Investment in education, socio-cultural, context, and leadership qualities of school principals

This study examines how public investment in education and the country socio-cultural context are related to the instructional leadership of school principals. In this study, we conducted an analysis using a cluster country dataset (3 clusters) based on the evaluation of investment in education. The data were derived from the responses to the questionnaire for school principals in the OECD TALIS 2018 survey. To operationalize socio cultural context, we utilize Hofstede’s societal cultural values. The analysis showed that the countries’ societal cultural values predicted instructional leadership of principals, as shown in the OECD TALIS 2018 results. The results also showed a significant but negative relationship between school principals’ instructional leadership and the countries’ investment in education in those countries with the greatest investment in education. The study did not confirm a linear relationship between investment in education and outcomes. In our case, a higher investment does not mean that school principals achieve better results in instructional leadership than in the OECD TALIS survey. By analysing the data, this study aims to provide a detailed overview of how public investment in education and the societal cultural context in each country can promote or hinder instructional leadership, thereby enriching the discussion on promoting excellence and equity in education worldwide.