The focus of this study was to examine the relationship between principal
ethnicity and other chosen demographics (community type of the school, average years
of teacher experience, and percent of students qualifying as economically disadvantaged)
and student achievement as measured by the Texas Education Agency?s (TEA?s)
accountability rating system in predominantly Hispanic public high schools in Texas.
The study sought to identify causal factors in relation to campus accountability rating
and principal ethnicity in an effort to determine if principal ethnicity had an impact on
student achievement in predominantly Hispanic public high schools in Texas.
The study examined data obtained from the Texas Education Agency for the
2007-2008 school year. There were 335 schools that met the criteria set forth for the
study. The findings of the study stated there was no statistically significant relationship
between principal ethnicity and student achievement as measured by the TEA?s accountability system. There were some significant statistical findings in relation to
principal ethnicity, accountability rating and indicators of community type of school,
years of teacher experience, and percent of students qualifying as economically
disadvantaged. Moderate relationships were found between community type and
accountability rating and between community type and ethnicity of the principal. There
were also significant relationships found between accountability rating and average
years of teacher experience as well as principal ethnicity and percent of students
qualifying as economically disadvantaged. There was no significant finding between
principal ethnicity and average years of teaching experience. There was also no
significant finding in relation to accountability rating and percent of students qualifying
as economically disadvantaged.
The growing number of Hispanic students entering schools is leading to more
campuses becoming predominantly Hispanic in student population. The achievement
gap between Hispanic students and White students has continued to be an ongoing
problem and important issue. The findings of this study show that ethnicity of the
principal does not have an impact on student achievement in predominantly Hispanic
public high schools in Texas. Hiring administrators should focus on hiring school leaders
who possess identified characteristics that lead to improved student achievement.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/ETD-TAMU-2010-05-7925 |
| Date | 2010 May 1900 |
| Creators | Tresslar, Christopher A. |
| Contributors | Hoyle, John |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | application/pdf |
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