Principals as Pedagogical Leaders: Conceptualizing “Good Learning” For School Improvement

This study examines how school principals enact pedagogical leadership to support school improvement through their understandings of “good learning” and the practices they use to foster it. Findings show that principals conceptualize good learning as a relational, learner-responsive, and future-oriented process. They enact pedagogical leadership by creating enabling conditions for pedagogical innovation and by shaping an organizational culture that sustains change. These practices include supporting teacher learning, encouraging experimentation, fostering dialogue and shared responsibility, and maintaining coherence through evidence use and educational vision. Overall, the study presents pedagogical leadership as a relational, improvement-oriented form of leadership linked to school change.