DESCRIPTORS *Administrator Role; Elementary Secondary Education;

This study examines the effects of principal leadership styles on the development of the working styles of seven local school councils in Memphis (Tennessee) during their first 15 months of operation. The successful implementation of a school-based decision making (SBDM) management model depends upon the ability of the local school council to develop an effective working style. The councils are comprised of parents, community residents, teachers, and other assigned school staff. An analysis of information obtained from observations, interviews, and reviews of documents found that the nature of principal leadership was related to the nature of initial council functioning, but the principal was not the sole facilitating factor. The following findings are reported: (1) principals who exhibited laissez-faire and democratic leadership styles encouraged councils to function cooperatively; (2) authoritarian principal