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Uni International 300 N.Zeeb Road Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 8415226 Hart, William Vincent A STUDY OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SELECTED MICHIGAN URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS Michigan State University University Microfilms International 300 N. Zeeb Road, Ann Arbor, Ml 48106 Ph.D. 1984 PLEASE NOTE: In all c a se s this material has been filmed in the best possible way from the available copy. Problems encountered with this docum ent have been identified here with a check mark V 1. Glossy photographs or p a g e s______ 2. Colored illustrations, paper or print_____ 3. Photographs with dark background______ 4. Illustrations are poor copy______ 5. P ages with black marks, not original 6. Print shows through as there is text on both sides of page______ 7. Indistinct, broken or small print on several p a g e s . 8. Print exceeds margin requirem ents_____ 9. Tightly bound copy with print lost in spine______ 10. copy___ Computer printout pages with indistinct print_____ 11. Page(s)____________lacking when material received, and not available from school or author. 12. Page(s)___________ seem to be missing in numbering only a s text follows. 13. Two pages num bered____________ .Text follows. 14. Curling and wrinkled p a g e s______ 15. Other_____________________________________________________________________ University Microfilms International A STUDY OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SELECTED MICHIGAN URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS By William Vincent Hart A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Administration and Curriculum 1984 ABSTRACT A STUDY OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS IN SELECTED MICHIGAN URBAN SCHOOL DISTRICTS By William Vincent Hart Studies of effective schools indicate that the major factor may be the principal. Since the principal is considered important to an effective school, the skills he/she has mastered have accounted for the effectiveness of the school. Skill needs of elementary school princi­ pals have been enumerated by such writers and researchers as Campbell (1952) and Cawelti (1982). The principal ship has been the focus of studies by numerous educational organizations and governmental units. Some are the American Association of School Administrators, the National Education Association, Research for Better Schools, the Cali­ fornia state legislature, and, very recently, the National Commission on Excellence in Education with its A Nation at Risk. This study concerns itself with identifying skills necessary to manage an effective school from the vantage point of the working elementary principal. Principals were asked to select 10 of 27 skill areas listed as those they considered most important for a principal. They were also asked to rank all 27 skill areas, from little importance through very important. Variables were size of schools and William Vincent Hart compensatory funding. At the .05 level of significance, there was no difference on selection of important skills. Principals indicated a strongly felt need (94 percent) for on­ going inservice education programs. They indicated (93 percent) that school principals have a professional responsibility to update skills. More than 90 percent felt that there should be some recognition in salary for principals participating in inservice to update skills. More than 80 percent felt that participation by principals would increase if these skill-updating activities were held on some combination of school and personal time. Fifty-seven percent felt that boards of education should pay all of the costs of updating principals' skills, whereas 40.7 percent felt that boards should pay part of the expense. Thus 97.7 percent felt that boards should pay all or part of costs. It was recommended that universities provide the leadership in encouraging boards to budget for and principals to participate in the inservice necessary to help principals become more effective. Recommendations were made to boards, superintendents, and principals based on needs expressed by respondents. ACKNOWLEDOIENTS To Dr. John H. Suehr, the chairman of iry guidance ccnmittee, my najor advisor and steadfast supporter. To the other members of xty oconittee: Dr. James Anderson for his encouragement and support; Dr. C. Robert Muth for his encour­ agement and help with the survey instrument; Dr. Louis Romano for his belief in me and his gentle prodding. To Virginia Wiseman, who has always been ready to help and give encouragement to continue. To my wife, Marjorie, whose love, encouragement, and faith have moved me toward this goal. To our four children, Sheila, William, Maureen, and Kevin, whose faith in me has been continued encouragement. To Rev. Father Harry Hart, whose assistance to me and faith in me allowed me to continue to attend college. To Susan Cooley, who was so helpful in editing and typing the manuscript. To all the wonderful people at Michigan State University who have enriched my life so much. To Mother and Father, William and Catherine Hart, who gave me the gift of life and a love of learning. Thank you I TABLE OF CONTENTS Page LIST OF T A B L E S ............................................ vi LIST OF FIGURES............................................ vii Chapter I. THE PROBLEM.................... 1 Introduction..................................... Purpose of the S t u d y ............................. Importance of the Problem.......................... Research Questions and Hypotheses.................. Assumptions and Delimitation ...................... Definition of Terms ............................... Overview of the Study............................. II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE......................... 1 3 4 6 7 8 11 13 Introduction..................................... Hie Elementary School Principal and Accountability . . The Elementary School Principal and Achievement. . . . The Elementary School Principal and Appreciating the True Value of P e o p l e ..................... 17 The Elementary School Principal and the Budgeting 17 Process...................................... The Elementary School Principal and Ccmnunity Involvement.................................. 18 The Elementary School Principal and Coordination of State and Federal P r o g r a m s ................... 18 The Elementary School Principal and the Elementary School Curriculum............................ 31 The Elementary School Principal and Energy Conservation................................ 34 The Elementary School Principal and the Elementary School Educational Environment............... 34 The Elementary School Principal and Furthering the Home-Scbool-CcritTTunity Partnership.............. 37 The Elementary School Principal and the Group Process . The Elementary School Principal and Influencing Human Interaction.................................. 32 The Elementary School Principal and Instructional Evaluation.................................. 33 iii 13 13 15 30 Page The Elementary School Principal and Law and Education................................. 35 The Elementary School Principaland Leadership. . . . The Elementary School Principal and Mainstreaming Special-Education S t u d e n t s ................. 37 The Elementary School Principaland Organization ... The Elementary School Teacher and P l a n n i n g ... 39 The Elementary School Principal and Program Evaluation..................................... The Elementary School Principal and Public Relations and Cooperation................................. The Elementary School Principal and the Elementary School as a Society ............................. The Elementary School Principal and Responsibility for Staff Discipline ............................ The Elementary School Principal and the Evaluation of Student Progress............................. The Elementary School Principal and Systematic Teacher Evaluation............................. The Elementary School Principal and Taxpayer Support for Schools..................................... The Elementary School Principal and Implementation of Negotiated Master Agreements.................. The Elementary School Principal and Problems of Vandalism and V i o l e n c e .......................... Summary.......................................... III. IV. 36 38 41 41 43 45 45 47 50 52 52 54 DESIGN OF THE STUDY ................................. 56 Introduction..................................... Study Population................................. The Research Instrument............................ The Pilot Study................................... Processing and Coding Survey R esponses ............. Relationships Studied............................. Treatment of the D a t a ............................. 56 56 58 50 50 52 53 PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF D A T A .................... Introduction..................................... The Prioritized Educational Needs L i s t ............. The Q-Sort Selection P r o c e s s .................... Results of Hypothesis Testing...................... Hypothesis I ................................... Hypothesis I I ................................... Hypothesis I I I ................................. Findings Related to Structuring Inservice Programs for Elementary School Principals................. Changing Skills Needed in Building-Level Management . Professional Responsibility for Updating Skills . . . iv 55 65 65 65 66 66 68 71 72 73 73 Page Completion of Skill-Improvement Units and Conpensation................................... Time for Skill Courses and Inservice Seminars....... Who Should Pay for InserviceDevelopment Programs? . . Seminary of Chapter I V ............................... V. CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS....................... 73 74 75 76 78 Conclusions........................................ Reccnmendatians..................................... For Educational Institutions ................ For School Boards and Superintendents............... For Elementary Principals.......................... For Further R e s e a r c h ............................. Personal Observations............................... 78 81 81 83 83 84 87 APPENDICES.................................................. 88 A. MIDDLE CITIES ASSOCIATION MEMBERSCHOOL DISTRICTS........ 89 B. LETJ.ER AND QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TOEUMENTAKrT SCHOOL PRINCIPALS........................................ 91 COMPUTER CODES USED IN THE S T U D Y ...................... Ill REFERENCE L I S T .............................................. 115 C. V LIST OF TABLES Table 3.1 Page Number of Elementary School Principalsin the Various School-Enrollment and Conpensatory-Funding Categories........................................ 58 Ranking of 27 Educational Needs, With Number of Times Selected and Percentage of Respondents Selecting Each N e e d ........................................ 67 Results of Multivariate and Univariate Analyses of Variance.......................................... 69 4.3 Results of ANOVA Tests............................... 70 5.1 Relationship Between School-Enrollment Size and Percentage of Students Eligible for Compensatory Education F u n d i n g ................................. 86 4.1 4.2 vi LIST OF FIGURES Figure 5.1 Page Relationship Between School Size and Eligiblity for Compensatory F u n d i n g ............................. vii 86 CHAPTER I THE PROBLEM Introduction Studies of effective and ineffective elementary schools have consistently pointed to the principal as one of the determinants of effective or ineffective schools. Blumberg (1980) listed several clearly discerned criteria of an effective elementary school principalship and specific skills that principals can develop through graduate training. Individuals enter the elementary school principalship with varying degrees of educational preparedness. In addition, the requirements of the position are changing rapidly. Therefore, a current list of the educational needs of elementary school principals is essential. Not too long ago, educational needs of elementary school principals included being prepared to cope with rapidly expanding student enrollments, high staff turnover, increasing budgets, and building expansion. Today, principals must be able to deal with dwindling enrollments, low staff turnover, zero-based budgeting tied to decreased enrollments, and closing off or changing building use. In addition to the perennial preparedness problem and the adjustments necessitated by directly opposite enrollment and staff movements are numerous new problems that demand principals' mastery 1 2 of additional skills. Among these skills are the management tech­ niques necessary to cope with increased demands by state and federal government programs and regulations; breakfast and lunch programs; tighter and more encompassing union contracts; changing staff requirements; and a tremendous increase in paper work. tary principal is also The elemen­ responsible for the duties delegated by the local school board through the superintendent. Seme of these duties are to show student improvement in basic skills; to evaluate pro­ grams regularly; to maintain student records; reporting student growth and development; to be involved in the community; to involve parents in the school; and to conform to the new emphasis on student rights. In a paper entitled "Correlates of School Effectiveness," Ednunds and Lezotte (1978) pointed out that "principals of effective schools tend to spend most of their time in classrooms and other teaching stations and while there to be primarily concerned with instructional matters.” Further emphasizing the need for skilled principals, they stated, "Teachers in effective schools tend to look first to the principal as that colleague most able and likely to assist in the solution of instructional problems in the classrocm." In a recently released national study of schools, the National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) emphasized in A Nation at Risk; Ihe imperative for Educational Reform. "We have, in effect, been ccnmitting an act of unthinking unilateral educational disarmament." The Commission recognized that "essential raw materials are waiting to be [used] through effective leadership." 3 A study is needed to identify in some order of importance the needs skills of elementary school principals. A logical study might be with elenentary school principals who are presently facing the tasks of managing elementary schools. Purpose of the Study The major purpose of this study was to formulate a prioritized educational needs list that might be useful as a guide by appropriate decision makers who recommend practical and relevant courses of study for elementary school principals. Practicing elementary school prin­ cipals were surveyed to determine the educational needs of successful elementary school principals. The underlying rationale for the study was the assumption that a systematically organized educational needs list for the elementary principalship did not exist. If decision makers involved in planning educational programs for elementary school principals are given a clearly defined and prioritized needs list, practical and relevant courses of study may result. Because the elementary principal must possess certain skills to deal constructively with the tasks with which he/she is confronted, college course work and inservice development programs should be designed to prepare the principal to handle these duties. Therefore, gaining the necessary input to plan effective development 4 programs for elementary school principals was the central focus of this research project. Importance,.of „the.,Problem The importance of a well-educated elementary school principal is not questioned. The elementary school period of a child's life is probably the most important time in his/her formal educational experience. For same individuals, this period represents all of their formal schooling. For othersf it is the foundation of formal education on which later educational success is built. Because all students and society in general depend on the elementary school, the elementary principalship is an important school administrative position. Thus, it follows that the importance of determining the educational needs of this position is also great. The variety of needs and skills necessary to ackninister an effective elementary school properly has been enumerated and validated by writers and researchers over the years (Hagman, 1956; Hicks, 1956; Kimbrough, 1968; KLopf, 1874; Misner, Schneider, & Keith, 1963; Sergiovanni & Elliott, 1975). The elementary school principalship has been the focus of studies by the American Association of School Adminis­ trators, the National Educational Association, the National Association of Elementary School Principals, and Research for Better Schools, Incorporated, as directed and financed by the United States Department of Health, Education, and Welfare in 1979. 