District officials’ leadership is crucial in scaling up improvement for teaching and learning as it provides immediate support to schools. In this paper, we explore leadership practices as discussed by district officials in two district offices in Gauteng, South Africa. The paper explores instructional leadership practices of district officials aimed at improving teaching and learning in schools. It also tries to address the gap created by the tendency for studies to focus more on school leadership, rather than foregrounding district leadership’s essential role in the enhancement of teaching and learning in schools. A case study methodology we adopted, used in-depth interviews with purposively selected six (6) executive management district officials. The findings revealed that district officials’ leadership practices entailed developing a philosophy of shared vision between the districts and schools, providing clear directions for schools to follow, role modelling and close curriculum supervision, as well as, promoting district-community collaboration. The paper recommends a need for school district officials to engage proactively in all aspects influencing the enhancement of teaching and learning in these contexts.

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