This study was an assessment of the importance of age, gender, organizational tenure, perceived organizational support, perceived fairness, and perceived autonomy in explaining affective organizational commitment among high school principals in the United States. Stepwise multiple regression was used to determine which independent variables explained a portion of the dependent variable, affective organizational commitment. A sample of 396 high school principals, stratified by gender, was drawn from a national data base developed by Quality Education Data of Denver, CO. The sample consisted of 132 females and 264 males. Data were collected from responses to a questionnaire that was mailed to all persons in the sample. Usable responses were received from 60 females and from 142 males. Results of the stepwise multiple regression indicated that 58 percent of the variation in affective organizational commitment among high school principals was explained by perceived fairness, organizational tenure, perceived organizational support, and high school principals' age. Perceived fairness explained the greatest percentage of variation; age, which entered the regression equation last, explained the least amount of variation. This study indicates that high school principals, first and foremost, valued fairness from school districts in return for their commitment to school districts. The challenge for superintendents and others who work with high school principals is to maintain fairness in educational settings where there are many diverse and competing student needs in the same school district. / Ed. D.

Bibliography: leaves 162-170. / An important facet of a person's self-concept is his expectations of his performance. If his expectations are excessively high and there is a significant gap between his aspirations and his accomplishments, the resulting sense of failure has a negative effect on his self-concept. It is likely that school principals, because of the idealism and sense of calling that is associated with human service professions, are particularly vulnerable to excessive self-expectations. Cherniss believed this to be a potential stressor because the threat of failure has more serious personal consequences for people who regard their work as a calling rather than a job. For those who view their work as a calling, their identity and self-esteem are related to a considerable extent to the successful accomplishment of their work. Dobson pointed to the dangers of achievement anxiety, manifested as a pervasive fear of failure, for 'perfectionists' who set unreasonably high standards which are beyond their capabilities. Levinson regarded intense self-criticism and internal dissatisfaction as part of the make-up of dynamic, motivated business executives, making them exceptionally vulnerable to feelings of failure.

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High quality effective leadership for high schools is critical due to the social, political, and economic pressures placed upon public education. Due to these increasing pressures and ever higher accountability placed on principals, job satisfaction may decrease. The principal's job is complex and demanding; however, thoughtful examination of the principalship and the variables that contribute to job satisfaction can better equip school district leaders to retain principals. Researching aspects of job satisfaction is important because a job is not merely life sustaining, but positively life-enhancing, and enriching (Darboe, 2003). Through my associations with other principals, I see many administrators who appear to be unsatisfied in their jobs. As a result of my interests and experiences, I have conducted a study, based on a previous study completed at the middle school level by JoAnn Newby (1999), to explore job satisfaction among high school principals in Virginia. For this study 183 high school principals in Virginia responded to an internet survey using the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire (MSQ) to explore the specific variables of gender, age, salary, number of assistant principals, years as principal, tenure, school socio-economic status, school size, and school accreditation status to determine which variables may or may not contribute to job satisfaction. A multiple regression was utilized to determine the relative impact that the criterion variables in predicting job satisfaction. The findings of this study suggest that high school principals in Virginia were generally satisfied with their jobs. The principals who responded were least satisfied with their level of compensation and most satisfied with being of service to others. The step-wise multiple regression completed for this study revealed that the significant predictors of job satisfaction were the number of assistant principals and Virginia Accreditation status. Those principals whose schools were fully accredited and those principals who had three assistant principals were significantly more satisfied than those principals whose schools were not fully accredited and those principals who had less than or more than three assistants. Results from this study are useful as they serve as a motivating force for those who are trying to gain more information about the high school principalship in Virginia. / Ed. D.

Studies have shown that effective principals are a key ingredient to high performing schools. Studies also indicate that a shortage of effective administrators is looming and some contend that the shortage is here (Daresh & Capasso, 2002). Johnson and Holdaway, 1991 report that it is important to study job satisfaction for many reasons. They also contend that one of the reasons it is important to study job satisfaction is that job satisfaction is related to absenteeism as well as staff turnover. One way to address the shortage of effective administrators is to continually assess the job satisfaction of administrators to determine which aspects of the job affect satisfaction. In this study, the researcher examined the job satisfaction of high school principals in the Commonwealth of Virginia in 2008. A replication of procedures used by Dr. James Stemple in 2004 provided the opportunity to compare results with Stemple's study to determine if the job satisfaction of high school principals has changed since 2004. Dr. Stemple's study was one of the first studies to assess job satisfaction after the implementation of the accountability movement. However, federal accountability including Adequate Yearly Progress has risen considerably since Stemple's 2004 study. In 2004, a pass rate of 65% for reading and 63% for math was required in order for a school to make AYP. During the 2008-2009 school year the required passing rate is 81% for reading and 79% for math. This study assessed job satisfaction of high school principals through the lens of the federal and state accountability movements. / Ph. D.

