THE ROLE OF INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP IN ENHANCING FACULTY TEACHING PRACTICES: A PATHWAY TO UNIVERSITY EXCELLENCE

Abstract

This paper has explored how instructional leadership can help improve faculty teaching practices as one avenue to university excellence. A quantitative, cross-sectional survey design was used to collect data from a stratified random sample of 200 full-time faculty members across departments at selected universities. Instructional leadership behaviors and faculty teaching practices were also measured using a structured questionnaire, along with indicators of university excellence. To analyze the relationships between variables, descriptive statistics, a reliability study, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression and hierarchical regression analyses were performed. The results indicated that teaching practices among faculty and the university's excellence were positively related to instructional leadership. Regression analyses revealed that faculty teaching practices partially mediated the association between instructional leadership and institutional outcomes. These findings underscore the importance of instructional leadership in fostering a conducive teaching environment, facilitating pedagogical change, and enhancing institutional performance. The research highlights the importance of investing in leadership and faculty professional development to achieve sustainable academic excellence by universities.