Secondary Education Principals/Superintendents
OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to explore the differences in self-perceptions of administrative styles, teacher perceptions of administrative style, teacher instructional style, and teacher satisfaction between Academically Acceptable and Academically Unacceptable high schools with a large Hispanic student population. METHODOLOGY Two high schools were selected from the Texas Education Agency (TEA), Public Education Information System (PEIMS), and the 2010-2011 Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) website(s) based on demographic percentage, size of school, accountability rating, and region of the school. Teachers (N=169; 67% response rate) were given three instruments that measured teacher satisfaction, teacher instructional styles and teachers’ perceptions of administrative leadership styles. Administrators (N=12; 75% response rate) were given one instrument that measured administrators’ self-perceptions of leadership. The Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (Bentley and Rempel, 1967) was designed to measure teacher satisfaction, the Teaching Styles Questionnaire (Evans, 2004) assessed teachers’ instructional styles, and leadership was measured using the Leadership Practices Inventory.
KEY FINDINGS Teachers from schools with an Unacceptable Academic Rating scored their administrators significantly lower on all five leadership practice than teachers from schools with an Acceptable Academic Rating. “In every case the effect size is considered strong” (p. 84). Moreover, the former group of teachers was significantly less satisfied than their counterparts in the latter category. No significant differences were found between the administrators self-perceived leadership practices in the two different schools. As the author concludes, “The findings of this study supported the continued argument that administrative leadership is imperative in leading a school to effectiveness. Leadership plays a crucial role in supporting school improvement” (p. 95).