DATA ANALYSIS AND DISCUSSION (USA SCHOOLS)
Principal’s Leadership Style
The principal’s leadership style is indicated in this study by the level of verbal and written communication of principals; specifically, hours per week of communicating with community, teachers, parents and students. Three leadership styles were investigated: authoritative, integrative and mixed. The three styles were identified by a reasonable communication level criterion selected in this study.
Hallinger and Heck (1996) reassessed the principal’s role in school effectiveness. They based their study on data gathered from 1980 to 1995. Their investigation was not only empirical, but also theoretical due to the complexity of the relationship that could not be easily understood if only studied empirically. In their research they focused on the concepts underlying different potential theories that would be adopted to study the relationships between principal’s role and school effectiveness. The overall objective of their study was to come up with a research agenda for the next generation of this study in which defined directions were set. In their research, they emphasized the fact that administrative leadership was among the factors that made the greatest difference in student understanding and learning. However, the nature of this relationship remained open to debate and research (Hallinger and Heck, 1996).
Educational policy makers are also convinced that the principal is the key variable in a student’s scholastic achievement (Murphy, 1990). Therefore, from 1975 to 1990, the policy from state-mandated evaluations of principles jumped from nine to 40 states showing the increased focus on principals as a major and important component in the student’s learning and the school’s effectiveness. Hallinger et al. (1990) and Heck et al. (1990) viewed the influence of the principal on student achievement as the leader’s role in the environmental, personal and in-school relationship aspects, which eventually lead to stronger organizational outcome.