Instructional Leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa: A PRISMA 2020 Systematic Review of Empirical Evidence and Research Gaps (2000-2026)

Background: No rigorous synthesis of empirical instructional leadership evidence exists for Sub-Saharan Africa, limiting policymakers and practitioners in drawing on a coherent evidence base.Objectives: To synthesise peer-reviewed empirical research on instructional leadership in Sub-Saharan Africa (January 2000–February 2026), map geographic and methodological characteristics, and identify priority research gaps.Eligibility criteria: Original empirical studies with instructional leadership as a primary variable, conducted in Sub-Saharan African educational institutions, published in Scopus-, ERIC-, or DOAJ-indexed journals in English.Information sources: Scopus (n = 180), ERIC (n = 288), DOAJ (n = 6), and supplementary Google Scholar (n = 126); searches completed 28 February 2026.Results: From 600 identified records, 26 studies met the eligibility criteria. All included studies met the minimum MMAT quality threshold, with 22 (84.6%) rated moderate-high to high quality. Limited quantitative evidence suggests a positive association between instructional leadership and teacher effectiveness, while evidence linking instructional leadership to student performance remains limited. GRADE assessments indicated moderate certainty for teacher-effectiveness outcomes and low certainty for student-performance outcomes. GRADE-CERQual assessments indicated moderate confidence in evidence relating to contextual barriers to instructional leadership implementation.Conclusions: Significant gaps remain, including the absence of Francophone and Lusophone contexts, limited TVET research, predominance of cross-sectional designs, and a strong focus on principals at the expense of middle leadership roles. A five-priority research agenda is proposed.Registration: Open Science Framework (OSF), Instructional Leadership in… No protocol deviations occurred.