Leadership Styles and Their Impact on Teacher Morale in a Rural Southeastern Elementary School

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to increase the knowledge base regarding principals’ leadership styles and its direct impact on teacher morale.

METHODOLOGY
The selection of subjects included teachers from one of the largest rural elementary schools in the school district. The total target population for this convenience research study was a total of 63 staff members during the 2008–2009 school year, of which 54 teachers and the principal participated. They completed the Leadership Practices Inventory and the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (Bentley & Rempel, 1980).

KEY FINDINGS
Enable was the leadership practice reported most frequently used by the principal, followed by Model and Inspire, then Challenge and Encourage. From the teachers’ perspective the frequency order was Inspire, Enable, Challenge, Model and Encourage. Average scores from the teachers and principal were generally below those from the Kouzes Posner normative data base.