Browsing by Subject "principals"

Now showing 1 - 6 of 6
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    An Investigation of Preferred Conflict-Management Behaviors in Small-School Principals
    (2012-07-16) Vestal, Bradley Dean
    This quantitative study was conducted to investigate the preferred conflict-management behaviors of small-school principals in Texas Education Service Center regions five, six, and seven. The problem facing the small-school principal in conflict-management was knowing how and when to behave towards campus teachers in order to further the goals of the school system and satisfy the needs of its teachers. The study focused on the principal-teacher relationship and the five possible preferred conflict-management behaviors - competing, collaborating, compromise, avoiding, and accommodating. The abilities of gender and experience were analyzed as possible predictors of the preferred conflict-management behaviors of small-school principals. Using a logistical regression analysis, the predictive abilities of gender and experience were evaluated by using the Thomas-Kilmann Instrument in relation to five possible preferred conflict-management behaviors of small-school principals toward teachers. The instrument identified frequencies of preferred conflict-management behaviors. Based on existing literature, the null hypotheses posited that neither gender nor experience would have a significant predictive effect (.05 alpha level) on the preferred conflict-management behaviors of the small-school campus principals under examination. Results indicated that gender could not predict a clear preference for any of the five possible conflict-management behaviors. Thus, the null was not rejected concerning gender. Also, experience was found to have no significant effect on the prediction of collaborating, avoiding, and accommodating. However, findings revealed that experience had a significant positive relationship to a preference for competing behaviors; and experience also had a significant negative relationship to a preference for compromising behaviors in the group of small-campus principals. Findings indicated that more experience came with an increased preference for competing and a decreased preference for compromising behaviors. The study sought to address a gap in the literature as related to the preferred conflict-management behaviors of small-school principals in the principal-teacher relationship. Societal changes and differences in school administrator and teacher viewpoints have necessitated that school principals acquire and improve conflict-management skills in advancing student achievement. By focusing on the small-school principal-teacher relationship and the variables of gender and experience the study contributed to the research-base surrounding small-school campuses. Findings suggested the need for a renewed emphasis on conflict-management skills in principal preparation programs.
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    Connecting the role of school superintendents to teaching and learning in schools: a research synthesis of three educational administration peer reviewed research journals between 1983-2006
    (Texas A&M University, 2008-10-10) Shidemantle, Steven Paul
    This exploratory synthesis of research was the product of three years of dissertation research efforts that systematically reviewed 23 years of empirical articles between 1983 (or its inception) and 2006 from three of the most highly regarded educational administration journals. Specifically designed to collect investigative data and information from primary research contained within Educational Administration Quarterly, the Journal of School Leadership, and the Journal of Educational Administration; this research synthesis drew upon various research methods to propose pragmatic insights and proffer an empirically founded response to: What has the educational administration profession learned from the research efforts that were independently conducted, presented, and published about the overall connections between school superintendents and education's technical core -teaching and learning in schools? Results from employing meta-analysis, descriptive synthesis, and thematic synthesis techniques to appropriately collect and analyze relevant data indicate that school superintendents remain directly connected to the technical core; however, these connections have evolved from the traditional connections presently maintained by campus administrators and to new connections that meet the increased responsibilities and complexities of the superintendents' role. The thematic synthesis, reinforced by descriptive syntheses, indicated 15 separate superintendent - technical core constructs that promote new areas for investigation; however, the extent and strength of these constructs have yet to be determined. The impact from the next step suggestions for future research indicate that effects could range from educational administration knowledge base contributions to refining in-practice standards and professional development programs. The possible knowledge base contributions, coupled with specific in-practice elements that demonstrate superintendents' direct impact on the technical core, may be the necessary raw materials from which a foundational framework that clearly redefines the superintendent - technical core connections may be forged by scholars and implemented by district leaders to improve teaching and learning in schools.
