Principals' Perceptions and the Impact They Can Have on Their Teachers' and Their Students' Performance PDF Download

Author: Pamela K. Sisson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : School principals
Languages : en
Pages : 120

View

Book Description

Author: Maureen R. Futscher
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : School principals
Languages : en
Pages : 113

View

Book Description
There is substantial research on school reform efforts focused on programs and curriculum. The same cannot be said with regard to the evaluation of teachers and principals. Current reform efforts are pointed in that direction. Through Race to the Top (RTTT), a competitive grant, the federal government offered funding to states willing to conduct statewide school improvement initiatives. The goal of Race to the Top is to improve student achievement through effective teachers and leaders. New York State applied for, and was granted RTTT money to work on the Regents Reform Agenda. This gave rise to the New York Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) mandate, which is focused on the evaluation of teachers and principals. This exploratory study surveyed public school principals across the state to determine the extent they perceived the new APPR would improve instructional practices in their schools. Results suggest that most principals believe APPR will have a positive impact on instructional practices to some extent. Demographic characteristics, past and present evaluation practices, teacher practice rubrics and professional development were investigated to examine associations with principals' perceptions. The data revealed that variables from each of the four areas were significantly associated with principals' perceptions. The ability to provide specific feedback to teachers and a focus on student performance data were identified as the strongest contributors to principals' perceptions. This research was conducted in the first year of full implementation of the APPR mandate which provides baseline data for subsequent research. The findings may be useful for district leaders and policy makers when reviewing the implementation process. The data may provide insight for systems leaders to investigate and identify needs for additional support in their districts.

Author: Jennifer Rinehimer
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational leadership
Languages : en
Pages : 71

View

Book Description
A principal’s leadership ability plays heavily into the success of a school. The multitude of responsibilities that a principal has requires them to manage the building, foster the learning environment, keep everyone safe and maintain relationships with teachers and students. Principals and their ability to lead can be a positive factor in supporting student achievement. Understanding the leadership skills and attributes that are the most effective for supporting student learning can make an impact in the success of the building. This paper aims to provide a deeper understanding of the leadership attributes of principals that support student learning. Teachers and principals were surveyed using Likert-type statements, open-ended questions and in-person interviews, which allowed them to give more insight into leadership attributes impacting student achievement. The findings of this study suggest that principals perceive safety to be of utmost importance in a school. Furthermore, they have found that fostering relationships with both teachers and students are important to supporting student achievement. Teachers’ perceptions mirrored this impact by finding that building relationships was an important factor in supporting them. This study concludes with implications for practice that may be used to assist building leaders in reflecting on their own practice and the leadership choices that are made on a daily basis.

Author: Jilliane Christina Raphiel
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

View

Book Description
Across the nation, teacher appraisal systems are being revamped to serve the primary purpose of supporting and developing teachers, regardless of experience. To what degree a principal believes the instructional criteria within the appraisal system are valid influencers on student achievement may be key in developing teachers at all levels of effectiveness to cultivate student achievement that can lead to higher performing schools. The purpose of this study was to identify what principals at highly effective elementary school campuses valued as the key instructional criteria in a teacher appraisal system. The outcome of this study can greatly impact the development, hiring, and transitioning of teachers at any school. By using the value-added model to identify effective schools, this study focused on the perception of principals of elementary campuses that are able to accelerate students, regardless of any perceived learning barriers. Data was collected through a qualitative approach, using descriptive statistics in the form of charts, tables, and graphs to identify trends. A survey and follow-up interviews were administered to elementary school principals currently leading schools within the top 25% of value-added achievement in a large urban school district in the southern United States. The study determined that while the appraisal instrument encompasses several instructional criteria that principals clearly perceived as impacting student achievement, the instrument serves as a springboard into additional best practices. Open-ended survey responses and interviews determined additional instructional criteria that principals perceived as having an impact on student achievement and their plans to ensure that they continue to add value to all students as accountability rapidly increases.

Author: Angela Benton McManigal
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Elementary school principals
Languages : en
Pages : 322

View

Book Description

Author: Matthew Ryan Gale
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 174

View

Book Description
Educational leaders are charged with many responsibilities within their schools and school district. Chief among these responsibilities is assuring that students are learning the curriculum, and achieving their academic potential. The challenge, then, is to identify how principals impact student learning, and then help them to develop these leadership behaviors effectively. While many educational researchers have sought to find the leadership behaviors and factors that describe how principals can most significantly impact student achievement, the principals themselves have been largely left out of the conversation. High school principals' experiences and efforts to maintain safe schools, connect communities, foster citizenship, and prepare students for colleges and careers, while trying to promote students' achievement on standardized test scores during the accountability era, offers a perspective and a contribution to research that is invaluable. This study used a qualitative design in order to understand the participants' meanings, through inductive analysis of data, after interviewing a cross-section of seven male high school principals about their perspectives and experiences. The participants served in academically high-achieving, medium-achieving schools and low-achieving schools with student populations of various sizes, settings, and population demographics. The schools were all located in the suburban area of Philadelphia. The participants had all been in their buildings as principal for at least two years, and had served in the role of high school principal for at least three years. There were three common themes that emerged from this study. First, principal leadership in schools impacts student success, although it is difficult to measure, and complex to explain. Principals must hire the best teachers, foster a positive climate and culture, and form positive professional relationships with teachers. Secondly, Principals must be perceptive to and understand the needs of their school and community. Students must perceive that they are safe, and communities must perceive that they trust schools. Finally, teachers must perceive that they are valued much more than any externally imposed measure of success may define them. As a result of the findings, it is recommended that principals seeking to maximize student success take the time to assess the needs of their schools, collaborate to make decisions, realize that promoting a positive climate and culture has to be a priority of their role, and devote sufficient time and resources to hiring and developing quality teachers.

