STRATEGIES OF EXCELLENT MADRASAH PRINCIPALS IN IMPROVING STUDENTS’ PERFORMANCE: AN INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP PERSPECTIVE

Abstract

The school principal’s leadership matters for students’ learning and teachers’ intrinsic motivation. Many previous studies have revealed that principals’ instructional leadership plays a significant role in the success of schools; therefore, many school leaders apply instructional leadership in managing their schools. However, research on the use of instructional leadership in madrasah in Aceh Province is scarce. This study attempted to explore the strategies employed by two excellent madrasah principals in Banda Aceh in improving students’ performance. Drawing upon the instructional leadership model, this study interviewed two principals of madrasah and 20 school teachers. Analyzed the data using Braun and Clark’s method, this study showed that the two madrasah principals have to some extent, employed an instructional leadership model in the schools and proved to result in high student performance. However, they also collaborated with external support teachers from private learning centers to improve their students’ performance outside school hours. They believed that relying solely on their teachers’ ability was not convincing enough to maintain their excellent performance. Therefore, it can be concluded that the two principals of excellent madrasahs practiced instructional leadership in managing their schools.

Keywords: instructional leadership, madrasah, students’ performance, school principals