UNDERSTANDING SITE-BASED ADMINISTRATION AND TEACHER DEVELOPMENT

To my wife Shannon and daughter Alyssa who teach me more about myself every day, and to the staff of Hinton High School whom I admire for their commitment to children and pursuit of excellence. iii The purpose of this study was to construct a framework for understanding leadership and its effect on teacher development. Current restructuring initiatives being imposed by the Province, School Division and community stakeholders appear to require educational leaders with the knowledge, skills and attitudes to promote site-based decision-making as a means to facilitate change. This study attempts to examine the nature ofleadership style, its affects on school culture, and its effects on the personal and professional lives of teachers. Two hypotheses guided this study. Regarding the first, it has been demonstrated that the conscious and unconscious actions ofleaders directly affect the culture ofthe school. These can be described in part using terms and constructs from anthropological research