Teacher-principal relationships

The problem. The purpose of this study was to determine the perceived role
of the principal in collective negotiations as viewed by elementary and
secondary teachers, elementary and secondary principals, superintendents,
and school board members in Florida. Conclusions. 1. Educators with different employment responsibilities have
different perceptions of the principal's role in negotiations.
2. Educators with similar job responsibilities, in different
areas of the state, have similar perceptions of the principal's role
in negotiations.
3. Superintendents have formulated the strongest opinions of
the role of the principal in negotiations as indicated by generally
more extreme scores than characterized the other employment categories.
4. Instructional level (i.e., elementary or secondary) has no
significant effect on the perceptions of teachers or principals concerning
the principal's role in negotiations.

The purpose of this exploratory study was to identify common practices of school-of-the-arts administrators and to determine if these commonalities differ from the practices of effective school leaders in general. A sample of administrators (n=92) completed a 3-part Likert survey based on the 21 attributes identified in the balanced leadership model. Five research questions guided this study which looked for both common and unique leadership challenges facing principals in schools of the arts. Prinicpals ranked the practices in order of importance. Although the statistical analyses revealed no significant differences among the variables of instructional levels (elementary, middle, and secondary), gender, or school grade designations, descriptive statistics as well as qualitative data found a number of emergent themes including principal outreach, principal advocacy, focus, flexibility, curriculum, funding challenges, and the commitment to being there(i.e., at the school). Based on the findings, a plus one model was developed illustrating the tensions across organizational management, instructional leadership, and artistic leadership, all of which must function simultaneously in order to lead a successful school of the arts. While only one study, the findings suggest that regular school principals might want to consider incorporating successful school-of-the-arts practices in their own schools.