School principals--United States

The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of instructional leadership
on student achievement through the instructional leadership of principals, assistant
principals and math department heads at the high school level. The Principal
Instructional Management Rating Scale was used to quantify instructional leadership in
ten different job functions.
The research questions were as follows:
1. Can the instructional leadership of principals, assistant principals, and math
department heads be described at the high school level?
2. Whose instructional leadership has the greatest relationship to student
achievement, principals, assistant principals, or math department heads?
3. Does team alignment in instructional leadership matter to student
achievement? 4. Does socioeconomic status moderate the relationship between the job function
and student achievement?
Instructional leadership questionnaires were distributed to the principal, the
assistant principal in charge of curriculum, and the math department head in all public
high schools in five of the seven largest counties in Florida. The unit of study was the
instructional leadership role linkage between the principal, the assistant principal, and the
department head as it related to student achievement.
The study found that (a) principals exhibit instructional leadership behaviors at a
higher frequency than assistant principals and math department heads, (b) instructional
leadership team alignment does not correlate to math achievement, and (c) principals'
and assistant principals' behaviors correlate to math achievement, but math department
heads do not. The study also found that student achievement is moderated by
socioeconomic status.
These findings suggest that the administrative setup in schools should be
examined. The alignment of instructional leadership behaviors did not significantly
correlate with student achievement; however, the correlation was positive in eight of the
ten job functions. Differentiation of roles may be the key to understanding why
alignment and achievement are positively correlated.
Mixed method studies may also need to be used in future research, as this study
contradicted other studies in the area of the department head's influence. Finally, the role
of the department head should be studied in depth. This role may be the critical, yet
indirect link to student achievement.

The purposes of this study were: (1) to determine and analyze the status of the principal and principalship of Seventh-day Adventist academies in the United States with respect to academic and professional training, professional educational experience, professional growth activities, church activities, community activities, personal characteristics, professional status, duties and use of time; (2) to consider requirements which would lead toward general and specific improvement of the status of the principals and principalship; and (3) to offer recommendations for the improvement of the status of the principal and principalship. The major source from which data for the study were obtained was the replies to a fifteen page comprehensive questionnaire received from sixty-six principals of Seventh-day Adventist academies in the continental United States. Findings. Selected findings of the study were: (1) Sixty-four principals (96.9 percent) received their undergraduate training in Seventh-day Adventist colleges or universities. Sixty-four principals (96.6 percent) had earned masters degrees with sixty-one percent choosing educational administration or education as a graduate major. Eight principals reported degrees earned beyond the master's level. Of these eight degrees one was a specialist degree and the remaining seven were doctoral degrees. Seventy percent of the principals had a valid Seventh-day Adventist Administrative Certificate. Twenty-two of the twenty-eight graduate courses in education were recognized by the principals as helpful to them in their work. (2) The typical background of experience of the principals consisted of 10.4 years of educational experience in such areas as junior academy principal, dean of boys, assistant principal, and bible teacher prior to appointment as a principal. The median number of years' experience in the principalship was 4.5. (3) The typical principal was a member of two professional organizations but active participation was slight. Participation in church activities was heavy, but participation in other community activities was light. (4) Seventh-day Adventist educational institutes and professional courses were two professional growth activities in which the principal participated most frequently. (5) The typical principal was 43.8 years of age. The average size of the principal's family was 2.5 children. The median number of years of church membership was 32.0 years. (6) The principal was the chief executive of the governing board and served as secretary to the board. Conclusions. Some of the major conclusions of the study were: (1) The many administrative duties of the position demanded such a large portion of the time of the principal that it was difficult to serve as an effective instructional leader. (2) The over-all work load of the principal was too heavy. The median principal devoted 56.6 hours per week to professional duties. (3) Too much power resides in a few members of the academy board. The principal's security in his position seems to rely too heavily on the chairman of the board. Recommendations. Three major recommendations were: (1) The principal should be chosen from those qualifying for a Seventh-day Adventist Administrative Certificate. (2) The in-service professional growth of the academy principal should be the responsibility of the Union Educational Department. (3) The Union Educational Department should make every effort to acquaint local academy boards with desirable procedures in school administration, duties and responsibilities of the board as a whole, and also duties and responsibilities of the academy principal.