5 Because the elementary school principalship is often the first step from the classroom into school administration, this position frequently is occupied by an individual who has had very little educational preparation for the position, ttie elementary principalship may be a reward for a job well done, but that job might not have prepared the person educationally for the principal­ ship. Thus another important aspect of the problem is that the new principal might not know what is needed educationally to become a successful elementary school leader. A third part of the problem is that often when the elementary school principal realizes he/she lacks certain skills to provide the necessary leadership in the instructional role, an inservice develop­ ment program is not readily available to provide expertise in the requisite skills. In 1978, Brookover and Lezotte examined schools that were characterized as either improving or declining in effectiveness. In the "improving schools" they found that the principal was more likely to be an instructional leader, to be more assertive in the instruc­ tional role, and to assume the responsibility for the evaluation of students' achievement of basic skills. In the January 1979 issue of Phi Delta Kappan. Goodlad's article, "Can Our Schools Get Better?" identified the principal as central to the attainment of the kind of school that is considered effective. The February 1982 issue of Educational Leadership contained an article by Cawelti entitled "Training for Effective School 6 Administrators." Cawelti reinforced studies that have indicated the importance of updating principals' skills to fulfill the instructional leadership role along with other educational skills that have become necessary for the effective principal during the last decade. Cawelti stated: Few social institutions could withstand the pressures faced by schools over the last decade. Ihe mix of accountability laws, competency tests, mandates for equity and a more responsive curriculum, declining enrollments, lid bills on financing, and collective bargaining have placed demands on school adninistrators for skills unheard of several years ago, much less taught in universities. As a result . . . more effective Human Resource Development (HRD) for practicing adninistrators is more important than ever. Research Questions and Hypotheses Four research questions were constructed to guide the col­ lection of data in this study. 1. They are as follows: What educational needs of elementary school principals were chosen by most respondents in the Q-Sort section of the instrument? 2. Is there a significant difference among respondents, based on enrollment size of buildings administered, in terms of instructional, management, and human/public-relations educational needs? 3. Is there a significant difference among respondents, based on type of school with respect to level of compensatory funding, in terms of instructional, management, and hunan/publicrelations educational needs? 4. Is there a significant interaction effect between school funding basis and size of buildings of respondents, in terms of 7 instructional, management, and human/public-relations educational needs? The following null hypotheses were formulated to analyze the data gathered in the study: Hypothesis 1: There is no difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/publicrelations skills, according to enrollment size of the buildings administered by the principals surveyed. Hypothesis 2: There is no difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/publicrelations skills, according to the level of eligibility for compensatory education funding of the schools administered by the principals surveyed. Hypothesis 3: There is no interaction between enrollment size of the buildings administered and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding, in terms of the prioritized educational needs list of surveyed elementary principals in the areas of instructional, management, and hunan/public-relations skills. Assumptions and Delimitation The primary assumption of this study was that elementary education is considered important to all educators and that 8 elementary school principals directly affect the elementary schools' success in providing maximum intellectual and social growth, as indicated by achievement of objectives in both of these areas, lbe writer assumed that the individuals surveyed answered the survey questions to the best of their ability. He also assumed that the findings regarding prioritized educational needs truly reflect the felt educational needs of elementary school principals in day-to-day elementary school operation. Hie study was delimited to elementary principals from the 17 middle-sized urban school districts that were members of the Michigan Middle Cities Association. Definition of Terms Hie following terms are defined in the context in which they are used in this dissertation. Compensatory funding: Funds that are made available under categorical eligibility, usually to compensate for specified needs of students in one location or school attendance area in which the specified need seems to be greater than in the general student population. An example is providing schools with additional money for reading programs when the reading level of students in those schools is a specified degree lower than that of their counterparts in the general population. Elementary school: Hie building housing students ranging from prekindergarten or kindergarten through fifth or sixth grade. Elementary school principal: Hie elementary school administrator who is delegated certain responsibilities by the 9 school board, usually through the district superintendent. These responsibilities usually include but are not limited to executing board of education policies; allocating available resources, both material and human; providing measurable growth toward predetermined district objectives; and supervising the education of the students enrolled in the school. Elementary school student: A student enrolled in the grades served by the elementary school, usually beginning with prekinder­ garten or kindergarten and continuing through the sixth grade. Faculty: Administrators and teachers in an elementary school. Instruction: Activity that takes place primarily in the classroom or other suitable place under the guidance of teachers or instructors, having planned procedures and goals but not necessarily limited to specified procedures and goals. Middle Cities Association: The Middle Cities Association was officially organized in 1972 as a nonprofit corporation. The association comprised 17 middle-sized urban school districts in Michigan. The smallest is Muskegon Heights with 3,000 students, and the largest is Flint with 40,000 students. Collectively, the 17 districts have an enrollment of more than 275,000 students and as a consortium represent the fourth largest school district in the nation. The association was established with the belief that personnel from various school districts can constructively share information, knowledge, experiences, and ideas; that an organizational vehicle is needed through which school districts can exchange ideas, 10 jointly develop programs, and ultimately increase the quality of education for all students served; and that university and localschool-district staff members can and should link their efforts on a continuing basis. Supervision: Supporting, assisting, and sharing with the teacher, rather than directing the teacher. works through people. A supervisor always Die elementary principal as a supervisor uses organization, structure, and procedures— not as ends in themselves, but toward the goals of instructional improvement and more efficient educational direction to facilitate normal child growth and development. Survey instrument: The survey instrument used in this study contained descriptions of educational skills that the researcher considered desirable and in some instances necessary for a successful elementary school principal. No attempt was made to influence selection or ranking of skills, either by placement in the selection instrument or by description of the skill item as a course of study or inservice development program. No indication of categories, namely, management skills, instructional skills, or human/public-relations skills, was included in the survey instrument. Documentation of desirability and importance of the 27 educational skills contained in the survey instrument is contained in the review of literature in Chapter II. 11 Overview of-the study This dissertation is divided into five chapters. In Chapter I, the basic problem of identifying elementary school principals' educational needs was introduced and developed. need for and importance of the study were considered. The General and specific purposes of the study were stated, as were the research questions and hypotheses tested. Assumptions underlying the study were listed, and key terms used in the dissertation were defined. Chapter II contains a review of literature related to 27 educational needs of the elementary school principal, with special emphasis on instructional skills, management skills, and human/public-relations skills. The design of the study is explained in Chapter III. In this chapter, the sample of elementary school principals is identified. The selection and development of the survey instrument are described, and the pilot study is reviewed. Included in the chapter are a description of data-collection procedures and statistical-analysis techniques employed in the study. In Chapter IV, the analysis of the data is reported. Each research hypothesis is restated, followed by the survey results and statistical relationships discovered. Responses of the study participants relative to the structuring of accessible inservice development programs are also reported and analyzed. Chapter V contains the conclusions of the study. to the Base Data Survey are discussed. Responses Recommendations are 12 presented for further research in the area of elementary school principals' educational needs. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction This chapter contains a review of the literature that focuses on the role of the elementary school principal in the elementary school community. Selected job factors and skills of the elementary school principal that contribute to successful supervision of the elementary school are identified as educational needs of these principals. For the purposes of this study, the researcher formulated a list of 27 educational needs of elementary school principals, based on previous research and educational literature. In the review of literature, each of these needs is discussed individually. Many types of skills are considered in most of these educational-needs areas. However, the researcher makes no claim that these 27 educational needs include all of the skills necessary for an elementary school principal. The Elementary School Principal and Accountability The elementary school principal is accountable to various people on different levels. The principal is accountable to students, to parents, to teachers, to the public, to the board of education, to taxpayers, and to various funding sources. 13 14 Accountability, viewed as being responsible to saneone for something, has a broad application for the elementary school principal. According to Sergiovanni and Elliott (1975), some of the learnings of students for which the school is accountable are as follows: Hie rigid schedule, the no-argument approach to children, and especially the teacher-centered classroom reveal a great deal about what assunptions the teacher holds for children. Youngsters often learn more from these latent aspects of schooling than from the curriculum. It is in this context that one comes to learn much about self-respect, authority, trust, self-discipline, sharing, freedom, and the decision-making process. Principals and teachers often do not recognize the contradiction in expecting youngsters to achieve our manifest goals of intellectual enrichment, interpersonal competence, and personal self-actualization in rigidly scheduled, high-control elenentary schools which feature excessive concern for ease of adult work and smooth, orderly, and efficient operation. We need to be constantly alert to inconsistencies that exist between the goals which we are manifestly pursuing and the means (from which latent goals are inferred) which we use to pursue these goals, (p. 21) Accountability to the child was emphasized by Hicks (1956): Hie effective administrative leader recognizes his responsibility to the chief educational consumer: the child. . . . It is advisable for educators to keep reminding themselves that school exists for children, rather than the converse. One of the basic obligations of the school, then, is to provide for the maximum adjustment to the child's needs and development for the fullest possible utilization of the child's interests and resources in the process. Hie prime obligation of the school obviously is one of the strongest challenges to the ingenuity and leadership of the administration. How well he performs this particular professional feat indicates to a very strong degree the extent of his total effectiveness, (p. 184) Hie elementary principal is accountable, along with the teachers, for student growth in personal responsibility. One of the prime purposes of the school program is the development of a sense of personal responsibility. If children become self-directive and see real purpose in their days spent at school, there will be a diminishing tendency to avoid school 15 through unnecessary absence. Children cannot be drawn to school because it is important to someone else; they will be drawn toward it if they feel it is important to them. (Hicks, 1956, p. 184) The Elementary School Principal and Achievement One of the elementary school principal's responsibilities is student achievement: One of the basic obligations of the school is to provide for maximum adjustment to the child's needs and development and for the fullest possible utilization of the child's interests and resources in the process. Hie principal should bring all available resources to the task of providing leadership in the development of a school program which promotes the happiness, comfort, and success of each child. The basic purpose of the school is to contribute to the growth of children. Therefore, the beginning point for any rational program of education is the appraisal of the extent and nature of the growth that is occurring in the children who attend school. (Hicks, 1956, pp. 22, 412) In reference to meeting individual student needs to improve achievement, Hagman (1956) pointed out: In keeping with the advancing knowledge in the area of child development, the elementary school may be expected to develop more adequate means for individualizing learning opportunities. This is not a new concept, and the need for attending to individual differences is recited over and over again. Yet, proposals for individualizing instruction have never received wide acceptance, and because most plans of that kind offered only quantitative differentials the proposals failed to meet the real need for which individualization of school experiences should be planned. The elementary principal has an important role in helping teachers provide pupils with the opportunities of group activities while fulfilling their individual needs of motivation, interest, achievement, and continuity of intellectual development. Without the principal's leadership, teachers may become overwhelmed with their 16 daily work, and individual success nay be overlooked in the daily process. A child's school achievement generally refers to his/her intellectual and social growth norms relative to intellectual goals and social-behavior norms established by the school. The principal, as well as all others who share responsibility for the child's achievement, would do well to consider achievement in light of child growth and development. In this regard, Snyder and Peterson (1970) wrote: Practicing elementary school ackninistrators often express the feeling that they enjoy their administrative work, but that they miss the previous association with children which they had while teaching. It is unfortunate that many ackninistrators perceive administrative