The purpose of this study was to examine the role of high school assistant principals in Indiana. In this descriptive study, the researcher examined (a) the job responsibilities and duties of the high school assistant principal, (b) the degree of involvement in the job responsibilities and duties of the high school assistant principal, (c) the degree of job satisfaction for areas of administrative responsibilities, and (d) the areas of responsibility that high school assistant principals were provided the most and least training to prepare them for the principalship.The study was limited to the population of high school assistant principals in Indiana public schools. Out of 492 high school assistant principals, 271 responded to a paper or on-line version of the survey instrument used in this study. The survey instrument included 141 forced responses divided into four sections: Duties and Responsibilities, Job Satisfaction, Preparation, and Demographics.Of the six administrative areas in this study, high school assistant principals reported having a greater level of responsibility for duties in the area of school management and the lowest level of responsibility in the area of community relations. In terms of job satisfaction, assistant principals reported being most satisfied with the performance of duties related to student activities and least satisfied with duties related to curriculum and instruction. Assistant principals reported being the most prepared to perform duties related to student activities and least prepared for those duties related to curriculum and instruction. The demographics gathered from the study revealed that most high school assistant principals in Indiana were male, white, married, served over five years in this position and in the next three to five years plan to remain in their current position.Conclusions and recommendations of this study focused on developing a consistent definition of the role of the assistant principal in Indiana. In addition, if assistant principals are content in making this a career-oriented position, then state officials, universities, and school districts, must collaborate to provide a system of training and development of well-rounded knowledgeable leaders for the future of our high schools in Indiana. / Department of Educational Leadership

It is generally recognized that the assistant principal’s position is a launching point for a career in school administration. The scarcity of research and literature pertaining to the role of the assistant principal led the researcher to compare the actual tasks being performed by public school assistant principals to their ideal job expectations. Assistant principals throughout Indiana participated in the study. The sample consisted of 283 assistant principals, who completed a 59-item survey developed by Kriekard (1985). From the sample, 152 responded via email (53.7%), while another 131 (46.2%) responded by mail. The overall response rate was 54%. The study sought to distinguish what job responsibilities were expected and performed by secondary assistant principals based on the six task areas in the survey. These included: Management of Schools, Leadership in Staff Personnel, Community Relations, Instructional Leader, Student Activities, and Pupil Personnel (Kriekard, 1985). Using SPSS as the statistical program, the results of this study indicated that assistant principals today are still performing many of the same duties that assistant principals performed in the 1960s. Significant results were found within the tasks areas of: Management of Schools (.000), Leadership in Staff Personnel (.000), Instructional Leader (.000) and Student Activities (.000). This suggests a significant decrease from actual job responsibilities as compared to the expected job responsibilities. Significant differences were also found within the independent variables of age, school setting, and career aspirations using T-test and ANOVA procedures. These findings were discussed and future research was suggested. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purposes of the study were to (1) demonstrate that due to the increased demand for vocational education on the secondary level, the high school principal must take a more active role in vocational education, and (2) determine what knowledge or information the vocational directors of Indiana believed the principals should have in order to provide a stronger vocational delivery system.Vocational education students represent thirty percent of the total high school population in Indiana. Enrollment of secondary school students in Indiana vocational education programs have increased steadily since 1967, with an increase of ninety-eight percent. With thirty percent of high school students involved in vocational education, the secondary school administrator must take a more active role in the administration of vocational education. The secondary school administrator needs to provide for a smooth transition from the high school environment to the vocational centers.FindingsThe following selected findings were based upon the data of the study:1. The major emphasis of vocational education in Indiana is concentrated on an area center level.2. The findings indicated 90.4 percent of the vocational directors and 87.6 percent of the high school principals surveyed did graduate work leading to a vocational director's license and secondary administrator's license in Indiana.3. The average number of graduate classes in educational administration and supervision completed by the vocational directors was 2.9.4. The average number of graduate classes completed by high school principals concerning vocational education was .06, less than one class.5. The vocational directors believed that the high school principals should be more knowledgeable about vocational education than the high school principals perceptions indicated by the principals.ConclusionsThe following conclusions were based upon the findings and data of the study:1. High school principals did not have the knowledge, concerning vocational education, that was believed necessary for the principals to have in order to strengthen the vocational delivery system.2. Cooperation and communication between the high school principals and vocational directors was viewed as weak and ineffective.3. High school principals are not being prepared to meet the vocational needs of high school students.4. There is evidence of limited or no communication between the State Board of Vocational and Technical Education, the Division of Vocational Education and the high school principals.5. High school principals have limited opportunities to contribute in planning and implementation of vocational education at the area vocational centers and state administration level.6. State teacher certification patterns do not include vocational education in the requirements for the secondary school administration and supervision license.

