Bridges or Barriers: Making Sense of Principals' Change Facilitator Style Variation in Three Elementary Schools

Research related to principal leadership style is apropos given the continued need to focus on positive student outcomes. However, the principal only maintains an indirect link to students. Teachers, therefore, serve as the direct link to students while also serving as direct beneficiaries of principal leadership, particularly as it relates to the principals’ propensity to support access to high quality professional development aimed at recruiting, supporting and retaining teachers. This mixed methods study examined the Change Facilitator Style (CFS) of three elementary school principals was in a southeastern Texas school district. It was guided by two questions: (1) To what extent do teacher ratings of elementary principals show variation in Change Facilitator Style? (2) To what extent does agreement exist between teacher ratings of a principal’s CFS and the principal’s self-rating? The study explored the variation in teachers’ perceptions of their principals’ Change Facilitator Style by utilizing the Change Facilitator Style Questionnaire (CFSQ). Additionally, each principal used the CFSQ to complete a CFS self-rating. Each principal self-rating was correlated to teacher groups within their respective school. Results revealed three distinct teacher groups at each school. Additionally, variation of CFS perceptions within teacher groups revealed a lack of agreement among teachers in each CFS cluster and dimension. Further, principal self-ratings, when correlated to teacher group means, revealed a lack of agreement among the teachers they serve. In the face of continued educational reform, the importance of unanimity within the schoolhouse is crucial, as divergent paths between teachers and their principal are sure to cause a “missing of the mark” in the pursuit of positive student outcomes. This research of a rural southeastern Texas school district is timely and relevant, suggesting that significant changes related to context, particularly related to staffing and leadership, led to varied perceptions of leadership style