Instructional Leadership of Basic Schools in Ghana: The Case Study of Schools in Kwaebibirem District
Dr. Anthony Kudjo Donkor, Job Asante

Abstract
For a school to function effectively, heads should provide instructional leadership. Research indicates that where instructional leadership activities are performed, the output of teachers and academic performance of pupils are most likely to improve. The purpose of this study was to find out how instructional leadership of heads of basic schools in Kwaebibirem district of Ghana takes place. The study explored the following areas: (1) Lesson planning, organization and delivery (2) heads’ direct personal support for teachers (3) heads’ supervision of teachers and pupils’ performance and (4) heads’ evaluation of teachers and pupils’ performance. A descriptive design was used for the study. A questionnaire and an interview guide were used to collect data from headteachers, teachers, and circuit supervisors. The population of the study included 207 head-teachers, 933 teachers and 10 circuit supervisors. A total of 305 respondents formed the sample. This consisted of 60 head-teachers, 240 teachers, and 5 circuit supervisors drawn from sixty basic schools in the district. The data was presented using percentages and frequencies. Supervision, evaluation, and direct personal support activities were found to be more dominant in the basic schools than curriculum planning, organization and delivery. The study will provide broad guidelines toward effective instructional leadership in schools, help heads of basic schools to assess their performance as instructional leaders, identify their short comings, ascertain possible avenues to help, and improve upon their effectiveness as school managers.

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