An investigation of the instructional management behaviors of principals in mid-sized public high schools in Iowa

The major purpose of this study was to investigate the perceptions of superintendents, principals, and teachers regarding the instructional management behaviors of principals in mid-sized public high schools in Iowa when applied to 10 job functions of instructional management behavior. The study utilized the Principal Instructional Management Rating Scale (PIMRS) instrument, developed by Dr. Philip J. Hallinger, to assess perceptions of instructional management behaviors of principals. A total of 165 individual assessments were included in the analysis. Completed survey instruments were received from 55 superintendents, 55 high school principals, and 55 high school teachers in mid-sized pubic high schools in Iowa. Data collected were analyzed using the Pearson correlation analysis to determine relationships among the perceptions of the three sub-groups. In addition, the data were paired as follows: superintendents\u27 perceptions/principals\u27 self-perceptions, principals\u27 self-perceptions/teachers\u27 perceptions, and superintendents\u27 perceptions/teachers\u27 perceptions. A paired t test design was utilized to analyze the data in each pairing at the.05 level of significance for each of the 10 job functions of instructional management behavior included in the PIMRS instrument. Significant relationships were identified between superintendents\u27 and principals\u27 perceptions on 4 of the 10 job functions of instructional management behavior. Significant relationships were also identified between superintendents\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions on 5 of the 10 job functions. No significant relationships were observed, however, between principals\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions. Although the data revealed that superintendents, principals, and teachers generally perceive principals as demonstrating specific instructional management behaviors within the 10 job functions included in the PIMRS instrument, significant differences were evident between superintendents\u27 and principals\u27 perceptions on 1 of the 10 job functions, while significant differences were evident between principals\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions on 6 of the 10 job functions. Significant differences were also noted on the same six job functions in a comparison of superintendents\u27 and teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 instructional management behaviors