Policies and practices of senior high school principals in achieving an effective pluralistic environment

The purpose of this study was to examine school effectiveness in three . academic effective schools by comparing the findings of the effective school and multicultural education literatures with staff perceptions and principal interviews. The study employed a mixed methodology, using extensive interviews of principals based on a modified form of the Connecticut Effective School Survey Instrument. The strong and less strong points of school effectiveness were ascertained through statistical analyses of staff perceptions and analyses of the principals\u27 interview comments. The investigation made several findings. First, there was a clear relationship between school policies and practices which adhered to school effectiveness characteristics and staff perceived effectiveness. Second, the physical structure and organizational pattern of the school must .be considered when assessing the school\u27s ability to achieve academic and/or social effectiveness. Third, the three schools in this study achieved effectiveness by designing policies and practices to meet the specific needs of the student body. Fourth, school effectiveness is a developmental process. Variations in response show different paths or styles of effectiveness. Fifth, the findings demonstrate that a safe & orderly environment is a matter of social effectiveness, and it seems to be the base from which academic effectiveness is developed