work as being divorced from association with children except, perhaps, within the realm of discipline. Even this usually is considered to be a negative association. Such perception is grossly in error. The understanding of children is fundamental to all administrative roles in elementary education. Continuous study and efforts to understand pupils are necessary to meet the expectations of pupils and parents. Complete understanding of children is rarely achieved, but increased understanding may result frcm empirical observation, direct interaction, and study of the expanding knowledge concerned with the grcwth and development, (p. 140) In keeping abreast of student achievement and success, the elementary school principal should observe and associate with pupils in the classroom (Snyder & Peterson, 1970). Supervision and observation in the classroom provide insights to both the process of instruction and the process of learning. Classroom observation is also most helpful in learning to know individual pupils. . . . The administrator who spends enough time in the classrocm so as not to be perceived by the children as a "visitor'' will have ample opportunity to interact and associate with the children. . . . Of all the possible ways for the elementary school administrator to associate with the children, the classrocm observation, association, and interaction are the most important. One good way for an ackninistrator to capitalize upon an opportunity to associate with pupils in the classrocm is for him 17 to substitute occasionally for classrocm teachers. Ibis should be doner howeverr with the objective of working with childrenr and this objective of working with children must be understood by the instructional staff. • . . Casual contact in the hallways and on the playground is important and can afford the ackninistrator valuable opportunities to visit with pupils, but he should not depend on casual pupil contact as the only mode, other than classrocm visitation, for pupil association, (p. 155) The Elementary School Principal and Appreciating the True Value of. People The principal should be able to recognize and show appreciation for the true value of people. As Spain, Drummond, and Goodlad (1956) noted: The principal, more than any other individual, sets the atmosphere for the school. By his actions, he convinces the staff of their worth, his interest, and the importance of their problems. What the principal does is frequently not as significant in the development of high morale, however, as the manner in which he does it. . . . When an atmosphere of cooperation pervades a school and a school system, teachers are eager to try things— to experiment; they are eager to go beyond the "call of duty"; they are willing participants. Nothing seems to bring about an atmosphere of approval quite so much as recognition of particularly effective work. All persons need to achieve recognition and success if their life needs are to be met. Teachers, due to the nature of their daily challenges, especially need to receive public approbation. . . . The good elementary school principal surrounds his staff with an atmosphere of approval based upon sincere recognition of accomplishments, (p. 71) The Elementary School Principal and the Budgeting Process Important aspects of the budgeting process for the elementary school principal were pointed out by Kimbrough (1968): There are many ways in which the principal may participate in the budgetary process. . . . The principal should provide leadership with the faculty to develop priorities of needs in realizing the educational plan. He is responsible for ccnrnunicating these educational needs to those officials who are coordinating budgetary planning. This is one procedure for 18 effective participation and leadership developing the school district, (p. 350) In addition to budgetary responsibilities as an educational leader, the elementary school principal has other financial respon­ sibilities, as well (Spain et al., 1956). "This responsibility involves the proper management of funds collected in individual schools. There are many sources of local school funds and the actual amounts of money will vary greatly." (p. 48) • Sane of these sources of funds are lunch money, entertainment performances, fees, field trips, and recreational funds. Hie authors continued: Proper accounting for and management of all these funds constitute a very important responsibility of the principal. Failure to recognize seriously this responsibility has resulted in numerals cases of public embarrassment, suspicion of mismanagement, dismissal, and occasionally even criminal prosecution. Proper and systematic handling of school funds is not a difficult task; but it is one which cannot be treated haphazardly or nonchalantly, (p. 48) The Elementary School Principal and Conmunitv Involvement The elementary school is part of the community. There are many ways in which the caimunity-oriented elementary school principal can permeate the community with the valid educational goals of the school and in which the school can serve the community in achieving its societal aspirations. The importance and the means of using this school-community partnership were emphasized by Hicks (1956): The effective administrative leader recognizes his responsibility to parents and citizens of the community. One of the marks of distinction of the effective principal is his sensitivity to the social structure of the ccrmunity and to possible means whereby the school and community may mutually 19 complement each other in providing activities for improving and enriching the lives of its citizens. While it is not the legal business of the school to pass judgment on the operation of the local businessr it is the responsibility of school personnel to seek the cooperation of all for the benefit and welfare of the children who attend school and to try to develop a community pride in providing worthwhile leisure activities for children and youth. The interaction of community elements is so essential to the development of a good, modem school program that it cannot be left to chance and hope. Most competent administrative leaders actively engage in the continuous study of ways to improve the interaction for the welfare of the school and the community. (p. 184) The elementary school principal can keep the community informed about the school through direct publicity such as a school newspaper, newsletter, bulletins, handbooks, radio, and television. The Elementary School Principal and Coordination of State and Federal Programs There is a paucity of information concerning elementary school principals' role in coordinating state and federal programs. In the following statements, Ricks (1956) emphasized the importance of integrating coordination skills. Administration is not an end in itself. Its justification lies in the contribution it makes to the effectiveness of learning and teaching. Since unity is essential to an effectual school program, a criterion for judging administration is the extent to which it is able to integrate the individual activities of members of the staff into a meaningful and efficient pattern of operation. . . . One of the greatest concerns of administrative leadership is the adequate coordination of resources in the formulation of educational purposes; the planning, development, organization and evaluation of learning experiences; and the interpreting of the school program to the caimunity and beyond, (p. 13) Later in the same book, Hicks pointed out: The elementary school cannot accurately be considered an autonomous educational unit because of its relationship to and dependence upon local, state, and federal agencies. The regulations and contributions of these agencies have affected 20 both the resources and the nature of the program of the elementary school. . . . Although state legislatures have delegated most of the control of education to local camiunities, there are many ways in which the state controls and influences the nature and quality of educational programs at the local level, (pp. 58-59) The elementary principal has a coordinating function in sane of these areas of state control. In sane cases, control and influence are achieved by direct legislation or by monetary appropriations that may stipulate what qualifications the receiving school must meet. Sane control is through direct legislation of curriculum the local elementary school must provide. At times the state exercises control by establishing such agencies as state departments of education. Often the regulations promulgated by such state agencies carry the weight of law. Seme of the areas of state regulation in whose coordination the principal may be involved are teacher certification, textbook requirements, food services, and transportation. Most elementary school principals become involved in sane way with and have sane role in coordinating federal programs instituted by the United States Office of Education. These federai- government programs influence every public elementary school in the United States (Hicks, 1956). One of the ways in which education is influenced at the national level is through the activities of the United States Office of Education. . . . The federal government and regulating influence reach every public elementary school in the United States. (Hicks, 1956, p. 60) 21 Ihe Elementary .School Principal .and the Elementary School Curriculum Probably the most frequently discussed area of elementary school administration is curriculum. Sane of the curriculum-related areas in which the principal should be highly involved are curriculum planning and evaluation; parent, student, and staff involvement in curriculum, and curriculun continuity. Elementary school principals must be directors in curriculun development because of the leadership position they hold. To lead in the area of curriculum, the elementary principal must be knowledge­ able about the forces that resist curriculum change (Sergiovanni & Elliott, 1975). Much money and effort have been expended on curriculum studies without really affecting the quality of interaction between teachers and students and between students and their world. Meaningful curriculun change demands concentrated effort for various reasons, as Sergiovanni and Elliott (1975) pointed out: First, children are raised by the whole community— in many ways, the whole society— and the school is only part of the ccnmunity. Because children attend school for such a long time, school staff members have gradually become responsible for more and more aspects of children's lives. This has led to a good deal of confusion concerning just what the teacher's role and the principal's role should be vis-cl-vis the roles of parents and others in the community. Second, and related to the first point, is the problem of measuring educational outputs and inputs and thus obtaining reliable feedback on the differential effects of various kinds of program elements or variations. This problem is compounded by the fact that many effects of school experience do not show up until years later and are hard to trace back to any particular phase of schooling. Third, schools as institutions have developed their own subcultures which are relatively self-sustaining and which develop effective defenses against outside intrusions. This 22 means, among other things, that it is quite difficult for school people to be really self-critical, for to be so is to leave themselves vulnerable to outside attacks. This also results in the separation between the world of the school and classrocm, on the one hand, and the wider world in which children and their families live, on the other— especially when schools are made to feel that they must select for inclusion in the curriculum only content that is considered noncontroversial and that can easily be packaged for classrocm use. All too often, the world as represented in schoolbooks is so different from the world of children's everyday experience outside school that it is easy to see why seme become alienated or bored, (p. 23) Thus, the elementary school principal should be conscious of the forces involved in bringing about curriculum change, psycho­ logically prepared to open the avenues of communication beyond the educational subculture, and educated to use the tools of curriculum building along with curriculum dismantling so that resulting curriculun changes may be meaningful for students, parents, and society in general. Concerning curriculum goals, Sergiovanni and Elliott wrote: There seems to be unanimous agreement on the need for goal focus, on the establishment of aims, and on setting of objec­ tives for elementary school curricula and instruction. But the way in which objectives are to be formulated and stated has been and continues to be a source of controversy and professional debate. Of particular significance in recent years is the popularity of behavioral objectives. . . . To be sure, objectives clearly stated and sensibly defined in behavioral terms can have important value in teaching and learning. Such clear statements of objectives can help teachers select learning experiences, materials, and educational settings which will lead the student to the desired behavior. Further, organizing, sequencing and evaluating instruction are all greatly facilitated ty the statement of dear instructional objectives, (p. 24) Responsibility for curriculun improvement rests with the elementary school principal (Hicks, 1956): Children, like adults, tend to avoid things which lead only to frustration, or things which have no meaning for them. Often children have only one escape from a curriculum which is wholly 23 unsuited to them— they stay away from school. If the school makes a genuine attempt to provide profitable and interesting learning experiences for diildren, it is, at the same time, taking very significant steps toward reducing unnecessary absence from school, (p. 321) The elementary principal is responsible for providing the curriculum leadership to generate student involvement. Hie importance of continuous curriculum evaluation was anphasized by Hicks: Continuous evaluation is an integral part of curriculum development and implementation. Hie continuing tendency to apply critical judgments to the curriculum is one of the bases upon which rests the hope for keeping the curriculum alive and functional, (p. 321) According to Hicks, the following questions should be considered in evaluating the curriculum: 1. Are clear objectives developed and understood by all persons involved in the instructional program of the school? 2. Is the curriculum content emphasized in the school consis­ tent with the objectives formulated? 3. Does the curriculun organization of the school functionalize and integrate the content into meaningful learning experi­ ences? 4. Is there provision for flexibility in the curriculun so that each individual may progress with a desirable degree of continuity? 5. Is the teaching methodology employed by teachers consistent with the objectives of the school? 6. Are the provisions for a rich supply of instructional materials, varied both in nature and difficulty? 7. Do the organization and services of the school support the curriculum of the school? 8. Are there provisions for continuous evaluation of the instructional program? 