Elementary school principals spend more than one-third of their workweek providing instructional support to teachers, split fairly evenly between direct and indirect support¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · associationalr2·q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2026: baselines and conditions change
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? On average, elementary principals devote more than one-third of their workweek to instructional support to teachers, divided fairly evenly between direct support and indirect support such as arranging resources. → Matthew Johnson 2021
Evidence¶
Matthew Johnson 2021¶
Matthew Johnson, Christina Tuttle, Susanne James-Burdumy, Alison Wellington. (2021). Time to Lead: An Illustrative Look at How Elementary School Principals Spend Their Workweek. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/time-to-lead-an-illustrative-look-at-how-elementary-school-principals-spend-their-workweek
q2 · i? · associational · r2
Analysis of detailed principal time-use log data from approximately 100 elementary schools in eight school districts found "more than one-third of their time on instructional support to teachers on average, split fairly evenly between direct and indirect support." No effect size is printed.
"Principals spent more than one-third of their time on instructional support to teachers on average, split fairly evenly between direct and indirect support."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Principals with elementary school teaching experience reported providing more extensive direct instructional support to teachers — related
- According to teachers, principals with elementary teaching experience provided more helpful and actionable direct instructional support in some cases — related
- Without clear expectations and support from district leaders, coaches might not devote sufficient time to the full range of coaching activities needed to improve teachers' instruction — related
- Principals' instructional leadership practices are linked to improved student outcomes, largely through their support for teachers — a broader claim this one bears on
- LAUNCH elementary principals reported spending about twice as much time on professional development as veteran principals and more time on staff development than other principals — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
principals-third-workweek-instructional-support |
title |
Elementary school principals spend more than one-third of their workweek providing instructional support to teachers, split fairly evenly between direct and indirect support |
description |
Elementary school principals spend more than one-third of their workweek providing instructional support to teachers, split fairly evenly between direct and indirect support |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2021 |
recheck_by |
2026 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-08 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — matthew-johnson-2021 |
Frontmatter is the page's machine-readable record — see the Schema & Guide.