2 Chapter I planning a comprehension instructional sequence lesson…

Classroom practices of teachers

The range of instructional practices reported on by teachers is summarised on three indices for structuring practices, student-oriented practices and enhanced learning activities. As described in Chapter 4, structuring practices include such activities as stating learning goals, summarising former lessons, checking students’ understanding and reviewing homework. Student-oriented practices involve students working in groups, grouping students by ability and differentiating the tasks they are set and the involvement of students in planning classroom activities. Enhanced learning activities for instance have students working on projects, holding debates and making a product. Are principal management styles related to what teachers do in the classroom? As Table 6.5 shows, as in the case of beliefs, the degree to which a principal manages the school according to a more administrative leadership style is not directly related in most countries to any of the three classroom practices of teachers; the same is also generally true for an instructional leadership style. Among the few cases where significant relations are evident, administrative leadership is more likely than instructional leadership to be associated with all ⁷three teaching practices in Iceland and Malta. Conversely, in Italy instructional leadership is more likely to go hand in hand with greater degrees of student-oriented and enhanced learning activities.