Impact of leadership behavior of principals on elementary school climate

The purposes of this study were to identify the leadership behaviors within the five dimensions of instructional leadership most often identified by teachers and principals in schools with positive climate and to determine the level of agreement in the instructional leadership dimensions identified by the teachers and principals. Twenty-five elementary schools in Indiana with the highest percentage of third grade students above standard and twenty-five elementary schools with the lowest percentage of third grade students above standard from the 2001 Indiana Statewide Testing for Education Progress were used for this study. Participation in the study was gained from twenty elementary school principals. Ten schools each were from the high-performing and low-performing group. Data were gathered from the principals using the Instructional Leadership Inventory. Twenty inventories were distributed and returned. This response rate is attributed to telephone calls to the principals to explain the purpose of the study. The Instructional Climate Inventory-Form T was sent to 200 teachers. One hundred seventy-three surveys were returned. Extraordinary communication between the researcher and the secretary of each elementary school ensured return of the survey answer sheets. Data were analyzed using a t-test for equality of means. It was found there were specific behaviors demonstrated by the principals that impacted school climate. There was partial agreement between teachers and principals regarding which behaviors were important in establishing or maintaining climate. However, among the five dimensions of instructional leadership, promoting instructional climate was not the most identified dimension. Teachers and principals from schools with positive climates identified the specific leadership behaviors. Teachers and principals believed climate was impacted by acknowledging outstanding teacher performance to the community, nominating staff for awards, and asking parents to praise teachers for their good work. Writing letters of commendation and complimenting teachers personally for their performance were also identified as important to climate. Teachers reported they expected principals to establish clear guidelines concerning school policies and procedures, and the teachers wanted the principals to be consistent in enforcing them. Encouraging teachers to try new ideas and reinforcing high expectations by establishing academic standards impacted climate positively