Teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of *consideration and initiating structure and the relationships to student achievement and teacher turnover

The purpose of this study was to determine of if there is was a significant difference between teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of consideration and initiating structure and elementary school student achievement as measured by academic growth according to the results of North Carolina End of Grade tests for reading and math during the school year 2006-2007; and to determine if there was a significant difference in teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of consideration and initiating structure and teacher turnover rates. The population consisted of two-hundred twenty-seven North Carolina public school teachers in grades 3, 4, and 5 who administered the North Carolina End of Grade test in reading and math during the 2006-2007 school year. Each teacher completed a Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire to determine their perceptions of their principals\u27 leadership behavior along two dimensions—consideration and initiating structure. A total of seventy-five teachers returned usable surveys. Survey data were analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS). Chi-square, t-test, and One Way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) were used to test the hypotheses. After analyses were completed, the study found that there were statistically significant differences between teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of consideration and initiating structure and the achievement of state growth goals for 3th, 4th, and 5th grade students who took the North Carolina End of Grade tests. There were statistically significant differences between teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of consideration and initiating structure and teacher turnover rates in the elementary schools used for the analyses. There was a statistically significant difference in teachers\u27 perceptions of principals\u27 use of consideration and initiating structure and proficiency on North Carolina End of Grade tests in grades 3, 4, and 5 for reading and math