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Background

Improving student achievement in literacy and numeracy remains a central priority for Alberta school authorities. Across the province, system education leaders continue to navigate increasingly complex educational environments characterized by curriculum renewal, diverse student learning needs, evolving evidence expectations, staffing challenges, and growing demands for instructional coherence. While school authorities differ in size, geography, and local context, many share a common goal: creating the organizational conditions that support high-quality instruction and optimum learning for all students. As part of this work, an increasing number of Alberta school authorities have developed system instructional frameworks to establish a shared understanding of effective teaching, learning, and leadership practices across their organizations.

System instructional frameworks are known by many names, including instructional frameworks, optimum learning frameworks, instructional models, guiding instructional practice frameworks, literacy frameworks, and numeracy frameworks. Although their structures vary, they serve a similar purpose: to provide a coherent and coordinated approach to instructional improvement. These frameworks often articulate shared instructional expectations, inform professional learning, support supervision and evaluation processes, guide leadership practice, and align system resources toward common improvement priorities. By making effective instructional practices visible and actionable, system instructional frameworks help reduce fragmentation, strengthen organizational alignment, and support consistent learning experiences for students across schools and classrooms.

The development of this eLeadership Guide was informed by the CASS research study Advancing Student Achievement in Literacy and Numeracy: Perspectives of Alberta’s System Education Leaders, which included interviews with 47 system education leaders representing diverse school authorities across Alberta. Participants consistently identified system instructional frameworks as an important mechanism for strengthening coherence, supporting instructional leadership, building professional capacity, and improving student achievement. System education leaders described instructional frameworks as living structures that evolve through collaborative inquiry, evidence-informed decision-making, and ongoing refinement. This eLeadership Guide was created to support system education leaders in examining how instructional frameworks contribute to optimum learning for all students, strengthen coordinated approaches to instructional leadership, and support sustainable system improvement. Through research, reflection, and Alberta stories of practice, the guide provides practical insights to assist system education leaders in designing, implementing, and refining instructional frameworks within their local contexts.