Term of Award

1996

Degree Name

Doctor of Education in Educational Administration

Document Type and Release Option

Dissertation (open access)

Department

Department of Leadership, Technology, and Human Development

Committee Chair

Harbison Pool

Committee Member 1

Cordelia Douzenis

Committee Member 2

Michael Richardson

Committee Member 3

James Stephens

Abstract

Research has shown that differences exist among leadership styles of school principals. These differences may be associated with selected biographic and demographic variables. This study surveyed principals of 243 Georgia public elementary schools to determine their leadership styles, based on the constructs of Structure and Consideration, and examine their biographic characteristics and the demographic characteristics of the schools they serve. Once leadership styles were identified, based on Structure and Consideration, relationships between the independent variables and the dependent variables were examined. Independent variables included: sex, age, ethnicity, marital status, administrative experience, teaching experience, educational level, school setting, school size, and regional area of the state. Dependent variables were the two dimensions used to describe leadership style. Consideration and Structure. Subjects were selected through random sampling of the 1309 Georgia elementary school principals listed in the 1995. Georgia Public Education Directory. The Leadership Opinion Questionnaire (LOQ), developed by E.A. Fleishman in I960, revised in 1559; and the Georgia Elementary School Principal Questionnaire (GESPQ), designed by the researcher, were mailed to 400 randomly selected principals. The number of respondents was 243. Descriptive statistics were examined for all variables. The Pearson's r correlation coefficient was used to determine relationships at the .05 level of significance between the independent, continuous variables and the LOQ Structure and Consideration scores.The one-way analysis of variance with Scheffe's post-hoc analysis, when indicated, were utilized to determine any significant differences at the .05 level in group means of the independent, categorical variables with regard to the LOQ Structure and Consideration scores. Results indicated that the 243 Georgia elementary school principals in the sample group scored higher on Consideration than on Structurfe-. Their preference toward Consideration suggested these principals emphasized relationships and interaction. It was discovered that the more years one had been a principal, the lower score he or she obtained on Structure and Consideration. It was also determined that the more years a principal had taught, the higher he or she scored on Consideration. A significant difference in Structure group means was found among ethnicities, which revealed African-American principals who participated in the study scored higher on Structure than white principals. Another significant difference in Structure group means existed among respondents from the four regional areas of the state, which indicated elementary school principals in South Georgia scored higher on Structure than those in North Georgia. A profile of the Georgia elementary school principal was developed from the biographic and demographic data collected. The researcher found that the typical elementary school principal in Georgia has served as a principal for 9 years, an assistant principal 4 years, and a teacher for 11 years; this individual is a 48-year old, married, white female who holds an Ed.S. degree. The average elementary school site in Georgia has a population of 600 students. More schools are situated in suburban and rural areas than in urban areas. Over one-third of the schools included in the study were in the Atlanta Metro area and the second largest number were located in South Georgia.

Copyright

This work is archived and distributed under the repository's standard copyright and reuse license for Theses and Dissertations authored 2005 and prior, available here. Under this license, end-users may copy, store, and distribute this work without restriction. For questions related to additional reuse of this work, please contact the copyright owner. Copyright owners who wish to review or revise the terms of this license, please contact digitalcommons@georgiasouthern.edu.

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