The problem of this study was to determine what relationships exist between teachers' perceptions of principals' executive professional leadership and teachers' perceptions of principals' behavior in five aspects of administrative behavior. These administrative areas include Principals' support of teachers' authority (EPA), principals' egalitarian relationship with teachers (EPR), principals' involving teachers in decision-making processes for the school (EPI), principals' support of teachers in managerial matters (EPM), and principals' social support. Subjects for the study were grouped according to gender, length of service and level of education for descriptive purposes and to determine variations in their perceptions of the principals' administrative behaviors. Significant relationships were found to exist between teachers' perceptions of principals' EPL and EPI leadership and teachers' perceptions of principals willingness to involve them in decision—making processes for the schools (EPI). A significant negative relationship was also found to exist between the teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership (EPL) and teachers' perceptions of the managerial support (EPM) provided by principals. A slight negative relationship was found between teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership (EPL) and teachers' perceptions of social support (EPS) received from principals. There was a slight but insignificant positive relationship between teachers' perceptions of principals' executive professional leadership (EPL) and teachers' perceptions of egalitarian relationships (EPR) which existed between the teachers and principals. A positive but not significant relationship was also noted between teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership (EPL) and teachers* perceptions of the manner in which principals granted them professional authority (EPA). When teachers were grouped by demographic variables, two important trends in^perceptions were noted regarding principals' executive professional leadership. (a) Female teachers had a tendency to perceive principals as having lower professional leadership than did male teachers. (b) Teachers with higher educational levels perceived principals as having less professional leadership ability than teachers with relatively low educational levels. Teachers' level of experience did not appear to have any systematic significant impact on their perceptions of the principals' executive professional leadership. It was recommended that those who train principals should be aware of the need to emphasize professional administrative areas which are critical to teachers' perceptions of leadership in the schools because teachers' perceptions affect their teaching performance.

School leaders in the elementary and secondary levels are continually in search of ways to raise student achievement. It is acknowledged that a quality teacher is the most effective means to ensure student success. However, school leaders cannot stop at hiring quality teachers. They must take steps to provide support for those teachers so they will remain engaged in their jobs. This research study sought to examine how various supportive actions by school principals can affect teacher engagement. It addressed the research questions of “Can administrative support factors predict teacher engagement?” and “Can teacher engagement predict student achievement?” This was accomplished through a literature review of the topics associated with teacher engagement as well as a quantitative analysis of responses solicited from high school teachers in a large urban school district in the Southeastern United States. The results indicate that administrative support factors can predict teacher engagement as the model predicted that a significant amount (54%) of the variance in teacher engagement was due to the predictor variables. It was found that the social events factor significantly predicted teacher engagement (b=.419) with the next highest weight being the assessment factor (b=.246). However, the study did not show a predictive relationship between teacher engagement and student achievement. / Includes bibliography. / Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2017. / FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection

This study examined the nature of teacher conflict and conflict management strategies employed by teachers in sixteen selected primary schools in the Pitseng region, Lesotho. The study was informed by the micro-political and organizational theories of Ball (1987), the two-dimensional model of conflict management proposed by Rahim (1983), and the model of oppression conceptualised by Young (2000). The study utilized a mixed methods approach. The sample included 16 schools and 163 teachers. The data collection techniques included a questionnaire survey and semi-structured interviews. Data were analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The findings revealed that teachers experienced institutional, cultural and personal conflicts within the micro-politics of the school settings. The complexity of teacher conflict becomes evident in the intersection of factors such as educational policy, religion, cultural norms and beliefs, ideologies and social groupings within schools. It is argued that embedded in teacher conflict are forms of oppression and domination and related power struggles. Four cross cutting issues exacerbate teacher conflict in the study schools, and these are: poor communication or lack of dialogue, inadequate conflict management skills, ineffective school leadership, and teacher stress within schools. The study revealed that teachers used strategies that were located mainly in three conflict management domains: integrating, obliging and compromising. Power dynamics within schools, religious and cultural ideologies, norms and beliefs, and lack of support were viewed as barriers to effective conflict management. Lack of support from the school management was cited as a major problem in addressing teacher conflict in these schools. The study has important implications for policy implementation at school and national levels, teacher development and school leadership training. The focus of conflict management training should be on getting teachers to analyse conflict and situations that trigger conflict through a social justice lens. A key aim would be to build socially just and inclusive school cultures located in a rights discourse, and grounded in the principles of participation, accountability, social inclusion, non-discrimination and linkages to human rights standards. / Thesis (M.Ed.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Durban, 2010.

