Building a positive culture for school improvement: Teachers\u27 perceptions of assistant principals\u27 departmental leadership

The age of accountability, heralded in by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, carried punitive sanctions that resulted in massive school closings and the firing of school leaders. This study sought to examine how New York City academic high school assistant principals in large, comprehensive high schools, could create cultures of internal accountability within their subject departments, mitigating the toxic effects of high stakes accountability while meeting high standards. To this end, subject area high school teachers in five large New York City High Schools were invited to take a survey that measured their perceptions of their departmental leadership and the culture of their subject departments. The findings indicated that, overall, the schools which received As on their Progress Reports scored higher on the leadership and culture factors than the schools which received Ds and Fs on their Progress Reports. However, the B school in the study consistently showed lower scores across the board for departmental leadership and culture, and teacher job satisfaction, self-efficacy, and commitment. The results suggest that letter grades may not be indicative of school culture and leadership and perhaps a new assessment for measuring school success should be created. Furthermore, the study began to examine the role of the subject area high school assistant principal as a transformational leader within the context of high stakes accountability