The purpose of the study was to identify differences in role expectations held by selected referent groups of the bilingual education principal in Indiana. Referent groups in the study included:1) Bilingual education program directors.2) Non-bilingual education program directors.3) Bilingual education principals.4) Non-bilingual education principals.5) Bilingual education teachers.6) Non-bilingual education teachers.A twenty-three item questionnaire containing functions important to the role of the bilingual education principal was used to gather perceptions from the six educational referent groups. The null hypothesis was tested using Chisquare. The .05 level of significance was established as the critical probability level for the nonacceptance of the hypothesis.Findings1. The six referent groups were found to be in general agreement when the role of the bilingual education principal was treated generically.2. Several areas of significance appeared when bilingual groups versus non-bilingual groups were examined.3. Major differences appeared as non-bilingual groups expected more principal involvement in planning, directing, and managing while bilingual groups expected more involvement by the principal in the change agent function.4. The demographic factor of national origin produced a significant difference. Respondents of Hispanic origin expected more from the principal in areas of direct responsibility to bilingual education.ConclusionsThe findings supported much of the previous research on role expectations, role conflict, and leadership. Membership in a particular referent group can be considered a reasonable predictor of certain expectations of the role of a bilingual education principal.Recommendations1. Graduate schools of educational administration should include bilingual education theory, curriculum, and program models in their course requirements.2. Bilingual education principals must have some understanding both of their professional responsibilities for the operation of a school and also for the demands made of them by different referent groups.

The specific purposes of this study were (1) to develop a profile of the Indiana secondary school assistant principal and, (2) to test two hypotheses relative to the duties of the assistant principal.As a result of a review of the research and literature related to the assistant principalship and consultation with professional educators, a questionnaire was developed which included twenty-five items to gather demographic data and seventy-nine duties in the areas of school administration and management, curriculum and instruction, pupil personnel, and staff personnel. The research instrument also included a section for rank order of importance of duties and a percentage of time spent in each of the four areas incorporating the seventy-nine duties.The data derived from the questionnaire were analyzed to determine (1) demographic data pertaining to the position (2) duties for which the assistant principals have full responsibility (3) duties for which assistant principals have shared responsibility (4) duties for which assistant principals have no responsibility (5) duties which assistant principals believe that they should be involved in (6) duties assistant principals feel they should not be involved in (7) the rank-order ofimportance of the duties as perceived by the assistant principals, and (8) the percentage of working time spent by the assistant principals in the areas of school administration, and management, curriculum and instruction, pupil personnel, and staff personnel.The analyzed data indicated the following:l. There are few duties for which assistant principals have full responsibility. 2. Assistant principals have shared responsibility in practically all duties involved in the operation of the school.3. In general, the assistant principals are in agreement with the assignment of duties and feel that they should be involved in the performance of the majority of the duties.4. The five duties that the assistant principals are involved in performing and consider the most important are pupil attendance, running the school in absence of the principal, preparation of the master schedule, direction of the athletic program, and pupil discipline.5. The majority of assistant principal's working time is spent in the areas of pupil personnel, and administration and management.6. There is practically no correlation between the duties in which the assistant principal is involved and the size of the population of the school.7. There is practically no correlation between the duties in which the assistant principal is involved and the type of school (Rural, Small City, Suburban, Urban).8. In general, the assistant principalship is being filled by a young, married, family man with at least a Master's degree. His first entry into the field of administration came early in his career. He has been an assistant principal a short time and was a classroom teacher immediately before moving to the present position. The persons interested in a new position are interested in becoming a high school principal.