This study focused on leadership and its correlates. Theory and research both point to the centrality of the principal's leadership role in school effectiveness. Yet, few studies of school leadership actually examine relationships among leadership variables. This study examined, from the perspective of high school teachers, three leadership correlates: principal vision, environmental robustness and teacher autonomy. Principal vision was conceptualized as the capacity of the principal to see the difference between what is and what might be, thus enabling others to accept and act on the possibilities of what might be. Environmental robustness was defined as the perceived dramatic content of the school structure. Teacher autonomy was referred to as the extent to which teachers perceived they were able to maintain professional discretion and independence in their classrooms. It is believed that these variables do not stand alone but are interwoven in the leadership discussion. Principal vision is only as powerful a concept as the context in which it is shared (environmental robustness) and the receptivity and willingness to respond to it by the followers (teacher sense of autonomy). This study examined the collective perspective that high school teachers have regarding these three variables. Data were collected from 1338 high school teachers in 34 public high schools in Oregon. The school was the statistical unit of analysis. Mean scores were calculated for each of the three variables and subscales within each variable. Data were statistically analyzed using the Pearson product moment correlation and ANOVA. The study hypothesized a significant positive relationship between principal vision and environmental robustness; principal vision and teacher autonomy; environmental robustness and teacher autonomy. Using the Pearson product moment correlation as the statistical test, positive relationships were observed for all three of the hypotheses. The strongest of the relationships was found between principal vision and environmental robustness. Although not as strong, a significant positive relationship was also found between environmental robustness and teacher autonomy. While principal vision and teacher autonomy demonstrated the weakest correlation, there were several significant relationships among the vision and autonomy subscales. This study found stronger correlations among the three variables at the high school than were found in an earlier study at the elementary level and explores reasons for those differences. This study also investigated relationships among the theoretical variables and several contextual variables including demographic and school improvement indicators. After data were collected and analyzed, several principals of participating schools were interviewed regarding visionary attributes of their leadership roles in their schools. These interviews provided a broader perspective in understanding and interpreting the findings. This study concluded by considering implications of the relationships among these three variables and their impact in creating and sustaining effective instructional leadership. Of significant interest were the implications for the hiring processes for high school principals.

Although the assistant principalship has been an important part of American secondary schools for over thirty years, the educational establishment has yet to arrive at a formal definition of the assistant principal's role in that institution. Researchers have tended to find the assistant in a role defined by procedures. At the same time, they have called for a new definition of the assistant based on policy-making activities. This outcome has had several important consequences, not the least of which has been failure to provide formal guidelines for training assistants in their role and preparing them for future administrative assignments. This study has investigated the relationship between fourteen areas of responsibility connected with secondary school administration and the role of the assistant principal in meeting these responsibilities. Unlike previous studies, it has emphasized, not the areas themselves, but the perceptions of principals and assistants who rated the value of each area as a training ground for the principalship. By classifying the areas perceived to be most valuable for training, the study contributes to the emerging definition of the assistant principalship. Also, by explaining the relationship between the administrators' backgrounds and their influence on the ratings given, this study has attempted to account for the factors that affected the respondents' perceptions. The study was organized around three research questions: (1) Do principals and assistant principals differ in the extent to which they perceive the assistant principalship as an adequate training ground for the principalship? (2) What factors affect the perceptions of assistant principals? (3) What factors influence the perceptions of principals? In order to address these questions, secondary school administrators who were members of the Confederation of Oregon School Administrators (COSA) were surveyed. They rated fourteen areas of responsibility for their training value and for the extent to which assignments to the areas were made on the basis of gender stereotyping. In addition, the areas to which the respondents were currently assigned were reported. The respondents also supplied background information concerning the years of experience in their current position and size of the administrative staff of which they were a part. Of the 454 members surveyed, 373 returned completed questionnaires, yielding a response rate of 71%. Assistant principals comprised 57% of the sample, while principals comprised 43%. Females comprised 16% of the sample and males 84%. Major findings suggest that while principals and assistants differed in the amount of value they awarded each area of responsibility they consistently identified the same areas as valuable. Assistants' perceptions were found to be influenced by staff size and gender. Principals' perceptions were related to their length of tenure as assistant principals, how long they had been principals, number of assistant principals they supervised, and gender. These findings have implications for the future definition of the assistant principalship and improved training for assistants because they showed that principals believed in the value of the assistant principalship as a training ground. Thus, they also suggested the feasibility of combining the leadership of the principal and the concept of teamwork in both the definition and training of Assistant.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--University of Nebraska-Lincoln, 2007. / Title from title screen (site viewed Dec. 5, 2007). PDF text: 151 p. ; 7 Mb. UMI publication number: AAT 3275078. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in microfilm and microfiche formats.

