Examining Instructional Leadership Practices and their Relationship with the Organizational Health of Secondary Schools: A Correlational Study

Abstract

This study examined the relationship between instructional leadership practices and organizational health in secondary schools in Zahedan, Iran. The research aimed to fill a gap in the existing literature on instructional leadership in non-Western contexts, particularly in Iran. A quantitative correlational research design was employed to investigate this relationship. The target population included 1,285 secondary school teachers in Zahedan, Iran, with a stratified random sample of 300 teachers selected based on Krejcie and Morgan’s sampling table. Two main instruments were used: an Instructional Leadership Questionnaire designed by the researchers to assess leadership in three key areas: student affairs, staff/parent collaboration, and facilities provision (Cronbach's alpha = 0.94), and the Organizational Health Inventory (OHI) adapted from Hoy and Feldman (1987) (Cronbach's alpha = 0.91). Data were collected through self-administered questionnaires, and statistical analysis was performed using SPSS software. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, stepwise regression, t-tests, and ANOVA were applied to analyze the data. The results showed significant positive correlations between all three leadership dimensions (student affairs, staff/parent collaboration, and facilities provision) and organizational health. Staff/parent collaboration emerged as the strongest predictor of organizational health. These findings suggested that school leaders should focus on enhancing relationships with staff and parents, providing adequate resources, and improving student support services to foster a healthy school environment.