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    Investigating the Relationship between the Perceptions of Principals and Teachers on Site-Based Decision Making
    (2013-12-06) Owens, Sandra Deshon
    The purpose of this record of study was to investigate the nature of relationships between the perceptions of principals and teachers on site-based decision making (SBDM) and to uncover patterns existing in relationships between and among state school ratings, principals? and teachers? perceptions of SBDM decision making at their schools, and school outcomes of discipline referrals and attendance percentages. The investigator chose four schools with different state school ratings as sites for investigating these relationships. Participants in the study were principals and teachers selected from four school types: Exemplary, Academically Recognized, Academically Acceptable, and Academically Unacceptable. The research design was a non-experimental and descriptive design focused on the four selected elementary school types. The descriptive statistic of mean was used to determine the strengths of relationships between these variables. Results of the investigation identified various trends between principals? and teachers? perceptions about SBDM at their schools. Outcomes from discipline referrals and attendance percentages in the four types of schools did not show a noteworthy difference. Overall, the data were an indication that elementary principals and teachers embrace the idea of SBDM at levels between 30% and 69% or at a higher level of 70% or above, regardless of the state?s rating of school type, number of student discipline referrals, or percentage of student attendance. This was demonstrated by the vast number of ?strongly agree? and ?agree? responses to survey items among the four schools with different ratings. Using this study as a baseline, recommendation is made to conduct a study of all district schools using a more precise survey to determine the effects of principals? and teachers? perceptions of SBDM on student achievement. Additional recommendation is made for a study to determine whether common variables other than SBDM exists in high performing Texas elementary schools that could possibly have an impact on student achievement. Although achievement objectives and instructional activities may vary as described in a state?s curriculum, this particular research could be accomplished without regard to a particular state.
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    The Perceptions of Principals and Assistant Principals on Their Role in Parental Involvement
    (2012-04-19) Harrist, Lisa; Prater, Doris; MacNeil, Angus; Busch, Steve; Emerson, Michael W.
    Rios-Harrist, Lisa. "The Perceptions of Principals and Assistant Principals on Their Role in Parental Involvement." Unpublished Doctor of Education Thesis, University of Houston, May 2011. Abstract This study examines the beliefs of school principals and assistant principals regarding the role of parents in the educational process of their children. Henderson and Berla (1994) indicated that parental involvement was linked to higher student achievement. The purpose of the study was to determine the perceptions of principals and assistant principals in regard to their role in parental involvement. The study analyzed archival data of two surveys collected from 310 principal participants and 374 assistant principal participants from the Gulf Coast Region of Southeast Texas. The data was collected through cognitive interviewing and traditional survey techniques. The study analyzed survey responses of three open-ended questions and one Likert-type response. Sixty-four percent of principals and sixty-six percent of assistant principals reported that a high level of parental involvement is appropriate and necessary. These strong beliefs held constant across school levels, school geographic areas, and TEA school accountability ratings. Elementary principals (47.0%) and assistant principals (35.2%) of the “High Level of Parental Involvement” category tended to place more value on the importance of parental involvement. Principals (51.0%) in the suburban school geographic area and assistant principals (53.8%) in the urban school geographic area of the “High Level of Parental Involvement” category placed more value on the importance of parental involvement. Principals (47.0%) and assistant principals (50.0%) at campuses with an Acceptable TEA Accountability Rating of the “High Level of Parental Involvement” category placed more value on the importance of parental involvement. Principals revealed 18 strategies and assistant principals revealed 21 strategies they utilize to encourage parental involvement on campus. The most frequent strategies used by principals and assistant principals included the following: Events (62.3%), (46.8%) Communication (55.0%), (58.6%), PTA or PTO (19.4%), (9.6%), and Volunteering (11.3%), (8.0%), respectively. The results of this study are relevant to current administrators, aspiring administrators, and administrator preparation programs. In addition, this study provides a more comprehensive profile of the perceptions of principals and assistant principals in relation to their role in parental involvement. Access to and understanding of such factors may greatly impact the professional development and training of educational leaders, principals, and assistant principals.
