College of Graduate Studies: Theses & Dissertations

Term of Award

Spring 2026

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Leadership (Ed.D.)

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Copyright Statement / License for Reuse

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Mete Akcaoglu

Committee Member 1

Antonio Gutierrez de Blume

Committee Member 2

Suzanne Miller

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to examine the distribution of College and Career Ready Performance Index (CCRPI) content mastery scores and investigate the relationship between principal instructional leadership practices and student achievement in rural Georgia middle schools. To this end, we analyzed differences in CCRPI content mastery scores based on school rurality and geographic region and compared principal instructional leadership practices in higher- and lower-performing schools. Hallinger’s (1983) Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) was used to assess three dimensions of instructional leadership: Defining the School Mission, Managing the Instructional Program, and Developing the School Learning Climate. The sample comprised 25 principals of rural Georgia middle schools, and independent samples t-tests were conducted to determine whether mean PIMRS scores differed significantly between high and low-performing schools. Results, indicated no significant differences between school groups on the overall dimensions of Defining the School Mission, Managing the Instructional Program, or Developing the School Learning Climate. However, a significant difference emerged on the Supervise and Evaluate Instruction subscale within the Managing the Instructional Program dimension, t(23) = −2.42, p = .02, d = -1.08, suggesting that supervision and evaluation practices may be particularly important in distinguishing higher-performing rural middle schools. Notably, as CCRPI content mastery scores increased, PIMRS mean scores and effect sizes also increased. This trend suggests that principal instructional leadership can be linked to school success in this study.

OCLC Number

1588663891

Research Data and Supplementary Material

No

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