This study investigates the relationship between the school climate, as perceived by the professional staff, and specific leadership behavior, as reported by the school principals in a selected school district in the state of Washington, The purpose of the study is to determine the extent to which the leader behavior of the principal correlates with- the total school climate as well as with the individual factors comprising the school climate. There are no statistically significant relationships among the variables studied. The hypothesis that the higher the leadership skills of the principal the more beneficial would be the climate of the school is not supported. The results suggest that the school climate is independent of the leadership behavior of the principal. Since no difference was found when the factors of climate were considered cumulatively, the individual factors were analyzed for significance. The seven factors of climate, identified by James Tunney and James Jenkins from the CFK Ltd. School Climate Profile, were independent of the leadership ability of the principal.

D.Ed. / In order for a principal of a school to be competitive, it is imperative to take decisions creatively. This process of making a decision should therefore be considered seriously, as it could to a great extent influence the effective running of a school as organisation. A creative idea or action might generate change in a school. To be able to bring about a change which will benefit the school and community, the principal needs to have a thorough knowledge of the following: Creativity within management. Establishing a creative climate; and The qualities of a creative person. Apart from the fact that the school need to function effectively, the primary duty of the school to provide sound educational teaching, adds in interrelateds with the general function of the school. The successful performance of the above-mentioned duty requires a sensible implementation of decision making which could influence the effective management of the school. The principal therefore needs to ensure that this duty in respect of decision making is adequately implemented. Because of the comprehensive duty of the principal, supportive aids and techniques should be considered before a decision can be made. Members of staff should need be consulted in order to contribute creative ideas and to facilitate the taking of decisions. The creation of such an atmosphere at the school will give both the principal and members of staff the opportunity to consider the suggested alternatives, in order to comply with the challenges faced by a modern community. The aim of this thesis is therefore to develop an approach which can be used by principals to add creativity to their decision making and ultimately lead to the effective solution of a particular problem.

The changing global and local circumstances and shift for democracy posed particular problems for school administration and leadership and made it difficult for principals to fulfil leadership responsibilities in schools alone. Hence principals require the assistance of all stakeholders in the school, and teachers in particular, to work together as a team and share the diverse leadership load for the improvement of schools. Thus, leadership in schools needs to be shared and distributed in a collaborative manner among teachers and principals working as a group to accomplish the primary objective of their schools, which is to improve learners’ achievement. For this idea to be embraced, I suggest it may require an urgent need for advanced knowledge and understanding of teacher leadership in schools, among teachers and principals, if schools are to thrive. This research studied the phenomenon of teacher leadership at a public rural school in the Ohangwena region of Namibia. It explored the teachers’ experiences of their leadership roles, and specifically the challenges inherent within the practice of teacher leadership in a school. A qualitative interpretive case study was conducted, employing document analysis, semi‐structured interviews and observations to produce data with regard to teachers’ experiences of their leadership roles, challenges inherent within its practice and possible strategies to promote teacher leadership. The analysis and the triangulation across the data sets suggested that teacher leadership existed in the case study school where it appeared in four different areas of leadership practice. These areas of leadership practices (Grant, 2008, p. 93) were, for example, in the classroom, outside the classroom in curricular and extra‐curricular activities, in school‐wide leadership development and between other neighbouring schools in the community. The school had a view of teacher leadership which was strongly located within the classroom and outside the classroom in curricular and extra‐curricular activities where teachers worked and interacted with their colleagues and learners. Teacher leadership was severely limited in the area of whole school development and almost non‐existent in the area outside the school between teachers across neighbouring schools, at circuit or district level and in the community. The study suggested that the nature of teacher leadership in the case study school was a restricted form of teacher leadership (Harris and Muijs, 2005) due to a range of factors which impeded its practice. The factors were, for example, a lack of involvement of all teachers in whole school leadership and school‐wide decision‐making. Other factors were limited time for teachers in the school, a lack of leadership development amongst the principal and teachers as well as resistance for teachers to leadership in the case study school.

