The instructional leadership and 21st-century competencies of Indonesian school principals

Poor teaching quality indicates an unpleasant learning environment, tends to inherit knowledge that impacts the learning process as limited to tacit knowledge, and does not reach the explicit knowledge process, resulting in lower productivity and poor morale. This study aims to analyze the influence of instructional leadership on the competencies of school leaders in the 21st century. The descriptive method was used, with a cross-sectional survey design and a quantitative approach. The participants were 384 school principals, with a sample of 196 from different levels of public elementary, junior high, senior high, and vocational high schools in Riau province. The study results showed a P-value of 0.000, a t-value of 21.188, and a p-value of 0.05. These results indicate that instructional leadership significantly contributes to 21st-century competencies. Based on the average variable of school leadership, the visionary indicator has a high contribution. Meanwhile, the indicators with the highest contributions to 21st-century competencies are critical thinking and problem-solving. In conclusion, policymakers, especially the government, should conduct instructional leadership training for school principals focusing on the functions of visionaries, virtual managers, innovators, mentors, conveners, and virtual teams.