Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Identifier

1365

Date

2015

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education

Major

Leadership and Policy Studies

Concentration

Educational Leadership

Committee Chair

Reginald Leon Green

Committee Member

Lauren E Burrow

Committee Member

Louis A Franceschini

Committee Member

Larry McNeal

Abstract

The purpose of this quantitative study was to determine if student achievement was enhanced when principals exhibited behaviors informed by 16 dispositions. Principals from 120 schools classified as Reward, Focus, or Priority, located in the southeastern region of the United States participated in this study. The Inventory of Leadership Dispositional Behaviors Instrument was used to collect information regarding principal behavior, as perceived by principals, to be most critical to effective leadership. Based on their experiences, participants were asked to indicate whether they believed each of the dispositions was (1) "somewhat important", (2) "very important", or (3) "absolutely critical" in fostering teaching and learning and in helping students achieve. The type of school seemed to have little to do with the dispositions perceived to be most critical in a Reward, Focus, or Priority school. Results indicated that while principals seemed to value all16 dispositions, they perceived some dispositions to be more critical than others. Similarly, school performanceas measured by the Average Growth Index seemed to have little to dowith principals' ratings of the 16 dispositions. Additionally, the findings did not support that leadership dispositions significantly impacted student achievement. However, the conclusions from this study yielded four dispositions that were selected bythe participants as most critical to effective leadership. Those dispositions were: (1) Integrity,(2) Passion, (3) Trust, and (4) Ethics. Having identified the top fourdispositions that principals agreed were critical to effective leadership, this study could enhance the potential success of any leader in today's schools. Understanding those dispositions and their influence is a start in the process of identifying dispositions that school leadersshould possess. It can be concluded that the topicof leadership dispositions has the potential tosignificantly change the landscape of education.

Comments

Data is provided by the student.

Library Comment

Dissertation or thesis originally submitted to the local University of Memphis Electronic Theses & dissertation (ETD) Repository.

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