study investigated the improvement between 2015 and 2019 Grade 9 mathematics scores in South Africa, and explored the extent to which the difference could be related to instructional leadership. Using the Oaxaca-Blinder (OB) decomposition technique, the performance gap is decomposed into a part that is associated with changes in the number of educational inputs, such as student, teacher, and school/principal characteristics, and a part that is associated with changes in the efficiency of the educational inputs. The findings suggest that instructional leadership variables are positively associated with increased mathematics scores but the return to student achievement was lower in 2019 than 2015. The findings also revealed that instructional leadership led to less improvements among under-resourced schools in 2019

Decomposition · Economic growth · Economics · Educational leadership · Instructional leadership · Mathematics education · Educational Practices and Challenges · Poverty, Education, and Child Welfare · Psychology · School Choice and Performance

• The prevention and handling of the missing data

  Open Access•Hyun Kang•Korean Journal of Anesthesiology•2013

  Incluir item

• Assessing the Instructional Management Behavior of Principals

  P Hallinger, Joseph Murphy•The Elementary School Journal•1985

  Incluir item

• Measuring socio-economic position for epidemiological studies in low- and middle-income countries

  Open Access•L D Howe, Bruna Galobardes et al.•International Journal of…•2012

  Incluir item

• Male-Female Wage Differentials in Urban Labor Markets

  Ronald L Oaxaca, Ronald Oaxaca•International Economic Review•1973

  Incluir item

• Wage Discrimination

  Alan S Blinder•The Journal of Human Resources•1973

  Incluir item

• How effective are poor schools? Poverty and educational outcomes in South Africa

  Open Access•Shanelle Van Der Berg, Servaas Van Der Berg•Studies In Educational Evaluation•2008

  Incluir item

• Socioeconomic Status Measurement With Discrete Proxy Variables

  Open Access•Stanislav Kolenikov, Gustavo Angeles•Review of Income and Wealth•2009

  Incluir item

• The relationship between TIMSS mathematics achievements, grades, and national test scores

  Open Access•Marie Wiberg•Education Inquiry•2019

  Incluir item

• Gender gaps in early educational achievement

  Open Access•Deborah A Cobb‐clark, Julie Moschion•Journal of Population Economics•2017

  Incluir item

• Managing teaching and learning in South African schools

  Open Access•Torli Bush, Tony Bush et al.•International Journal of…•2009

  Incluir item

• The Single Salary Schedule and Other Issues of Teacher Pay

  Eric A Hanushek•Peabody Journal of Education•2007

  Incluir item

• Perceived School and Neighborhood Safety, Neighborhood Violence and Academic Achievement in Urban School Children

  Open Access•Adam J Milam, C Debra M Furr-Holden et al.•The Urban Review•2010

  Incluir item

• Organizational Culture and Academic Achievement in Secondary Schools

  Open Access•Philip C van der Westhuizen, M J Mosoge et al.•Education and Urban Society•2005

  Incluir item

• Portfolio Assessment as a Tool for Promoting Professional Development of School Principals

  Open Access•Raj Mestry, Michele Schmidt•Education and Urban Society•2010

  Incluir item

• The Importance of School Systems

  Open Access•Ludger Woessmann•The Journal of Economic…•2016

  Incluir item

• Structural Change, Leadership and School Effectiveness/Improvement

  Open Access•Brahm Fleisch, Pam Christie•Discourse Studies in the Cultural…•2004

  Incluir item