Instructional Leadership Styles and Curriculum Delivery: Principals’ Perceptions in selective Limpopo Secondary Schools
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63569/ajopac/07/01/08Keywords:
instructional leadership styles, transactional leadership, transformational leadership, school principalship, curriculum deliveryAbstract
This article presents a qualitative case study that examined secondary school principals’ perceptions of how instructional leadership styles support curriculum delivery in public secondary schools in Limpopo Province, South Africa. Guided by Role Perception Theory and Transformational Leadership Theory, the study focused on principals’ understandings and applications of transactional and transformational instructional leadership. A purposive sample of seven secondary school principals participated in face-to-face, semi-structured interviews. Thematic analysis was employed to interpret the data in relation to existing scholarship on instructional leadership and curriculum implementation. The findings show that principals perceive transactional instructional leadership as a structure-driven and compliance-oriented approach that emphasises rewards, sanctions, monitoring, and the achievement of short-term performance goals. In contrast, transformational instructional leadership was described as a relational, empowering, and developmental approach that motivates teachers, fosters collaboration, and cultivates a positive teaching and learning environment. Principals reported drawing flexibly on both leadership styles to supervise instruction, monitor curriculum coverage, support teacher professional development, and manage school performance, although their practices were shaped by policy demands and contextual constraints such as resource limitations and administrative workload. The study concludes that a balanced and contextually responsive integration of transactional and transformational instructional leadership is essential for strengthening curriculum delivery and improving learner outcomes. It is recommended that targeted professional development initiatives be implemented to enhance principals’ capacity to apply these leadership styles strategically and effectively within diverse school contexts.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Professor. AS Mawela , Dr TM Msimeki (Author)
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