Shanahan, Marie-ClaireDhawan, Rekha2022-02-172022-02-172022-02Dhawan, R. (2022). Exploring science teachers’ and science teacher administrators’ experiences of instructional leadership (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.http://hdl.handle.net/1880/114416Purpose: Examine how high school science teachers and principals experience instructional leadership; specifically, science educators’ understanding and lived experiences of the phenomenon of instructional leadership. Research Method: This study used a qualitative phenomenographic approach to gather the experiences of science teachers and principals in high schools located in Alberta, Canada. This approach explains and supports interviews as the data source and the number of participants (N = 9) of the study. Findings and Analysis: Data revealed three closely related categories from participants’ experiences: definitions of instructional leadership, thematic elements identified from data, and their reflections on the value of science teaching knowledge for instructional leadership. Findings identified the interdependence of the factors affecting instructional leadership, how instructional leadership is organized, and the factors’ relevance for developing science teaching knowledge. Pedagogical content knowledge (PCK) and pedagogical context knowledge (PXK) to support science teaching knowledge were found to be significant. Science teachers and principals accepted the importance of instructional leadership, but principals did not view it as their primary responsibility; they reported being preoccupied with other duties. Participants’ experiences portrayed some common themes to support science teaching knowledge and instructional leadership: collaboration, spontaneous interactions and feedback, peer instructional leadership, shared conversations about professional development needs, teachers’ input in making decisions about the needed development, science principals’ classroom knowledge, PCK and PXK to guide science teaching, trusting relationships, microworlds of science educators, professional socialization, and reflection-in-action of their practice. Conclusions: Instructional leaders’ iii content knowledge, PCK, and PXK are central components of science teaching knowledge for instructional leadership.engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Instructional LeadershipScience teachersScience administratorsscience teachinginstructional leadersscience content knowledgescience context knowledgePCKPXKpedagogical content knowledgepedagogical context knowledgeEducationdoctoral thesishttp://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/39606