Middle Level Leadership as Perceived by Principals and Superintendants

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of leadership behaviors at the middle level by principals and superintendants.

METHODOLOGY
The sample population of 17 superintendents was drawn from a four county region in southeastern Pennsylvania (28% response rate), and they completed the Leadership Practices Inventory about the principals who reported to them. Fifteen principals also completed the LPI.

KEY FINDINGS
Responses from superintendents and principals were generally in agreement with one another about the frequency and rank order use of the five leadership practices. Encouraging was the leadership practice seen as most frequently engaged in by both groups, followed by Modeling, Challenging, Enabling and Inspiring. The economic status of the school was not found to influence the frequency or pattern of engagement in leadership practices by principals.