Author: Justin Faulkner
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational leadership -- Public opinion
Languages : en
Pages : 0

View

Book Description
In 2020, the National Association of Secondary School Principals revealed that a staggering 42 percent of principals plan on leaving the profession and that compounds the already alarming rate of teachers leaving the field (National Association of Secondary School Principals, 2020). More locally in Florida, the landscape of educational leadership has changed quickly also adding to this problematic exodus of principals. In order to better understand the principal experience in Florida, particularly with principal preparation, this study seeks to understand how principal preparation, specifically Level II certification preparation, influences efficacy once at the helm of a school. This research uses a modified version of Megan Tschannen-Moran's Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale survey to gauge the perceptions of current principals to inform practice of preparation for leaders of tomorrow. Results reveal that descriptive statistics provided valuable insights into how principals across Florida perceive the impact of their preparation program on their effectiveness. Notably, the utilization of independent-samples t-tests uncovered a significant correlation between gender, particularly female gender, and principal perception. However, when examining the relationship between race and years of service through one-way ANOVA statistics, no significant connections were found, suggesting that these factors did not strongly influence principal perception of their preparation. In a conclusive manner, regression analysis indicated that gender, race, and years of service did not serve as significant influencers on principals' perceptions of their preparation program's efficacy impact. Overall, findings from this study indicate additional research is needed to better understand how efficacy can increase in not just all principals as the result of preparation but also specifically with female principals. Research consistently indicates that principals have the second greatest impact on student outcomes, just behind teachers. When Florida principals express only moderate confidence in their leadership abilities, it raises concerns about their performance in schools. This gap between theoretical knowledge and practical implementation negatively affects students, who deserve better. To address this issue, more attention should be given to developing robust preparation programs that are meaningful and impactful in shaping and sustaining effective principals. By doing so, we can ensure that students receive the best possible educational leadership and support for their academic journey.

Author: Florence LaDon Johnson
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 482

View

Book Description

Author: Brandy Sermons
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Classroom environment
Languages : en
Pages : 81

View

Book Description
Prior research on school climate has focused on relationships between teachers and students, peer relationships, order and discipline, student engagement, and academic support to create an environment where students can be academically successful. No universally accepted standard definition encompasses all facets of the school climate construct. Although teacher working conditions have a direct impact on the future of students, few studies exist on teacher and principal perceptions of this construct. This comparative analysis study used archival data from the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Survey (NCTWCS) to determine if differences existed between teacher and principal perceptions of the working environment. A dataset containing 101,846 responses was used to analyze one research question. After data cleaning, a random selection of 100 teachers and 100 principals was taken from 33,379 clean cases. A multivariate analysis of variance was used to compare eight NCTWCS scale scores of the teachers and principals. Significant differences were found between teachers and principals on all eight scales. Principals and teachers are the driving forces behind school culture and a positive school climate. Understanding these differences can help to design policies that can create positive school climates and increase school improvement efforts. Implications are numerous because researchers can now state definitively that there are differences in teacher and principal perceptions of the working environment. Researchers can begin to ask why these differences exist and propose a way to lessen the gap. Principals and teachers may never completely agree on their perceptions of working conditions but they can work together to create an environment that inspires teacher retention and increased student achievement.

Author: Kelly Wachel
Publisher: Rowman & Littlefield
ISBN: 1475820577
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 99

View

Book Description
A public relations director and a principal have mostly the same goals in helping students achieve at high levels. While each might go about impacting student learning in different ways, they both work to make education better. In Having an Impact on Learning, the husband and wife team of Matt and Kelly Wachel, help show how both the principal and the public relations director can propel education forward. Whether it’s through perception, teaching and learning, communication, social media, events, student achievement, or working with the community, principals and public relations professionals have to understand their roles in contributing to each of those areas. While the topics of conversation between these two professions sometimes cause disagreement, in the end, the principal and the public relations professional agree that their two views must ultimately mesh to help do what’s best for kids. In this book, get insight into these areas of education and learn about ways principals and public relations directors can work in harmony. School leaders and communicators have to be on the same page when it comes to telling the story of education. We are all storytellers and we have to be able to tell the story together.