The study was designed to (1) identify perceptions of teachers about actual and desired level of need fulfillment; (2) identify deficiency of need fulfillment of teachers; (3) examine the leader behavior of principals as perceived by teachers; and (4) investigate the relationship between teacher perceptions of principal leader behavior and teacher perceptions of deficiencies in need fulfillment.Two questionnaires were used in the study. The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire--Form XII was utilized to obtain teacher perceptions of principal leader behavior. Four of the twelve subscales of the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire--Form XII were used: Tolerance of Uncertainty, Tolerance of Freedom, Consideration, and Initiating Structure. Teacher perceptions of actual and desired level of need fulfillment were obtained by use of a questionnaire developed by Porter for industrial research and adapted by Sergiovanni for use in schools. The difference between desired level of need fulfillment and actual level of need fulfillment provided a score for deficiency of need fulfillment. Statements on the questionnaire assessing need levels were grouped according to an adaption of the Maslow Hierarchy. Need categories represented on the questionnaire were: Security, Social, Esteem, Autonomy, and SelfActualization.The population of teachers for the study was middle/junior high teachers in schools in East Central Indiana with enrollments between 150 and 500 students per grade. A random sample of twenty schools was obtained for use in the study. Teachers in the selected schools completed both questionnaires. Twelve questionnaires were randomly selected from the group of returned questionnaires from each school. Only nineteen schools were represented in the final sample because fewer than twelve questionnaires were returned by the teachers of one school.Twenty null hypotheses were generated for the study. Each hypothesis was concerned with the relationship between a leader behavior and the deficiency of need fulfillment of a need category. Hypotheses were tested statistically by use of Pearson Product-Moment Correlations. Decisions about significance were made at the .05 level.Among the teachers in the sample, Social needs were most satisfied. Security needs were next in order of satisfaction. Esteem needs were least satisfied. Autonomy and Self -Actualization needs were found to be rated closer to the low satisfaction level given Esteem needs than to the rating given Security needs.The range of mean scores of actual need fulfillment was greater than the range of mean scores for desired need fulfillment. Greater agreement existed among teachers in the sample about desired level of need fulfillment than the level of actual need fulfillment.Correlations significant beyond the .05 level were found between teacher perceptions of principal leader behavior in each of four areas --Consideration, Tolerance of Freedom, Tolerance of Uncertainty, and Initiation of Structure--and teacher satisfaction in each of four need categories--Security, Esteem, Autonomy, and Self-Actualization. No significant correlation was found between teacher satisfaction of Social needs and teacher perceptions of principal leader behavior.The set of principal leader behaviors was found to be predictive of teacher satisfaction of Security, Esteem, Autonomy, and Self-Actualization needs. Including Tolerance of Freedom in the predictive equation resulted in a statistically significant increase in the multiple R between the set of principal leader behaviors and teacher satisfaction of Security and Autonomy needs. Including Consideration in the predictive equation resulted in a statistically significant increase in the multiple R between the set of principal leader behaviors and teacher satisfaction of Esteem needs. The person-oriented principal exhibiting behaviors perceived by teachers as Considerate and Tolerant of Freedom may be most effective in bringing about teacher satisfaction of higher order needs and thus creating a high level of staff motivation.

Thesis (Ed. D.)--West Virginia University, 2002. / Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains viii, 263 p. Vita. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 187-211).