Principal Leadership Behaviors and Leader Self-efficacy Relating to School Performance in School - Case Study Example

The sample population for this study will be made up of 67 elementary school principals who will be asked to answer the self-perception inventories to determine if their perceptions of their leadership traits, behaviors, and effectiveness correlate to student achievement as measured by Florida’s Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT). Kouzes and Posner’s five leadership practices will be used in this study as independent variables of effective school principal leadership to measure their possible influence as determinants of student achievement. The study will include an examination of school performance at the elementary grade level inadequate and inadequate schools as determined by the AYP status. The study of the leadership behavior and practices of school principals will be conducted at the elementary school level to determine the significance of principal leadership to AYP status student achievement under NCLB.

Data on the Leadership Practice Inventory will be collected from 67 elementary schools using an Internet database such as SurveyMonkey.com. The school’s AYP data will be extracted from the Florida Department of Education (FLDOE) website according to the elected school year of student achievement results. Due to the passage of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2001, public schools and their principals today confront a new political setting wherein standards-based accountability is the characteristic trademark of state educational strategy.

While aspects of the specific strategies may differ, nearly every state has presently developed performance standards, implemented high-stakes testing for schools and students, and mandated standardized assessments to determine academic performance. Historical public criticism of educational effectiveness and the later passage of the No Child Left Behind Act redefined the expected leadership role of school principals. This focus on school principal leadership is part of an increasing trend toward attempts to define effective organizational leadership processes in our society overall.