Gordon Donaldson, Jr. said, “The best opportunity a principal has to improve teaching and learning in a school is when a teacher is hired.” This is the basic premise from which this study began, and it suggests, that in addition to the day-to-day teaching and learning that takes place in the classroom, the next most important activity of a school district is the hiring of talented, skilled, knowledgeable, and effective teachers. In the next five years, educational leaders will have the opportunity unlike any other in the past to have a dramatic impact on the educational process. Anecdotal information is backed by the statistical data that there will be a major turnover of teachers and a dramatic need for new teachers. This study examined the hiring practices of a sample of Indiana public school principals to determine the components that school administrators use and consider most critical in hiring effective teachers, and to compare the components to what research indicates is effective practice. This examination identified the most commonly used components of the teacher hiring process across the state of Indiana, identified the most commonly involved stakeholders in the process, and identified what factors, skills, or characteristics principals utilize and look for most often when making teacher hiring decisions. Respondents completed a survey with questions based on the related literature to quantify the desired target areas focusing on strategies used in the five steps of the teacher hiring process. The questions were centered on research-based components of an effective hiring process, as well as questions focused on gaining insight from school principals into the steps they utilized and deemed important in the teacher hiring process. Principals were asked to report the extent to which they utilize each strategy as well as the degree of importance they place on each strategy. The data were presented using descriptive statistics. The findings were discussed and compared to what the literature indicates is best practice in the teacher hiring process. Recommendations for further research were offered as well as recommendations to administrators for practical strategies for creating a strategic and systemic process for recruiting, hiring, and retaining high quality teachers. / Department of Educational Leadership

It has been widely publicized that approximately 98% of the teachers in the United States are rated as satisfactory (Weisberg, Sexton, Mulhern, & Keeling, 2009). This has led many Americans to think that there are very few ineffective teachers in the United States. But is this true? This study indicated that a majority of the principals in the state of Indiana (56.6%) have ineffective teachers in their schools. When ineffective teachers are allowed to stay in the classroom for multiple years, a lot of students are adversely affected by these decisions (Peske & Haycock, 2006). This research focused on defining teacher effectiveness from the perspective of school principals. Are Indiana principals competent to identify effective and ineffective teachers? This research indicated that over 94% of the principals agreed, “Without hesitation, they were able to identify effective and ineffective teachers”. When principals were asked about six common aspects of the teaching practice that lead to effectiveness, the ability to engage students was the overwhelming factor that 68% of the principals indicated as most important. The other factors included achievement score growth, ability to establish quality relationships with students, content knowledge, planning skills, and classroom management skills. What has historically happened to ineffective teachers in Indiana, specific to their contract status? Currently a very small percentage of teachers are being counseled out of the profession by their principals, and even fewer teachers are having their contracts canceled. More specifically, 92.2% of principals indicated that they counseled out less than 3% of their teachers, and 95.5% of Indiana principals indicated that they recommended contract cancelations for less than 3% of their teachers last year. Lastly, principals were asked if they would make recommendations for more teacher contract cancelations as a result of the changes in Indiana laws that define teacher effectiveness. Only 23.8% of principals indicated that the changes in law would cause them to more frequently recommend contract cancelations. Three hundred twenty K-12 public school principals were randomly selected and mailed a 36-question survey. One hundred ninety-one principals (59.7%) completed the survey. The comprehensive survey results are included in this study. / Department of Educational Leadership

