Principals' inviting leadership behaviors in a time of test-based accountability

We queried Florida elementary teachers about how they perceived their principals ’ professional and personal inviting leadership behaviors during a time when many teachers and principals felt a lot of pressure due to test-based account-ability. Despite the pressure, teachers reported that their principals demonstrated fairly high levels of inviting leadership behaviors. Further, we found a positive relationship between elementary teachers ’ perceptions of their principal’s inviting leadership behaviors and their job satisfaction, the climate of their school, and the accountability rating assigned to their school. These findings suggest that there is an association between the way in which principals interact with their faculty and the achievement level of students. While many factors affect student achievement, this study reminds us that factors such as inviting leadership behaviors are an important component of quality schools