When children have wonderful teachers year after year, they flourish, and their parents are delighted with the school. That's a simple premise, but it has important implications for principals. We also learned that we are expected to provide the instructional leadership that enables teachers to grow professionally. Obstacles to Instructional Leadership During the last several decades, the role of the principal has become increasingly complex as society has made ever-greater demands on the schools.
Today there are breakfasts to provide and after-school programs to oversee.
There are special programs to coordinate for students at both ends of the academic spectrum. Indeed, the list is almost endless. As schools have taken on a variety of new tasks, educators have come to understand much more about how children learn. And as knowledge of child development, curriculum, and instruction has burgeoned, the profession has become Balkanized. Many of today's teachers have their own areas of expertise and their own professional language.