9. Is curriculum study and experimentation encouraged in the school and sure there provisions for group study of curricu­ lun problems and improvement? (p. 424) Relative to involving (diildren and parents in curriculum planning, Hicks suggested: One of the marks of a good modem school is the extent to which both children and parents are brought into the process of 24 planning the activities which affect them. Careful study will reveal many ways in which children can participate in the planning of their groups, and in which teachers and parents can be involved in the development and planning of school policies and projects, (p. 425) Hie £larentary School Principal and Energy Conservation Recently, the elementary school principal has been assigned a new responsibility, as have all Americans: energy conservation. The principal's role in conserving energy was not discussed in the literature on elementary school administration. Therefore, this writer has suggested seme of the aspects of energy conservation with which elementary school principals might be concerned. Hie principal should be knowledgeable about the need to conserve energy and ready to provide leadership in conserving energy within the school. Principals can obtain suggestions for classrocm energy-conservation projects and overall school-building planning from state and federal energy offices. The Elementary School Principal and the Elementary School Educational Environment A basic responsibility of the elementary school principal is to monitor and orchestrate the elementary school and neighborhood educational environments and to plan continuously for an improvement of both learning settings. The elementary school plays a major role in preparing students to adjust to an expanding environment. The importance of the environment and student adjustment to that environment was described by Hicks (1956): A basic obligation of the school is to help children adjust increasingly to an expanding environment. Regardless of age, 25 most of us are surrounded continuously by two types of environment: the physical world and the social world. One involves things; the other people. . . . There is a genuine relationship between adjustment and productivity as far as the physical world is concerned. The social adjustments of an individual probably are even more vital to his well-being and his ability to lead a happy, successful life among his fellows. Optimum adjustment to one's environment involves getting satisfactions from, and seeing the best in, the people and things about one. It is based on extending knowledge, increasing understanding, and expanding interests. It often requires the imagination to put one's self in another's place and occasionally demands the inclination and ability to endure an unpleasant fact or incident without becoming too emotional about it. Certainly one of the prime jobs of the school is to offer opportunities for children to learn about the environment, both physical and social, and to understand relationships existing among its various elements. A second important task facing the elementary school is that of developing individuals who can operate effectively within their physical and social environments to an ever increasing degree. To do so children must develop positive attitudes toward others and toward life itself. In addition, they must develop the skills necessary to ccmunicate with their fellows and to meet the day-to-day demands of successful living. They must learn efficient work habits and develop a respect for quality and beauty, (p. 100) Further on, Hicks stated: A child should have an opportunity to exercise his initiative and to explore his environment in his efforts to extend his understanding of the world about him. He must learn at the same time, however, that society places certain restraints upon him to prevent his conduct frcm coming into conflict with the rights of those about him. Therefore, it is the responsibility of those who determine the nature of the organization of the school to set up conditions conducive to the development of this recognition by children and to positive growth in the direction of self-government, (p. 331) Techniques a principal should use to establish a positive school environment were listed by Snyder and Peterson (1970): The ackninistrator should strive for a good climate for learning, while bringing about desirable pupil behavior. His and the teachers' association with pupils is highly important in establishing such an environment. To establish a wholesome climate for learning, adults in their association with children should: 26 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. Be businesslike. Be orderly in matters of routine. Avoid any suggestion of threatsf sarcasm, or punishment as motivation. Let pupils have ample opportunity to express themselves. Cultivate a pleasing voice. Be fair and impartial. Be calm, consistent, and firm in the administration of disciplinary problems. Give each pupil consideration and respect. Renanber that they are dealing with children, not adults. Shew genuine interest in every child. Be liberal with sincere praise; praise in public; censure in privacy. Show confidence in children's ability to develop selfcontrol. Allow children to save face when theyare in atight spot. Expect good behavior. Children strive to measure up to the expectations adults have for them. (p. 165) Writing in 1952, Campbell might well have been addressing the elementary school principal of the 1980s: What is needed today is an educational solution to world problems that people will fall in love with and come to possess as their own. . . . It is ideas that move people to action. Significant ideas live forever. Ideas create their cwn pcwer of locomotion; they move forward under their cwn steam. Educators need programs in the future that are irradiated by ideals. . . . The dynamic and challenging goal for education in the future is to improve people's relationships: with one another; in an intellectual sense, where there is interaction of thought processes; in an emotional manner, where there is waring and receiv­ ing; in a cooperative way, where there is working together to improve all aspects of community life. (pp. 315-16) The environment of the school has been referred to as a "learner centered environment" (Smith & Keith, 1971). In this environment, both faculty and students should be free to move tcward an "individualized learning program" (p. 11). 27 The Elementary School Principal and Furthering the Home-Schppl-Conmmity. Partnership The elementary principal and the school are almost one in the eyes of the parents, the children, and the community. It is the principal with whan parents discuss school-related problems or concerns. Educators usually view the school as the most important institution in the caimunity, whereas parents usually feel the heme is the most important. The principal must bring together the educational aspects of both agencies to share in importance in the formalized educational process. Referring to the home as a partner in education, Hagnan (1956) wrote: It is likely that the influence for good or bad of the home is greater than that of any other agency in the education of the young child. The school and other community agencies devoted to his interest must be satisfied with less pervasive influence and with less opportunity to educate. Should the home be a good one, the work of the school will be fostered. The education of the child will be supported best by the work of the good home and the good school in cooperation. Should the heme be poor in terms of favorable influence upon the education of the child, the work of the school may be frustrated or at best made less effective than it would be were the home a better one for the child, (p. 4) The principal should provide the leadership in establishing a definite program of reporting children's successes to their parents. Teachers are often reluctant to take the initiative to contact parents because Parent-teacher contacts are nearly always over a child's difficulty. Since a teacher has not been successful in working with the child, the parent's attitude may be interpreted as criticism and this increases the teacher's sense of guilt or inadequacy. (Hagman, 1956, p. 187) 28 The elementary principal should use his leadership ability to help teachers and parents develop the "living report” concept, through which daily successes in the school are shared with the home. Hie elementary principal is the one person who, if properly prepared, can enhance the quality of the educational program in the elementary school (Hicks, 1956, pp. 9-11). He/she is in a position to provide continuity and leadership for improvement. The principal can also influence the quality of the educational program. The principal's concept of educational quality can extend into every heme and the broader community. Of special concern is the perception developed in the hones and the caimunity about whether the school is a success or a failure. According to Hicks, the elementary principal should work to earn a good working relationship with the hone: Good working relations between the school and the hone do not just happen; they are earned. In this process, school personnel are largely responsible for the development of conditions which foster favorable relations with parents. TWo types of awareness in teachers and ackninistrators are prerequisite to any intelligent approach to an improvement of relations with the home: (1) they must remember at all times that most parents love their children very much, and (2) they must recognize the necessity of analyzing the ways in which parents form their impressions of the school, (p. 11) Concerning the elementary principal's role in maintaining home-school-community relations, Hicks carmented: Effective school-community relations require clear and continuous communication. People who cannot talk together about education cannot expect to work together in its behalf. If school personnel and citizens of the carmunity are to engage in a cooperative effort on behalf of the school, they must be able to carmunicate and exchange ideas, (p. 384) Criticisms of the school can be either blessings or deadly instruments of destruction, depending upon their nature and the 29 motives and power of those who initiate and perpetuate them. The wise administrative leader will study the sources and under­ lying reasons for these criticisms carefully so that he and his staff may meet them in a constructive manner. Not only in contests is a good offense the best defense. This oft-quoted statement is good advice to the ackninistrator who wishes to counteract the effects of criticism. The best policy is to provide a good school program, seek intelligent and united effort by the school staff, and provide all possible means for developing in the conmunity an informed, interested, and participating public, (pp. 399-400) Numerous ways in which the elementary principal can prcroote school-community interaction were suggested by Hicks: 1. Make the child the cannon denominator of school-ccmmunity interaction. 2. Encourage parent participation in policy developnent. 3. Keep parents informed about school policies. 4. Interpret school activity in terms laymen can understand. 5. Encourage teacher-parent conferences. 6. Find ways in which parents can help with school routines or with special activities and excursions. 7. Work toward the development of the "community-school" concept. 8. Emphasize the strong points of the school program. 9. Use a variety of means to publicize the program of the school. 10. Encourage parent visits. 11. Send children heme happy at the end of the school day. 12. Make news bulletins brief and attractive. 13. Ehcourage teachers to use simple and friendly language in carrmunications with parents and on reports of children's progress. 14. Suggest that teachers spend a few minutes before afternoon dismissal to evaluate worthwhile activities of the day. 15. Make occasional community surveys. 16. Discuss with parents ways in which they can help their children succeed in school. 17. Always allow a parent to discuss his grievances until he gets the matter "completely off his chest." 18. Encourage children to write letters of self-evaluation to their parents. 19. Invite parents to culminating activities of units of study. 20. Bring parents into the planning stage of prospective changes in school operation or policy. 21. Invite parents to school to discuss special aptitudes or achievements of their children. 22. Provide a library of suitable materials for parents. 23. Let children prepare periodic "roan newspapers." 30 24. Include sane parents and other laymen on the school advisory council, (p. 400) As noted by Snyder and Peterson (1970), sending school bulletins to parents can also strengthen the hane-school-caimunity partnership. Good public relations are based upon sound practices of commu­ nication with the public. In short, parents and patrons are interested in knowing all the facts pertinent to the operation of the school and everything that might affect the lives of their children while they are in school. Usually much of this information is disseminated through the regular news media of local newspapers, radio, and television. Sane schools have found success in keeping parents informed about the school program through monthly bulletins, which can be sent through the mail on a bulk rate basis. Still other schools rely on sending information home with the pupils, (p. 177) The Elementary School Principal and the Group Process The elementary school principal can use the group process in many areas of education and school administration. Speaking about using the group process in elementary schools, Hicks (1956) wrote: The broadening of the purposes of the elementary school in recent years has led inevitably to a greater variety of approaches to the achievement of desired goals. One of the ways this recognition has found expression is through the organization of special interest groups related to some aspect of the school's operation or program. Such groups are useful in two respects: 1. They provide a functional setting for the application of attitudes of responsibility. 2. They utilize special interests of children as a moti­ vation for further learning. The possibilities for the formation of groups of this kind are almost infinite in number and form. . . . Children of upper elementary school age are going through what is commonly called "the gang age." They tend to organize themselves into clubs of various sorts. . . . This rather natural urge can serve as bases for some very constructive club work in the elementary school. . . . Interest, of course, will vary somewhat between boys and girls and in terms of the local community situation and the timeliness with which a club is organized. Club work should make as much use as possible of pupil initiative and leadership with, of course, sufficient 31 guidance from the teacher to insure constructive activities in a wholesome direction, (p. 184) Seme suggested group activities are drama/ science/ choral/ literary/ art/ 4-H, sewing/ stamp-collecting/ law, medical, and song-writing clubs; student council; school patrol; and scouting programs. Group process can be the medium through which youths learn democratic procedures. The elementary principal would do well to become skilled in the group process. Through his/her leadership/ a societal environment and democratic process can be provided. Neither academic success nor verbal instruction alone can prepare the individual to live fully in and adjust to a free, democratic society. Through the principal’s guidance, the elementary school society can provide an atmosphere for school societies or groups in which the democratic process is an integral concept. Early in this century. Hart (1919) wrote of the importance of establishing such an atmosphere; The democratic problem in education is not primarily a problem of training children; it is a prcblen of making a community within which children cannot help growing up to be democratic, intelligent, disciplined to freedom, reverent of the goods of life, and eager to share in the tasks of the age. (p. 372) A democratically oriented elementary school, under the leadership of a principal who is skilled in group-process methods, might begin to produce this result. Shane and Youch (1954) referred to leadership as a group process in education. According to these authors, anyone connected with the work of the schools should be free to voice his/her views with the knowledge that they will be respected and, if meritorious, 32 be accepted. "The group leadership concept stands for the idea that good thinking drives out mediocre thinking” (p. 13). It is vital, in the interests of a strong democracy, that the persons affected by decisions share in the process of shaping them. "Creative educational leadership is the guidance of the cooperative process of using individual and group power of school and community in order to develop socially desirable learning experiences for children and youth. (Shane & Youch, 1954, p. 11) The Elementary School Principal and Influencing Human Interaction Writing on human interaction in the school and how the principal can influence such relationships, Hicks (1956) stated: The school is a social institution. This is to say that its effectiveness depends upon the type and quality of human relationships that exist among the individuals involved in its processes. Indeed, education itself is largely a matter of human interaction. Thus, if one wishes to improve the quality of education in any particular situation, at least one approach is to work for inproved persorv-to-person relationships among the personnel who staff the school. There are many avenues through which a principal may create desirable working relationships with the members of the teaching staff. Sane of the approaches to inproved relations depend chiefly upon the attitudes and actions of the principal as a person, whereas others are more closely related to the actual organizational machinery of the school. Sane of the profes­ sional attributes and activities which successful principals have found effective in building good relations with members of the staff merit detailed discussion at this point. They are: (1) improving morale, (2) improving caimunication, (3) creating favorable employment conditions, (4) recognizing the achievements of staff members, (5) defining responsibilities, and (6) rotat­ ing opportunities for leadership, (p. 337) The elementary school principal has two types of relationships with children: (1) those which are direct personto-person relationships and (2) indirect relationships through teachers or parents. The impressions children gain about their administrative leader in the school have a strong effect on their 33 general attitudes toward the school as a whole. Both the prin­ cipal's philosophy of education and his personal behavior bear directly on his relationships with children as well as on the way in which the school is organized and administered, (p. 343) In their discussion of the principal's self-perceptions, Snyder and Peterson (1970) described the interaction that often takes place between the elementary school principal and individual pupils: An ackninistrator usually comes in dose contact with those students whom the teachers are not successful in handling. These children may have conflicting value systems, be emotionally disturbed, be the victims of poor teaching or of inappropriate placement. The result can be a confrontation with a very frustrated and upset child who is often belligerent, (p. 17) The principal's conduct in such situations depends greatly on his/her self-perception and also his/her perception of the child. It is these perceptions that will likely determine whether the principal succeeds or fails in a particular human interaction (Snyder & Peterson, 1970). With the school upset and the administrator's authority challenged, the "perfectionist turned administrator" will wonder if he can truly separate his perception of the child's behavior frcm his feelings for the child. He will question the validity of his expectations. Naturally these questions and doubts will contribute to his feelings of inadequacy and bewilderment. (p. 17) The Elementary School Principal and Instructional Evaluation Considering the elementary principal's overall responsibility and especially his/her role as instructional leader, the principal must be educationally prepared to evaluate the instruction taking place within the school. 