D.Ed. (Educational Management) / In the present dissertation the researcher views in-service training in general, and clinical supervision specifically. This research is specifically aimed at the principals of Afrikaans medium secondary schools under the jurisdiction of the Transvaal Education Department. In-service education describes an informal, systematic program, initiated by the principal. This program aims to provide opportunities for teachers to improve the teaching quality of their classes. In-service education is also aimed at the professional development of staffmembers. In-service education aims at the more effective usage of manpower to promote higher productivity. On the other hand clinical supervision is regarded as teaching supervision where data is acquired through observation of true classroom situations. This pre-supposes a one-on-one interaction between the principal and the specific teacher to improve the quality of teaching. Clinical supervision aims to develop the teacher professionally and improve the quality of his teaching. In view of the aims it is possible for clinical supervision to apply the potential of labour effectively, thereby improving productiVity to the benefit of pupils as well as teachers. The successful implementation of clinical supervision relies on a secure, supportive school climate, characterised by healthy headmaster - teacher relations. In this research the researcher will look at the importance of some dimensions of the principal teacher relationship namely: * * * participating leadership: successful communication and creation of a conducive climate. Before a principal can lay claim to successful implementation of clinical supervision as strategy for in-service education, he has to...

The purpose of this purposive qualitative study was to examine the perceptions of school community relationships of preschool parents, preschool teachers, and elementary administrators. In this purposive study, participants were chosen based on predetermined characteristics (Shenton, 2004). Parents from varying levels of academic and socioeconomic backgrounds, as well as their level of parental involvement, were included in this study to eliminate bias. The following themes emerged through coding and transcribing data: the family aspect at school; positive perception of principals; positive perception of teachers; open lines of communication between home and school; opportunities for parent involvement; the expectation of parent involvement; support school community relationships; promote a positive school climate; encourage open lines of communication; and provide activities for parent involvement. This qualitative study also looked at factors that facilitated and inhibited relationships. Factors that emerged in facilitating relationships were good communication, appreciation for involvement opportunities, one-to-one parent teacher meetings, being open to parents, and establishing positive relationships. Factors that may inhibit relationships were socioeconomic barriers and communication and transportation issues.

M.Ed. (Educational Management) / Please refer to full text to view abstract

The aim of the current research was to analyse existing trends in school leadership and to explore how transformational leadership could be the root for aligning the Growth and Transformation Plan (GTP) with school change and transformation. Accordingly, the study was conducted in two phases. The first phase was to identify the type of leadership style currently practised by school leaders (principals). The second phase was to implement transformational leadership in the educational leadership system of the country. In this research project, the researcher used the mixed-method approach. The data collection methods used were a structured questionnaire and unstructured interviews. Data were analysed using the Social Sciences Statistical Package (SPSS) and the computer data analysis system for the ATLAS-TI software. The general findings of this study are the following: currently the transactional leadership style is more common among school principals in Ethiopia. Many respondents explained that the focus of their principals was on routine work and much of the training content provided by Region Education Bureau (REB) was not related to the actual problems of schools, which made them reluctant to work towards the development of their school. The other major finding was that school leaders had no motivation to develop and maintain the teachers’ commitment for effective teaching and school reform. Teachers perceived their principals as passive and inactive in their efforts to adjust themselves to reform and transformation in their schools. From the analysis of interview data, it was found that the education plan, the GTP and leadership guidelines were not synchronised; students, teachers, and school leaders were not visionary people who could effectively facilitate the school reform and transformation. The interview results showed that the current school leadership system is not transformational. Respondents confirmed that though in some schools, leaders reflected some characteristics of transformational leadership, in most cases, the prevailing practices in school systems reflected transactional leadership behaviour. Generally, the results of analysis of both quantitative and qualitative data showed that in the Harari region (Ethiopia) currently the most practised leadership style at school level is the transactional leadership one. After intervention, at the school level, the transformational leadership style (TrLS) began to be implemented by principals as opposed to the transactional leadership style. Therefore, adequate training on the model of transformational leadership should be given to school principals and community. In addition, continuous follow-up and updating the awareness of school leaders is essential for effectiveness and quality of the school system. The Ministry of Education (MOE) should incorporate transformational leadership behaviour in the national training programme for leadership in conjunction with the GTP for the incumbent school leaders. / Educational Management and Leadership / Ph. D. (Education Management)