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    The Role Mentoring Plays in a White Female Novice Teacher's Perceptions of Her Enculturation into a Culturally Diverse Campus
    (2012-07-16) Noble, Erica Michelle
    Many of America's schools are populated with diverse student populations, while the teaching population remains largely White. This creates dissonance for White teachers and students of color. Possibly mentoring can assist novice White teachers as they enculturate into the profession and their culturally diverse campuses. This qualitative research, conducted from an Interpretivism paradigm, used a case study of a White female novice teacher at a culturally diverse campus to understand the role mentoring played in a White female novice teacher's perceptions of her enculturation into a culturally diverse campus. Several methods of data collection were used, including 9 semi-structured interviews with the novice teacher, email dialogues, 3 days of shadowing, as well as two semi-structured interviews with the subject's principal and mentor. The data was analyzed using the constant comparative method. This White female novice teacher taught at a campus with a large Hispanic student population. She struggled to feel confident in her work and in her relationships with her mentor, her fellow teachers, her administrators, her students and their parents. She relied heavily on her faith and her fellow novice teacher and teammate. Her mentor visited her once a week. She liked her mentor, but never felt she received the assistance desired. She recognized she knew little about the Hispanic culture of her students; she was willing to learn more, but failed to see her own privileged membership in the dominant White culture and its effect on interactions with her students. The discussion of this study looks at the structuring of an effective mentoring program for novice teachers, and the new teacher?s frustrations with the mentoring received; her relationship struggles with her principal and other staff, but also some successes in forming friendly relationships; her desire to understand her Hispanic students and their culture, yet her inability to see her membership in the dominant culture, as well has her school and district's "color-blind" approach to race; and her perceptions of her enculturation into the profession of teaching. The conclusions of this study discuss mentoring new teachers, the role of principals in the induction of new teachers, cultural differences between teachers and students, and the influence of faith and character with a teacher and his/her teaching.
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    Using a theory of planned behavior approach to assess principals' Professional intentions to promote diversity awareness beyond the level recommended by their district
    (2009-05-15) Landeck, Edith Suzanne
    The increasing population diversity in the United States and in public schools signifies a need for principals to promote diversity awareness as mandated by principal standards. A means to quantify and measure the principals? diversity intentions empirically is required. This study researched the possibility that the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB) (Ajzen, 1991) could provide a theoretical basis for an operation measurement model. The instrument for the study was an electronic survey administered via e-mail to a random sample of 151 principals. This instrument incorporated the Professional Beliefs About Diversity Scale (Pohan & Aguilar, 2001) with the operationalized General Principal?s Diversity Model and the Professional Diversity Intentions sub-models. Three research questions guided the study: 1) Can a theory of planned behavior approach be used to assess school principals? professional intentions to promote diversity awareness? 2) What are the intentions of Texas principals to promote diversity awareness in general and among the five diversity dimensions of disabilities, gender, language, racial/ethnic, and social class in their campus community? and 3) Do these intentions differ among five demographic characteristics of race/ethnicity, gender, age, degree, and campus type? Findings of the study were: 1. The results of this study provided the scientific validation that the TPB approach can be used to assess public school principals? professional intentions to promote diversity awareness. 2. At present, Texas principals? intentions are only slightly more positive than the neutral midpoint, a 3.38 average score out of a possible 5.00 regarding intention to promote diversity awareness. Frequency analysis of the submodels indicated positive intentions for Gender (58 cases or 38.41 percent); Race/Ethnicity (78 cases or 51.66 percent); Social Class (79 cases or 52.32 percent); and Disabilities and Language each had 89 cases (58.95 percent). 3. Principals? intent to implement diversity decreases with age and higher academic degree held. 4. Hispanic principals are more likely than African American or White principals to promote diversity awareness. This study concluded that a Theory of Planned Behavior approach as operationalized in this study may be used to assess school principals? professional intentions to promote diversity beyond the level recommended by their district.