34 After discussing seme of the major handicaps under which an elementary school principal might have to work, Goldhammer and his associates (1971) stated: It may be that the elementary school principal avoids performing seme of the duties he claims he should be handling. For example, principals say they would like to have more time for the supervision of teachers; many principals, however, admit that they do not have the necessary skills to develop adequate supervisory programs within their buildings. A list of instructional practices that teachers might use for self-evaluation was provided by Hicks (1956). The elementary principal could use this list for reference in developing a checklist for instructional evaluation. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. Do I use a unit organization in my work? Do I list for my guidance the understandings to bedeveloped in a unit? Do I define preplanning of possible activities? Do I use cooperative pupil-teacher planning? a. Using flexible snail group instruction? b. Providing materials suited to the reading ability of individuals? c. Using activities suited to the needs and abilities of different children? Do I provide for individual differences? Do I help pupils develop skill in the use of books, for example? In: a. Using best sources of information? b. Using index and table of contents? c. Using glossary and dictionary? d. Note taking? e. Interpreting pictures? f. Skiraning? g. Outlining? h. Summarizing? Do I see that students use those activities that will best develop understandings, attitudes, and skills desired as outcomes of a unit? Do I help boys and girls in the development of skills con­ cerning maps, globes, charts, and graphs? In: a. Beading them? b. Interpreting them? c. Locating them? d. Making them? 35 9. Do I make use of such activities and audio-visual aids as: a. Committee work? b. Construction? c. Community resources (people, places, etc.)? d. Demonstrations? e. Dramatizations? £. Exhibits? g. Experiments? h. Field trips? i. Film strips? j. Models? k. Motion pictures? 1. Music, folk dances, poetry, and art? m. Phonograph? n. Pupils' experiences? o. Radio? p. Slides? q. Tape recorder? r. Teacher's experiences? 10. Do I help children to know of their successes and improve­ ment through:? a. Comparing work with standards? b. Criticizing (my) own work? c. Checking and evaluating ownconclusions? d. Keeping individual progresscharts? e. Getting verbal recognitionby the teacher? f. Getting recognition by theclass? g. Testing— when testing is good teaching or leads to it? 11. Do I help in the development of democratic ways of living in my classroom by: a. Providing for growth in group responsibility; for example, through use of: room ccranittees; bulletin board committees; club activities? b. Providing for growth in individual responsibility; for example, through use of: group chairmen; class librari­ ans; hobbies? c. Keeping the class atmosphere one of cooperation? (pp. 331-33) The Elementary School Principal and Law and. Education Education . . . is a state function. By omission of provision of education from the Constitution the founding fathers of American government at its inception implied that education should be controlled by the people locally. Through the Tenth Amendment this emission made education the sole responsibility of the states, which in turn passed on to the next smaller public political subdivision, the township, county, city, or district, the directing role in matters pertaining to the education of children. In spite of the fact that by delegation education has 36 become a grass roots function, both state and the federal government have enacted much legislation concerning it. Much of this legal machinery is designed to inspire uniformity and to disperse funds equitably in order to protect children throughout the state and nation. A great deal of state legislation, however, involves curriculum, attendance, special education, transportation and other matters connected with child growth and with the inxnense enterprise called education. (Jordan, 1959, p. 73) State and federal funding, as well as partial funding, have brought about more state and federal regulations, not only as a result of new legislation but also due to court decrees relative to existing laws. Mew legislation and new court interpretations have generated new and increased responsibilities for the elementary school principal. The Elementary School Principal and Leadership Concerning the theory of leadership, Snyder and Peterson (1970) wrote: Leadership theory parallels human relations theory in that it places emphasis upon the goal-seeking nature of human beings. Hunan life is a constant striving to achieve goals, meet individual needs, and relieve tensions. Most human needs are satisfied through relationships with other human beings. According to leadership theory, the man who occupies the role of leader is expected by the members of the group to have the necessary qualities and power to help them to achieve their goals. The dimension of power in leadership theory is considered to be control of the means which the group manbers believe are necessary for the satisfaction of their needs and for the achievement of their goals. The authority of the leader, then, arises out of the group's consent to follow, because the group members perceive the leader as controlling such power, (p. 78) Various aspects of elementary school leadership were con­ sidered by Hicks (1956): Leadership cannot exist except in its relation to members of a group, therefore, evidence regarding the quality of leadership is not necessarily obtained from the ackninistrator 37 himself f but is more likely to be found in the activities and accomplishments of the group, (p. 19) As an administrative leader, the principal is faced with both opportunity and responsibility. The vision to see the opportunities and the courage and competence to meet the responsibilities of the job are important, (p. 25) The author described the qualities of a successful principal in terms of effective leadership: The effective ackninistrative leader seeks to develop in himself the qualities necessary for successfully meeting his responsi­ bilities. The successful principal is one who, regardless of years of experience, still possesses the capacity to grew and to learn. Thoughtful reaction to experience, along with the use of all available opportunities for extended study, provides the fertile ground for the development of the attributes needed for productive leadership, (p. 10) In addition. Effective leadership is concerned with development rather than dictation. . . . The power of individual or group enterprise lies in the motivation which sparks the effort, (p. 14) The Elementary School Principal and Mainstreaming Soecial-Education Students Federal Law 94-142 establishes the right of handicapped children to receive a free public education. It also ensures the right of parents to take part in planning their child's educational program and in developing his/her educational plan. In many cases, the special-education student has been mainstreamed into the regular classroom, where teachers must try to provide for the needs of all pupils. The elementary school principal must provide the leadership necessary to integrate special-education students into the entire school setting; without such leadership, the mainstreaming process could fail. 38 A correlate of the concept of individual needs is the notion of individual differences. Schools can accommodate individual differences by first recognizing which of the divergences are important in the educational endeavors of the school and then setting out to assist where the differences may mean disadvantage or denial of equal opportunity (Wiles, 1959). Here the principal's assistance is often necessary in securing the proper materials and equipment, providing for additional teacher time, arranging for different types of work areas within the classrocm, and establishing means for the student to record his/her individual progress. The Elementary School Principal and Organization One attribute of a successful elementary school seems to be good organization. According to Snyder and Peterson (1970), the elementary school ackninistrator can benefit frcm organizational theory: Organizational theory is an attempt to assist the ackninistrator to diagnose organizational problems and to guide his plans and decisions. It can assist the elementary school ackninistrator to be more sensitive to the rationale for and the needs of the informal and formal organizations with which he is associated, (p. 79) An elementary school principal needs to be knowledgeable about and capable of operating within an organizational structure. The principal must be the most adaptable member of the whole organization. When an organizational problem is diagnosed, the principal will probably be affected in same way, and his/her solution should show sensitivity to the organization. 39 A school handbook can complement the organizational and operational structure of the elementary school (Snyder & Peterson, 1970). School policies should not be stated as dieturns, but should show readiness to consider individual needs. Policy statements should relate to expectations for students, as well as considerations for parents and teachers. Handbooks frequently are prepared in cooperation with the staff to serve as a general aid to the everyday problems in the organization of the school. Usually, many of the policies included in handbooks are traditional practices incorporated into written form because their value is recognized by members of the staff. Handbooks are not intended to be inflexible or unchangeable. They should be changed from time to time to meet the demands and needs of the staff and school. (Snyder & Peterson, 1970, p. 176) According to Misner, Schneider, and Lowell (1963), parents must be given an important position within the school's organiza­ tional structure. The authors suggested special concern for parental involvement when major change is being contemplated: School people need to realize that the child's first teachers, his parents, are really allies if they are but taken into confidence in any new endeavor which shows premise of facilitating the education of the children. Parents will attend school meetings if they are worthwhile and planned to give them an opportunity to learn of a new procedure and to ask questions and receive rational answers. They will listen with special attentiveness to their children's teachers as they explain the new procedure in individual or group conferences, (p. 391) The Elementary School Teacher and Planning Learners should participate as much as possible in the day-today, week-to-week, and month-to-month planning in the school. this way the student learns to plan. In The elementary school princi­ pal should be able to provide leadership in this area. Creating and 4G activating plans without student input could involve risks, which Hicks (1956) said may . . . lie in the extent to which adult standards of behavior are imposed on children, and the extent to which adult conveniences and comfort supersede the educational needs of children as the basis for educational activity. While ackninistrative expediency must often be considered in any realistic situation, the prime factor in determining what is done in our schools must always be the welfare of the children served by them. (p. 66) The elementary principal should remember that children are human beings (Hicks, 1956). Therefore, children deserve to be treated as such and should be respected as reacting, responding, and hunan individuals. In school planning, individual differences in development and ability must be recognized. The principal is responsible for assuring flexibility in accommodating individual differences. Just as the principal would consider a clothier unreasonable to try to fit all children ten years and three months of age into the same size clothes and shoes, so is the school plan unreasonable if no individual flexibility is allowed in solving school problems. Individual needs must be considered in all school planning. The principal's educational planning should include motivation. The successful elementary school principal's plan and policy for action should stress the need to motivate both students and teachers. According to Sergiovanni and Elliott (1975), Principals and supervisors are quick to point out that the motivational condition of elementary school youngsters is largely a function of school philosophy, teacher attitudes, and styles of teaching. Poor motivation is not an inherent condition in youngsters, but is rather a symptom of school, teacher, and educational program problems. It is probably true that some few youngsters are inpossible to motivate within the limitations of our present knowledge about youngsters and 41 schooling. However, large numbers of poorly motivated youngsters are indications that the school is not performing adequately. Die emphasis which principals and supervisors give to motivation of youngsters is important and ccmnendable. No less important, however, is the application of these same concepts to the adults who are employed in the school. If we are serious about providing the most effective environment we can for youngsters engaged in living and learning, the highly motivated teacher becomes a high-priority concern of principals and supervisors. . . . Simply stated, quality education and effective elementary schools are primarily a function of competent administrators, supervisors, and teachers who are internally committed and motivated to work. (pp. 137-38) The Elementary School Principal and Program Evaluation The elementary school principal, teachers, supportive staff, students, parents, and community are all program evaluators. most cases, the evaluation is very informal and piecemeal. In The principal should become familiar with the use of formal programevaluation techniques, including developing program objectives, looking objectively at costs and benefits of measuring program objectives, timing evaluation properly, using achievement scores in measuring growth, reporting test results, and planning for continuous program assessnent. Ihe. Elementary SchooL Principal and Public Relations and Cooperation Areas of