Purpose: The purpose of this article is to uncover what scholars know and do not know about instructional leadership, paying particular attention to what they have learned about how this work is done and where knowledge falls short. The author takes a first step at integrating three distinct literatures: (a) the traditional instructional leadership literature (centered primarily on the principal), (b) the teacher instructional leadership literature, and (c) the coach instructional leadership literature. Research Design: The author utilizes a distributed lens to examine the principal, teacher leader, and coach instructional leadership literatures. This lens illuminates what scholars know about instructional leaders in interaction with one another, their followers, and particular contexts as they work toward the improvement of teaching and learning. The author proposes that analyzing these three literatures together may allow scholars to apply findings from one research area to another, as well as to generate new knowledge around how leaders improve instruction. Conclusions: An integrated, comprehensive understanding of what scholars do and do not know about instructional leadership can begin to shape future studies that will address existing shortcomings around the “how” of leadership that emerge across these literatures.
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