The major purpose of the study was to determine duties of selected junior high school principals in Indiana to accomplish identified responsibilities for instructional evaluation and improvement, staff evaluation, and public relations.Methods and procedures used to determine the duties of junior high school principals in the identified areas involved construction of a focused interview guide based on the survey of research for the study. The population to be interviewed included six junior high school principals, ten teachers and ten students from each of the six selected junior high schools. The responses were then organized by area and presented in three categories, responses of principals, perceptions of teachers, and perceptions of students relative to the duties performed by the principals.Conclusions were drawn from the findings of the study, and research reviewed as part of the study, and the experiences gained in conducting the study.Instructional Evaluation and Improvement1. Principals in general spent little time on program evaluation and improvement.2. Much of the responsibility for evaluation and improvement of the school program rested with the department chairmen.3. Teachers were involved mainly through the individual departments.4. The larger the school the less time the principal had time to devote to the program.5. It appeared principals delegated the responsibility for evaluation to department chairmen and relied on the judgment and evaluation recommended.6. Classroom visitation by the principal was limited to a few brief periods of time.7. The leadership function of the principal in motivating staff self-evaluation and improvement rested primarily on suggestions to the teachers rather than in-service programs.8. Orientation programs were classified by principals as in-service training.9. Principals did attempt to improve personal abilities and understandings of new approaches in education.10. Staff and students were seldom utilized in evaluation and changing the curriculum.11. Staff and students perceived the principal as involved in improving in instruction.Staff Evaluation and Improvement1. Teachers perceived the principal as one who would help with problems when requested.2. Teachers perceived principals as undertaking the necessary duties for staff evaluation including limited classroom observation, written evaluations, and conferences.3. Teachers perceived principals as utilizing department chairmen in the evaluation process.4. Teachers viewed the principal as available to aid the teacher in educational problems.Public Relations1. Principals did little to utilize the staff or students in a specific public relations program for the school.2. The staff and students perceived the principal as doing an adequate job in creating a favorable public relations attitude toward the school.3. Principals were perceived as providing a communication system within the school.4. Parent contact with the school was limited to infrequent visits.5. Principals were active within the community civic organizations.Recommendation for Further StudyRecommendations for further study were gained from the limitations placed on the present study.1. Expand the present study to include more schools to achieve a broader view of the duties undertaken by the principal.2. Study the differences between what the authorities in the field of educational administration advocate relative to the duties of the principal and what duties principals actually do.3. Study the causes and reasons why principals are not completing the tasks indicated by the authorities in the field of educational administration which principals should be doing.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the degree to which Indiana secondary school principals engaged in mathematics instructional leadership behaviors that supported the implementation of the NCTM Standards.A self-reporting survey was sent to 300 randomly chosen secondary school principals, from a population of 672 public school secondary principals in the State of Indiana during the 2000-2001 school year. A total of 151 usable surveys were returned for a response rate of 50.3 percent. The 151 secondary school principals who returned the questionnaires were 22.5 percent of the population.The survey instrument was an adaptation of questionnaires developed by Horizon Research Incorporated, 1992; Cauley, Van de Walle, and Hoyt, 1993; and Horizon Research Incorporated; 1994. The survey instrument was designed to ascertain demographic information on the principal's school, personal background information on the principal, as well as information concerning the mathematics instructional leadership behaviors of the principal.The major findings from this study were:1. Principals who had more positive attitudes towards the NCTM Standards were more likely to have engaged in a higher degree of support for teachers who implemented the NCTM Standards. Also, principals who had more positive attitudes towards the NCTM Standards were more likely to provide a greater degree of direction to staff members with respect to the implementation of the NCTM Standards.2. Female principals engaged in mathematics instructional leadership behaviors to a greater degree than did male principals.3. Principals from urban schools engaged in mathematics instructional leadership behaviors to a greater degree than did principals from rural schools. / Department of Educational Leadership

The purpose of this study was to report opportunities available to all Indiana high school students to access dual credit through AP, IB, and Indiana colleges and universities. In addition, this study attempted to identify potential barriers facing schools and students which may limit access to dual credit programs, as well as the attitudes and perceptions of Indiana high schools principals with respect to dual credit. This study further provided data for school leaders and policymakers to consider as efforts continue toward implementation and expansion of dual credit programs in Indiana high schools. A total of 224 principals participated in the study. Based on prior research, the findings of this study, and the stated objectives of Indiana's P-16 Plan, the researcher recommended eleven areas for further consideration. / Department of Educational Leadership