A study measuring the attitudes and perceptions of students and their ability to relate to minority secondary school principals

A number of variables that influence direction and decisions that school systems make when coping with problems related to school desegregation were investigated. Recent court cases across the nation and in Texas deal with public schools' ability to develop and maintain racial balance of school staffs. The issue of faculty ethnic balance is critical as it relates to the recruitment and placement of minority school administrators in Texas. It is extremely important, because of added autonomy and responsibility, that the secondary school principal be perceived by the students as providing positive school leadership. School authorities might do well to examine the relationship of the principal in accordance with his ethnic heritage as it is perceived by the student population of the same and/or different backgrounds. Ten high schools in the State of Texas were selected for this study. These schools were chosen because they had minority chief administrators (five black and five brown). The ten high schools were selected from the nine most populous counties in the state. All of the schools selected had an enrollment of 1,000 or more students in grades 9-12. Twenty students from each high school were selected by means of a stratified random sampling process. The twenty students represented the racial and/or ethnic make-up of each particular school. The instrument administered was subjected to validation by practicing school administrators or individuals who have had to deal with some problem related to school desegregation. The members of this jury were chosen from a seven-state area in an attempt to provide input of a broad-based national view. ..