school ackninistration that might well be included in the elementary school principal's educational needs list are plans for continued improvement of the school's public image. Seme methods that might be considered are using the media, planning with parents, reporting progress, participating in and considering 42 community affairs, building school spirit, and improving teacher morale to improve the public image of the school. A few simple acts that elementary school principals can incorporate into their plans of action to improve public relations were suggested by Hicks (1956): Do thoughtful things for children. The regular day-to-day experiences of children are potent factors in public relations. When they succeed or do unusually interesting things at school, they are likely to carry their exuberance heme with them; by the same token, unpleasant happenings at school tend to have the opposite effect. Unusually important in the establishment of favorable relations with parents are the little personal favors which teachers perform for children. A demonstrated interest in a child's family or hobby, or special care given to a child when he becomes ill or is injured, can have a very marked effect on the feeling of a parent toward the school, (p. 383) In communicating with parents, the principal should Maintain clear and positive channels of communication with parents. An effort should be made to remove any existing barriers to easy communication between parents and school personnel. Face-to-face conferences should be friendly and informal. Teachers often find it desirable to have conferences with parents over a cup of tea or coffee if facilities and time permit. Written communications should be friendly, simple, clear, and to the point. Long bulletins and duplicated letters are so impersonal that they sometimes do not get the attention expected. Even more important than the form of written communications is the tone they convey. Words used in notes to parents or in comments which are a part of pupil progress reports should be selected carefully. Seme words seem to convey the flavor of good will; others, by their very nature, inhibit good relations. (Hicks, 1956, pp. 390-91) In the following statement, Hicks reminded elementary school principals that The common denominator of effective school-community relations is the child. The best test of the quality of the schoolcommunity relations in any particular situation is their effect on children. Parents and citizens, though serving society as well, support schools for the benefit of children; teachers teach with the hope of satisfaction in helping children. In the 43 final analysis, the meeting ground of all educational effort is the welfare of the child. This observation emphasizes the necessity of interpreting school activities in terms of what they are expected to do for children and the desirability of soliciting support for schools in terms of the benefits that can be provided for children as a result of adequate support. Administrators and teachers should remember always that, in the mind of each parent, the one thing that is most important in the whole school operation is the child of that parent. Considera­ tion for children, therefore, is the key to opportunities for teachers and laymen to work together for better education. (p. 383) The Elementary School Principal and the Elementary School as a Society The elementary school principal must provide the knowledge and leadership that allow every child to have a place in the society of the elementary school and in the subsocieties of the separate groups within which he/she must function. Probably one of the most important aspects of elementary school administration and one of the least emphasized is recognizing the elementary school unit as a society. Many societies or mini-societies constitute each elementary school. For the principal not to use these existing societal structures or to work to destroy them would be like denying that children are social beings. In The American Community. Mercer (1956) referred to education as a social process and to the school as a social system. That education is a social process is not open to doubt, but the relationship between education, the larger process of socialization, and schools as social institutions is a complex matter, indeed. . . . It appears that, in seme instances, our zeal for formal education has led us to create schools which, because they are not in step with the social life and experience of students outside the school, really fail to educate successfully. (pp. 206-207) 44 The elementary school principal needs to develop the necessary skills to guide these school societies so that the school's educational goals are coordinated with each mini-society's goals. Because these societies are motivational forces for educational achievement, experiential laboratories for democracy, and powerful forces to assist in any social problems of school operation, the elementary school principal cannot afford to ignore them (Snyder & Peterson, 1970). Hie elementary principal who wants to provide leadership for the best use of student age, building facility, and neighborhood should assist in organizing clubs for which the school building may provide the center or the communication link for success. Hie successful elementary school principal should orchestrate the subsocieties within the school to provide for democratic adjustments in helping emerging citizens find positions from which to function without overwhelming fears frcm outside themselves and without consuming frustration frcm within themselves. In recognizing the societal concepts of the elementary school, Hicks (1956) suggested: Socicmetric techniques have contributed much in recent years to the understanding of children by teachers and other professional personnel. Hie chief purpose of socicmetry is to indicate the child's status as a member of his group. By asking children questions which require them to choose members of the group for some group activity, or with whan they would like to share experiences, sane idea of the social acceptance of the child among children can be gained. Hiis technique, which was suggested in an earlier chapter as one of the bases for grouping, can also be valuable in assisting the teacher to obtain complete understanding of the members of the group. (pp. 209-10) 45 In regard to the learner in this school-societal situation, Hicks stated: If the learner is the integrating unit of primary concern in the total teaching-learning situation, then it follows that the program of the school must be conceived and developed with the learner as the foremost consideration, Thus from this primary concern for the leamer objectives are derived and get their greatest meaning. In a similar way, this consideration of the child should guide the effort to develop a program of activities and to provide services which facilitate these activities. (p. 102) The Elementary School Principal and Responsibility for Staff Discipline The position of elementary school principal usually carries with it sane measure of responsibility for the professional behavior of staff personnel. The elementary school principal should be ready to initiate a process of corrective discipline should other methods of changing unacceptable staff behavior fail. Corrective discipline can be described as action to rectify the unacceptable behavior of a staff member. The elementary school principal should be familiar with the concepts of due process and just cause. He/sne should knew the individual staff members' rights and guarantees under the law and be prepared to take progressively stricter steps to see corrective discipline through to a successful conclusion. The Elementary School Principal, and the Evaluation of Student Progress Keeping records of pupil progress is an important aspect of every elementary school and thus an important part of the successful principal's supervisory responsibility. Just as the principal is 46 ultimately responsible for curriculum content and student experiences, so too is he/she responsible for student-progress records. From the earliest days of formalized educational programs, teachers have complained about the time consumed by record keeping, which they can better use for planning and instruction. Teachers' complaints are justified if such record keeping has no recognizable relationship to the purpose of the elementary school— to teach children. Much of the necessary record keeping can be performed by the student. Having the pupils do such record keeping may fulfill several purposes. For example, Keeping one's own attendance record teaches personal responsibility and makes being present in school more important. Keeping one's record of punctuality might tend to eliminate tardiness. Keeping one's record of legitimate excuses may tend to eliminate chronic excuses. With each student keeping his own records, the wasting of teacher time in such duties is virtually eliminated. Principals should be cognizant of various approaches to student record keeping so that they can provide leadership in this area. Anything they can do to free teachers to plan and to teach would be worthwhile. Sane of the aspects of student evaluation to be considered by the elementary principal are as follows: First, we should clarify for ourselves what it is that we should evaluate. If we accept the premise that education is the process of bringing about desirable changes in behavior, we should determine what changes we deem desirable, our objectives. 47 Second, we must decide what constitutes objective and valid evidence that those changes are occurring. Third, we need to discover appropriate methods of identifying and recording evidence of change. Fourth, we need to know the facts of child growth and learnings well enough to decide whether the changes observed are satisfactory in kind and degree. Finally, the evaluator should have a clear idea of the purpose of the appraisal. In considering the administration and development of the program of evaluation in their school, the principal and his staff will consider carefully the purposes evaluation is to serve. These purposes will vary as we consider the individual pupil, the individual classroom, and the entire school. Perhaps the most obvious reason for evaluation of pupils is to discover what they have learned. Host commonly, evaluation is made to discover what facts and skills pupils have learned with some attention given to the understanding they have acquired. Desirably, it should also include learnings in social skills, emotional growth and adjustment, as well as learnings in moral and aesthetic values. For any objective claimed by the school, the staff has an obligation to evaluate the status and growth of pupils toward it from time to time. In the process of evaluating these learnings, the able teacher will seek to find out more than the child's status in the class. Good evaluative procedures will reveal where a child needs help and the nature of that help, and they will indicate his areas of strength. In addition to this information, evaluative techniques will uncover data necessary to the intelligent guidance of each youngster's all-around growth. (Elsbree, McNally, & Wynn, 1967, pp. 242-43) The Elementary. .School Principal and Systematic Teacher Evaluation The elementary school principal is usually designated as the evaluator of teacher performance. Most boards of education and superintendents consider this evaluative task the responsibility of the building administrator. Commenting on teacher evaluation, Hicks (1956) wrote: Good education for children becomes a reality in terms of the presence and operation of other factors of the educational process. The most important of these factors is the teacher. Therefore, it seems unrealistic to think of evaluating the school program without due consideration for the performance and growth of the teachers who are largely responsible for the program. 48 Teachers are continuously subject to evaluative judgments frcm at least four sources: (1) children, (2) parents, (3) administrative and supervisory personnel, and (4) the teachers themselves. Supervisory visits to the classroom, followed by friendly conferences, often offer opportunities for evaluation and motivation at the same time. (pp. 421-22) Teachers' attitudes toward the evaluation of their classroom performance were described by Snyder and Peterson (1970): Many teachers do appreciate administrators' making regular and frequent observations of their classrooms, because they believe that they are effective teachers. These teachers appre­ ciate the administrators' acknowledgment of their teaching skill. There probably is nothing so hoilew as praise from an administrator when there is no reasonable basis for accurate evaluation. On the other hand, praise from an administrator who has been in the classroom and knows and understands the class­ room situation is most heartily and sincerely appreciated by the majority of classroom teachers. Supervision is necessary because many teachers have no realistic appraisal of their performance in the classroom. The result is an inability to make changes in their style. Useful evaluation of teaching behavior must be made available to the teacher, but it is essential that this information be provided in a nonthreatening manner. Teachers who feel threatened are less likely to be adventurous in their methods of teaching, and consequently will lack creativity, (p. 120) Further, the authors discussed teacher supervision from the administrator's point of view: The supervision of teachers presents an unusual emotional problem for most school administrators. There is a feeling prevalent among teachers that they "own” their classrooms, and consequently, it is not uncommon for an administrator to feel he is an unwelcome guest when entering a room as a supervisor. Few administrators feel entirely confident or competent in classroom supervision. It is in this area that most administrators have little or no experience when they accept their administrative role. . . . To reduce tension in the supervisor-supervisee relationship, the administrator must be sufficiently familiar with the classroom situation so that his presence will not automatically create an artificial atmosphere. Many administrators assume that the situation will become artificial when they enter the room, and therefore feel that direct supervision is ineffective and inaccurate. . . . Teachers realize that they always have been evaluated and they are trying 49 to formalize methods by which the administration will do the evaluating. No longer are teachers satisfied with ackninistrators' assertions that they can tell hew effective a teacher is by her conduct in the hallways, coffee room, casual meetings, and by what the parents and children say about her. For this reason, supervision and evaluation of classroan instruction will have to become more sophisticated than it has been in the imme­ diate past. (p. 126) A list compiled by Stoops and Marks (1965) provided elementary school principals with 15 questions to use in rating how well they did in teacher supervision and evaluation. This list was devised for use with beginning teachers but could well be used anytime. The elementary principal may wish to add questions to this list. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. Did I give the teacher a copy of the course of study and help him to understand the general objectives and plan for the semester? Did I give the teacher specific references describing techniques in organizing a unit, teaching reading, etc.? Did I help the teacher make a block plan listing the sequence of activities for a week or more? Did I discuss the major steps in each new type of lesson with the teacher before he attempted to make a lesson plan? Did I give special attention in helping the beginning teacher plan his first lessons so that he would meet with initial success? Was I sure the teacher understood what bodes and studies had been carried out in the previous semester? If I asked to see a lesson plan, did I read it carefully, helping the teacher to avoid incorrect techniques? Did I evaluate each lesson observed with the teacher after it had been taught, pointing out good points and suggesting ways of avoiding difficulties? When the teacher had difficulties, did I help him understand why they arose and what better procedure could be used? Did I insist that the teacher carry through each activity exactly as I would, or did I encourage the teacher to experiment with new techniques to meet the needs of the particular class in terms of the teacher's own individual personality? Did I comment upon things that the teacher had done well or ways in which he had shown improvement? Did I avoid mentioning too many deficiencies at one time? Did I arrange demonstrations and conferences for the teacher as he needed additional help? 50 14. 