Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools

Zinabu Tesfaye; Dawit Edamo; Misganu Legesse Bareke

doi:10.30828/real.1837906

Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools

Abstract

Effective instructional leadership is crucial for improving student achievement, yet its implementation varies significantly across contexts, particularly in managing instructional programs. This sequential explanatory mixed-methods study examines how urban-rural context shapes principals' instructional leadership in Ethiopia's Gedeo Zone, where Grade 12 national examination pass rates have declined from 18.5 percent to 0.2 percent, consistently falling below national averages. Survey data from 180 teachers reveal a significant disparity: urban principals demonstrate stronger instructional managing program, including supervising teaching, coordinating curriculum, and monitoring progress, compared to rural counterparts (p=.022). Critically, the expected relationship between principals' instructional leadership and teachers' classroom practices holds in urban schools (ρ=.337, p=.001) but disappears in rural schools (ρ=.160, p=.147), signaling systemic breakdown. Qualitative data from nine principals and 54 teachers across focus group reveal the mechanisms behind quantitative findings: rural principals face a triad of interconnected barriers, including overwhelming administrative burdens, severe resource scarcity, and a profoundly demoralized, unstable teaching force, which render conventional instructional leadership impossible. Confronted with these constraints, effective rural principals strategically redirect their energy toward promoting school climate through shared struggle, familial support, and symbolic community recognition. This contextually intelligent adaptation sustains teacher commitment where technical solutions fail. Findings demand fundamental policy reorientation: support systems must validate climate-focused leadership and dismantle structural barriers rather than imposing standardized blueprints ill-suited to rural realities.

Keywords

Ethical Statement

This study received ethical approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of Dilla University. Written informed consent was obtained from all individual participants (principals and teachers) included in the study prior to data collection. All methods were carried out in accordance with relevant guidelines and regulations.

Thanks

The authors wish to extend their sincere gratitude to the school principals and teachers in the Gedeo Zone who generously participated in this study. We also acknowledge the Gedeo Zone Education Department and the respective school administrations for granting us the necessary permission and facilitating the data collection process.

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Details

Primary Language

English

Subjects

Leadership in Education

Journal Section

Research Article

Authors

Zinabu Tesfaye ^*
0009-0006-8457-7027
Ethiopia

Dawit Edamo
0000-0001-8764-2361
Ethiopia

Misganu Legesse Bareke
0000-0002-9774-5863
Ethiopia

Publication Date

June 27, 2026

Submission Date

December 8, 2025

Acceptance Date

April 22, 2026

Published in Issue

Year 2026 Volume: 11 Number: 2

DOI

https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1837906

IZ

https://izlik.org/JA46BR52HS

Cite

RIS / Bibtex

APA

Tesfaye, Z., Edamo, D., & Bareke, M. L. (2026). Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, 11(2), 457-499. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1837906

AMA

1.Tesfaye Z, Edamo D, Bareke ML. Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools. REAL. 2026;11(2):457-499. doi:10.30828/real.1837906

Chicago

Tesfaye, Zinabu, Dawit Edamo, and Misganu Legesse Bareke. 2026. “Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools”. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership 11 (2): 457-99. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1837906.

EndNote

Tesfaye Z, Edamo D, Bareke ML (June 1, 2026) Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership 11 2 457–499.

IEEE

[1]Z. Tesfaye, D. Edamo, and M. L. Bareke, “Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools”, REAL, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 457–499, June 2026, doi: 10.30828/real.1837906.

ISNAD

Tesfaye, Zinabu - Edamo, Dawit - Bareke, Misganu Legesse. “Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools”. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership 11/2 (June 1, 2026): 457-499. https://doi.org/10.30828/real.1837906.

JAMA

1.Tesfaye Z, Edamo D, Bareke ML. Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools. REAL. 2026;11:457–499.

MLA

Tesfaye, Zinabu, et al. “Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools”. Research in Educational Administration and Leadership, vol. 11, no. 2, June 2026, pp. 457-99, doi:10.30828/real.1837906.

Vancouver

1.Zinabu Tesfaye, Dawit Edamo, Misganu Legesse Bareke. Principals’ Instructional Leadership and Teachers’ Classroom Practices: A Mixed-Methods Study in Ethiopian Rural and Urban Schools. REAL. 2026 Jun. 1;11(2):457-99. doi:10.30828/real.1837906