Tacit knowledge in instructional leadership: evidence from Malaysian secondary principals

Abstract

Although there is a plethora of studies related to principals’ instructional leadership practice, little attempt has been made to understand their tacit knowledge in this area. Thus, the key purpose of this study is to understand whether Malaysian principals have in-depth knowledge on instructional leadership practice as it is highly emphasised in the Malaysia’s Education Blueprint policy. A total of 202 secondary principals have provided their feedback on their tacit knowledge related to instructional leadership practice. Later, their answers were compared with suggestions from instructional leadership models to see if they coincided. In measuring secondary principals’ tacit knowledge, results indicated that secondary principals have in-depth knowledge on instructional leadership as they achieved a score of over 80 per cent correct answers for 13 out of 15 items to which they were asked to respond. In terms of significant differences, the non-parametric results indicated that there are differences in terms of their experiences in practising instructional leadership. The significant differences were indicated between senior with novice principals with a non-significant difference from principals’ gender and age. Finally, this indicates that principals’ tacit knowledge on instructional leadership was influenced by their leadership experience and age. There are suggestions and recommendations concerning the practical implications of principals’ benefitting from practising instructional leadership.