15. Did I convince the teacher that I am a friend who tries to help, and not a critic who enjoys censoring? Did I emphasize that all criticism, both positive and negative, was done on a professional level concerning a pro­ fessional problem? (pp. 306-307) The Elementary School Principal and Taxpayer Support for Schools Elementary school principals should remember that taxpayer support for schools is absolutely necessary. Without this support, programs must be eliminated or sometimes never begin. Taxpayers sometimes question and resist spending money for schools. This seems to be especially true when no effort is made to keep taxpayers informed of what is going on in their schools. Therefore, it is important that the elementary school principal regularly inform taxpayers of the good things that are happening in their schools. It is even better when students and parents relate the positive occurrences in their schools. Several activities can be used to involve taxpayers who might not normally be interested in school activities. A continuous flow of information about student achievement creates a positive effect and gives the taxpayer good feelings about the school. The living-report concept, through which the students carry into the conmunity the record of their successes along with expressions of appreciation to the taxpayers for making the successes possible, will pay off with continuing school support. The tax-paying community establishes the environment for education. A supportive community views education as being important, and in such a community, education generally has a high 51 priority in every hone. If the conmunity environment does not highly value education the school's job becomes extremely difficult and sometimes impossible. Through the budgeting process, the elementary principal can encourage involvement and support on the part of the staff and taxpayers (Kimbrough, 1968). out this process alone. Of course, the principal cannot carry He/she must receive support from those Kimbrough called the "superordinates" in the school system. A deliberate attempt to involve teachers in budgeting provides two-way inputs between those in charge of the physical system (i.e., financial accounting) and the social system (i.e., elementary school), creating the possibility of developing an open climate and a steady state in both systems. Thus, budget­ ing can be a very important procedure in leadership for change and innovation. The educational leaders must be serious in establishing the flow of communication between those having the primary responsibility for the business system and the teaching personnel. Diligent efforts to clear the channels of communication in the budgetary process facilitate higher staff morale and productivity. Budgeting is critical to the maintenance of a viable, adaptive social system. Units in the system, such as elementary schools, will perceive that what they are doing is important and that superordinates are responsive to their demands. The process of budgeting also involves definite communica­ tion and involvement of influentials and others in the conmunity power system. . . . Schoolmen have used a number of techniques to increase ccrmunication between leaders in the school systems and leaders in the political power system. The success of these techniques depends upon how well the school leadership has organized for their use. Examples of techniques designed to increase lay and professional caununication are cooperative surveys, pa rent-teacher organizations, citizens' committees, performance budgets, and a number of different grass-roots approaches. . . . The school principal can assist in the establishment of effective caimunication between the political power system and the school system. He should be informed about financial condi­ tions in the district as a basis for informing lay leaders about school needs. He should leam who the opinion-makers are in his attendance area and establish leadership with time. The parentteacher association can be an effective vehicle for participa- 52 tion in studying school needs. Hie principal can become very close to parents and other citizens in the ccnmunity. (pp. 35456) The Elementary School Principal and Implementation of negotiated .MaatetJVgceaaents In most elementary schoolsr the principal is responsible for implementing the conditions of a negotiated master agreement. Ihus the principal should be prepared to handle the day-to-day conditions of school emplqyer-employee contracts. Probably the area of the contract that becomes most familiar to principals is the employee grievance section. The Elementary. School Principal and Problems of Vandal iam and,Violence Hie elementary school principal should be skilled in handling school vandalism and violence. In particular, he/she should be alert to the first signs of vandalism. When marks begin to appear, when some windows are broken, when a lavatory is plugged and the facets are left on, the principal should start to search for reasons for these occurrences. problem. Usually, it is a school-society Hie child has a psychological need that the school society is not meeting. Hie elementary school principal can often reduce school vandalism by creating in students a feeling of pride about their school and its furnishings. Regardless of the setting, the total staff under the leadership of the principal should endeavor to create a feeling of pride and responsibility concerning the school building and its equipment. Participation in the improvement of the building or its equipment is one of the best ways of engendering such identification. A child who has helped sand and refinish the 53 desk or table tops is not likely to whittle or otherwise mar the surface in subsequent days. (Spain, Drummond, & Goodlad, 1956, p. 291) Some principals have found that asking the child who has been involved in vandalism to help repair or cover up a destructive act reduces the child's tendency to perpetrate further acts of vandalism. It has also been found that allowing a child to repair his own act of vandalism without accusation or punishment, even though the child knows the principal strongly suspects that he/she caused the damage, acts as a deterrent to future destructive acts. Hie results of the lesson can be even more rewarding if the principal sends the child's parents a note describing the good-citizenship act performed by the child. The elementary school principal should be sure that the instructional program includes many opportunities for all students to participate in housekeeping activities. All children should receive positive reinforcement for good-housekeeping acts, and the undesirable conduct will tend to disappear. The elementary school principal's responsibility for dealing with norm-violators was discussed by Snyder and Peterson (1970): The administrator sets the tone for the expectations of pupil behavior and determines what actions may be taken to help the "norm-violators. ” He must know, and be able to ccnmunicate to the staff, the legal requirements of policies for correcting pupil behavior. The administrator helps the staff to view bothersome pupil behavior frcm an objective, diagnostic, and positive frame of reference. Corrective action is taken with the understanding that behavior problems do not emerge from a vacuum, (p. 166) 54 Just as the medical doctor knows that he cannot treat all patients the same, so the elementary school principal must be ready to adapt corrective discipline to fit the individual. Administrators should keep in mind that perhaps the most unfair policy possible for corrective action is to treat unequals equally. . . . It is not wise to have established punishments for particular kinds of misbehavior. Under such circumstances, children tend to calculate the risk of their suffering the predetermined punishment before they decide whether to trans­ gress. Hie effectiveness of any punishment depends upon the attitude the children have toward it. Elementary-age children are particularly concerned about their peer group's perception of their behavior and of the punishment which may be ackninistered when their behavior is in error. Children expect correc­ tion, but they are likely to accept punishment as appropriate to their offense only if the punishment is viewed by the peer group as being fair. (Snyder & Peterson, 1970, p. 166) Seme suggestions of approaches the elementary school principal can use to establish a favorable atmosphere for guiding children's behavior were made by Hicks (1956): 1. 2. 3. 4e 5. 6. 7. 8. Work toward a common and consistent philosophy of discipline for children, staff, and parents. Dramatize desired types of behavior rather than instances of undesirable behavior. Strive to keep children busy at interesting and profitable tasks which they can do. In instances of behavior problems, strive to protect the self-respect of all concerned with the problem. Distinguish between the symptoms and causes in cases of behavior problems. Develop clinical procedures for dealing with serious individual problems. Make use of all appropriate referral agencies in helping children overcane personal problems. Utilize school standards and pride in establishing desired modes of school conduct, (p. 331) Sunrnary In this chapter, the researcher identified and examined the literature on 27 job-related actions in which most elementary school principals are involved. In Chapter III, these 27 actions are 55 described as educational needs of elementary school principals and become the basis for the statistical portion of the study. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY Introduction Die researcher's primary objective in conducting this study was to formulate an educational needs list for elementary school principals. This list was prioritized, based on survey responses from practicing elementary school principals. In addition, responses to the Base Data Survey provided information that could be useful in structuring inservice programs for elementary school principals. This chapter contains information on the composition of the sample, the research instruments used in the study, the collection of the data, the pilot study, and the procedures used in the statistical analysis of the data. Study Peculation The study population was the entire group of elementary school principals in the 17 school districts that were members of the Michigan Middle Cities Association, as defined in Chapter I. (See Appendix A for the names of the school districts in the Middle Cities Association.) These urban school districts varied in size frcm 3,000 to 40,000 students. The names of elementary school principals and the names and addresses of the school buildings they adninistered were obtained frcm the current edition of the Michigan Education Directory. Three 56 57 hundred thirty-six elementary school principals were listed for the 17 member districts in the Middle Cities Association. Survey instruments were mailed to each of the 336 elementary school principals in the population. Two hundred twenty-six instruments were returned to the researcher. Of that number, 214 were completed, validated instruments— an overall response rate of 63.6 percent. NO follow-up letter was sent. The 226 returned questionnaires were categorized as follows: Completed, validated instruments 214 Instruments returned as having "nondeliverable address" 3 Instruments sent to principals who had left their positions 2 Instruments sent to school principals whose schools were combined or closed 3 instruments returned too late to be included in the study 1 Instruments returned with a statement that the recipient did not choose to be included in the study 3 Questions 1 and 2 on the Base Data Survey concerned the enrollment of the principal's school and thepercentage ofstudents in his/her school qualifying for compensatory funding. Three enrollment categories were provided (less than 300, 300-500, and more than 500 students) and were used in testing relationships for the hypotheses. Likewise, two ccmpensatory-funding categories were provided and were used in further analyses of the data. 58 Table 3.1 shows the number of elementary school principals who fell into the various school-enrollment classifications and ccmpensatory-funding categories. Table 3.1.— Number of elementary school principals in the various school-enrollment and canpensatory-funding categories. Building Enrollment Less than 25% Eligibility for Compensatory Funding N Less than 300 300-500 More than 500 Total Percent 26 50.0 47 37.6 _ Z ___ 19.0 80 37.4 More than 25% Eligibility for Compensatory Funding N 26 78 30 134 Percent Totals N Percent 50.0 52 24.3 62.4 125 58.4 87.0________ 3Z___ 12-1 62.2 214 100.0 The Research Instrument A hand-addressed manila envelope containing a cover letterf the survey instrument, and a stamped and addressed return envelope was sent to each of the 336 elementary school principals in the study population. In the cover letter, the researcher stated that the packet of materials contained a survey sent only to elementary school principals in districts that were members of the Middle Cities Association. The letter also stated that the survey was endorsed by Dr. C. Robert Muth, Executive Director of the Middle Cities Association. Sane background information about the survey and the purpose of the study was also included in the letter. The cover letter told the principals about how long it would take than 59 to complete the survey. Directions for completing the survey instrument were also provided. (See Appendix 6 for a copy of the cover letter and the survey instrument.) Included in the packet of materials was the Base Data Survey, which contained questions concerning principals' perceived need for skill updating and their experience with and preferences for activities of this nature. (See Appendix b .) Also included in the materials sent to respondents was a scale on which respondents were to rate 27 selected educational needs of elementary school principals. (See Appendix B.) The rating was from 1 ("little importance") to 5 ("very important"). In the five columns to the right of the listed educational needs, respondents were to rate each of the needs according to its perceived importance as an educational need of an elementary school principal. Twenty*-seven 8-1/2" x 5-1/2" pages constituted a Q-Sort of the same 27 educational needs that were listed on the rating scale. One educational need was stated at the top of each sheet. Topics that might be presented if the educational need was used as the basis for an inservice education course were listed below the head­ ing. Each page contained a space for respondents to note other suggestions of topics in that particular need area. for all 27 Q-Sort pages.) (See Appendix B Hie principals were asked to select those ten sheets they considered to be the most important educational needs of elementary school principals. Respondents were asked to place the ten selected pages of the Q-Sort and the completed Base 60 Data Survey and rating scale in the return envelope and mail it to the researcher. The Pilot Study The researcher conducted the pilot study individually with four practicing elementary school principals. Three of the pilot- study sessions were held in the individuals' offices. The fourth session was held in the principal's heme. Each of the pilot-study participants completed the survey in less than 20 minutes. of the survey. None of the principals objected to any part Each one told the researcher that there were other important skill areas not covered ilk the 27 listed educational needs. All four principals also received the survey instruments as one of the 336 practicing elementary school principals in districts that belonged to the Michigan Middle Cities Association. Processing and Coding Survey Responses Each of the 27 identified educational needs was classified into one of three skill areas: instructional skills# management skill# and hunan/public-relations skills. Included under management skills were: Budget Coordination of State and Federal Programs Energy Management Instruction Evaluation Procedures Law Related to Education Leadership Organization Planning Program Evaluation Staff Corrective Discipline 61 Systematic Teacher Evaluation Union Contracts: Implementation of Negotiated Master Agreement Included under instructional skills were: Accountability Achievement Curriculum Environment Mainstreaming Student Progress Evaluation Included under human/public-relations skills were: Appreciate True Value of People Conmunity Involvement Furthering the Hame-School-Cammunity Relationship Group Process Influencing Human Interaction Public Relations and Cooperation School as a Society Taxpayer Support Vandalism and Violence The data collected and the relationships developed through these classifications were used to test Hypotheses Ir Ilf and III. The researcher coded the survey data with the personnel frcm the Department of Research Consultation. assistance of The Michigan State University Scoring Center provided the scoring sheets, which contained spaces for the responses. The investigator recorded the survey responses on individually coded response sheets. These coded responses were then transferred to computer punch cards at the Michigan State University Scoring center. (The computer codes used are shewn in Appendix C.) Coded scoring sheets were submitted for 216 survey returns. Control punch cards were made for all of the coded score sheets. The Michigan State University Hustler 2 computer identified errors in two of the 216 cases. Since the rate of valid returns was still 62 more than 66 percent of the sample population the Hustler 2 computer was instructed to ignore all responses on the error cases. Thus the number of cases for computation purposes dropped to 214. Relationships-S.tudied Hie relationships studied in the statistical analysis were identified in Chapter I, namely: Hypothesis 1: There is no difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/publicrelations skills, according to enrollment size of the buildings administered by the principals surveyed. Hypothesis 2: There is no difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/public relations skills, according to the level of eligibility for compensatory education funding of the schools administered by the principals surveyed. Hypothesis 3: There is no interaction between enrollment size of the buildings administered and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding, in terms of the prioritized educational needs list of surveyed elementary principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/publiorelations skills. 