A Systematic Review Analysis on Instructional Leadership Styles: Exploring Research Foci, Conceptual Models, Methodological Designs, and Geographical Distributions

Abstract

Aims: This study explored the various literature on Instructional leadership of secondary school principals. This study aimed to answer the following questions based on (1) the geographic distribution of the distributed leadership literature published globally; (2) methodological designs (qualitative, quantitative, mixed methods) have been adopted and data collection tools used; (3) the nature of literature in terms of research foci; and (4) conceptual frameworks/models are predominant in the relevant literature publications between 2012 and 2022. Study Design:  Systematic review analysis. Place and Duration of Study: The systematic review of existing literature was carried-out last 2023 and analyzed relevant studies on instructional leadership from 2012-2022. Methodology: This study utilized the systematic review analysis using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) as the functional research design in answering the research questions. The study used the Google scholar and Eric as the main database search platform for seeking relevant literature. These databases have an advanced search method to set the desired operative words, the year of publication, and it provides the data based such as in-full text version, peer-reviewed, written in English, research design, etc. Results: As a result of the systematic analysis, this study exposed notable variations in terms of research design employed, and the locale of the study. Based on the synthesis of the various research studies, it was observed that instructional leadership is currently being studied against students, teachers, and school performances. Moreover, the widely used conceptual framework used was exploratory, and a direct effect model. Conclusion: Finally, the framework provided by this study and the overview of the challenges outlined here may help to improve the delivery of instructional leadership among secondary school principals and will serve as the foundation for future research projects and policy decisions.