63 The first question considered in the analysis of data was: What educational needs of elementary school principals were chosen by most respondents in the Q-Sort section of the instrument? A multipie-response program was used to analyze the results of the 0Sort to determine the number of times each stated educational need was chosen. The second question was: Is there a significant difference among respondents, based on enrollment size of buildings administered, in terms of instructional, management, and human/public-relations educational needs? The third question was: Is there a significant difference among respondents, based on type of school with respect to compensatory funding, in terms of instructional, management, and human/public-relations educational needs? Hie fourth question to be considered was: Is there a significant interaction effect between school funding basis and size of buildings of respondents, in terms of instructional, management, and human/public-relations educational needs? Treatment of the Data Hie data were programmed onto and processed by the control Data Corporation 3600 computer at Michigan State University. Hie following analyses were performed: 1. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedure with appropriate F tests was used to determine whether significant differences existed between mean scores on the prioritized 64 educational needs list in the areas of instructional, management, and human/public-relations skills. 2. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedure with appropriate F tests was used to determine whether significant differences existed between mean scores on the prioritized educational needs list, based on student enrollment of the schools the principals administered, in the areas of instructional, management, and human/public-relations skills. 3. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedure with appropriate F tests was used to determine whether significant differences existed between mean scores on the prioritized educational needs list, based on level of eligibility for compensatory education funding of the schools the principals administered, in the areas of instructional, management, and human/public-relations skills. 4. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) procedure was used to determine interaction effects between enrollment size of schools and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding, in the areas of Instructional, management, and human/publicrelations skills. For all of the statistical tests, the .05 level of significance was selected. The results of the statistical analyses conducted in this research are discussed in Chapter IV. CHAPTER IV PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA Introduction The major purpose of this study was to formulate a prioritized educational needs list for elementary school principals. Chapter IV presents the data collected fran the survey instruments. The results of various analyses of the data are examined. Implications of the research findings are discussed. The chapter concludes with a summary. The Prioritized Educational Needs List A Q-Sort selection process was used to formulate a prioritized educational needs list for elementary school principals. The researcher identified 27 educational needs of elementary school principals and described them as courses of study. These needs and their descriptions were printed on individual sheets of paper and sent with the rest of the questionnaire to the elementary school principals included in the study. A multiple-response program was used to rank order the educational needs from the data collected. The Q-Soct Selection Process Each principal was asked to select what he/she felt were the ten most important educational needs from the 27 listed on the individual Q-Sort sheets and to return those ten pages to the 65 66 researcher. In total, 2,139 sheets were returned. need items was selected by at least 18 principals. Each of the 27 (See Appendix B for complete copies of the Q-Sort sheets.) In Table 4.1, the educational needs are listed in order of preference, fran most often selected to least often selected. This list fulfills one of the purposes of the study, namely, to formulate a prioritized educational needs list for elementary school princi­ pals, as determined by practicing elementary school principals. The ten items selected most often, in order, were Curriculum, Leadership, Achievement, Community Involvement, Instructional Evaluation, Systematic Teacher Evaluation, Accountability, Planning, Student Progress and Reporting, and Appreciate True Value of People. Results of Hypothesis Testing Hypothesis I The data were analyzed to determine whether there was a relationship between enrollment size of the school administered and principals' selection of educational needs. Hypothesis I stated: There is no significant difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/publicrelations skills, according to enrollment size of the buildings adninistered by the principals surveyed. In the Base Data Survey, principals indicated the enrollment size of the schools they adninistered. were provided: Three size classifications less than 300 pupils, 300-500, and over 500. In analyzing the data for this hypothesis, principals' selections of educational needs were examined according to enrollment size of the schools they adninistered. 67 Table 4.1.— Ranking of 27 educational needs, with number of times selected and percentage of respondents selecting each need. (N ■ 214) Educational Skills Curriculum Leadership Achievement Carmunity involvement Instructional evaluation procedures Systematic teacher evaluation Accountability Planning Student progress evaluation Appreciate true value of people Public relations and coop­ eration Furthering the hcme-schoolccmmunity relationship Program evaluation Staff corrective discipline Organization Influencing human interaction Taxpayer support Group process Law related to education Budget Mainstreaming Environment Union contracts: implementa­ tion of negotiated master agreements Vandalism and violence School as a society Coordination of state and federal programs Energy management Percent of N Rank Selection Times Selected 1 2 3 4 151 137 124 121 70.6 64 57.9 54.7 5 117 52.8 6 7 8 9 113 111 108 104 52.8 51.9 50.5 48.6 10 97 45.3 11 96 44.9 12 13 14 15 15 17 18 io x w 20 21 22 83 79 77 76 76 66 61 56 52 47 44 38.8 36.9 36.0 35.5 35.5 30.8 28.5 26.2 24.3 22.0 20.6 23 41 19.2 24 25 37 28 17.3 13.1 26 27 19 18 8.9 8.4 68 No significant differences were found, based on enrollment size of schools the principals adninistered, in terms of the importance rating of the educational skills listed in the instructional skills category, in the management skills category, or in the human/public-relations skills category. (See Table 4.2) An analysis of variance test was performed to examine the effects that enrollment size of the building administered might have had on the elementary principals' selection of educational skills. The effects were not found to be significant at the .05 level. (See Table 4.3.) Table 4.2 shows the results of the multivariate test and the three univariate tests, along with the significance of F results. At the .05 alpha level, no significant difference was indicated by size of school. Therefore, Null Hypothesis I could not be rejected. Hypothesis II The data were analyzed to determine whether there was a relationship between level of eligibility for compensatory education funding and principals' selection of educational needs. Hypothesis II stated: There is no difference on the prioritized educational needs list of elementary school principals in the areas of instructional, management, and human/public-relations skills, according to the level of eligibility for compensa­ tory education funding of the schools administered by the principals surveyed. On the Base Data Survey, principals were asked to indicate whether 25 percent or more of the students in their school or less than 25 percent of the students in their school were eligible for 69 Table 4.2.— Results of multivariate and univariate analyses of variance. Results of Multivariate Analysis of Variance Source of Variation F Sig. of F Size of building Compensatory funding Interaction 1.634 .12753 .193 .13622 .94370 .308 Results of Univariate Analysis of Variance for Instructional Skills Source of Variation df MS Size of building Compensatory funding Interaction Error 2 1 2 208 .30421 .17214 .11901 F .61027 .34532 .23874 Sig. Of F .54418 .55741 .78784 Results of Univariate Analysis of Variance for Management Skills Size of building Compensatory funding Interaction Error 2 1 2 208 .95186 .09831 .34656 .19544 2.33869 2.41550 1.77324 .09899 .62361 .17235 Results of Univariate Analysis of Variance for Human/ Public-Relations Skills Size of building Compensatory funding Interaction Error 2 1 2 208 1.42086 .04922 .35533 1.85162 .09879 1.57484 .06001 .75360 .20952 Table 4.3.— Results of ANOVA tests. Sum of Squares df Mean Square F Signif. of F Selection by Importance of Instructional Skills by Enrollment Size of Building Between groups Within groups Total .6084 104.0967 104.7051 2 211 213 .3042 .4933 .6166 .541 Selection by Importance of Management Skills by Enrollment Size of Building Between groups Within groups Total 1.9037 85.3593 87.2630 2 211 213 .9519 .4045 2.3529 .0976 Selection by Importance of Hurrtin/Public-Relations Skills by Enrollment Size of Building Between groups Within groups Total 2.8413 104.7343 107.5851 2 211 1.4209 .4964 2.8623 .0594 71 compensatory education funding. Principals' selections of educational needs were examined according to the two levels of compensatory education funding. No significant difference was found, based on the two types of schools, in terms of the importance rating of the educational skills listed in the instructional skills category, in the management skills category, or in the human/public-relations category. An analysis of variance test was performed to study the effects that the school's level of eligibility for ccmpensatory education funding might have had on the elementary school principals' selection of educational skills. found to be significant at the .05 level. Hie effects were not (See Table 4.2.) Table 4.2 shows the results of the multivariate test and the three univariate tests, along with the significance of F results. At the .05 alpha level, no significant difference was indicated by the school of funding eligibility. Therefore, Null Hypothesis II could not be rejected. Hypothesis III The data were analyzed to determine whether there was an interaction between enrollment size of schools administered by the principals and the schools' level of compensatory education funding, in terms of principals' selection of educational needs. Hypothesis III stated: There is no interaction between enrollment size of the buildings adninistered and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding, in terms of the prioritized 72 educational needs list of surveyed elementary principals in the areas of instructional/ management/ and human/publicrelations skills. A multivariate analysis of variance procedure was performed to determine whether there was a significant interaction between enrollment size of school and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding/ in terms of principals' overall selection of importance of educational skills needs. (See Table 4.2.) An analysis of variance was performed for each individual category of skills (instructional/ management/ and human/publicrelations) to determine whether there was a significant interaction between enrollment size of school and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding/ based on principals' selections of educational skill needs in individual categories. (See Table 4.3.) At the .05 level/ no significant interaction was found between enrollment size of the school and level of eligibility for compensatory education funding/ in terms of the importance rating of educational skills listed in the instructional skills category/ in the management skills category/ or in the human/public-relations category. (See Table 4.2.) Therefore/ Null Hypothesis III could not be rejected. Findings Related to Structuring Inservice Programs for Elementary School.Principals In addition to asking respondents to choose the ten most important specific educational skills for elementary school principals, it seemed worthwhile to ask additional questions to discover how inservice programs might be made more attractive to 73 practicing elementary school principals and hence encourage their participation. These inservice sessions could help improve principals' skills in problem areas. The questions asked and principals' responses to the questions follow. Changing-SKills Needed-in Building-Level Management Participants were asked: Have changing demands of building-level management increased the need for ongoing inservice programs for elementary school principals? Of the 214 responding principals, 201 (94 percent) answered "Yes," whereas 13 (6 percent) responded "No." Most of the elementary school principals (94 percent) believed that the position of elementary school principal has changing educational needs that necessitate ongoing inservice programs. Professional Responsibility for Updating Skills Respondents were asked: Do elementary principals have a professional responsibility for skill updating beyond their professional reading and professional association participation? Of the 214 responding principals, 199 (93 percent answered "Yes” to this question; 15 (7 percent) responded "No." dearly, the overwhelming majority of principals recognized that it is important for elementary principals to update their professional skills. Completion. of Skill-Bnpcovement Units and Compensation The question was asked: Would participation in elementary principal skill courses or inservice seminars be increased if the 74 boards of education recognized inservice units completed in seme form of increased compensation plan? Of the 214 responding principals, 193 (90 percent) answered this question affirmatively; 21 (10 percent) responded negatively. Most principals (90 percent) believed that some form of increased compensation would increase the number of elementary principals who would participate in skillimprovement units. Time-for Skill. .Courses and Inservice Seminars Participants were asked: Would participation in skill courses and inservice seminars be encouraged if offered on school time, personal time, or some combination of school time and personal time? Of the 214 principals who returned surveys, 84 (39.3 percent) indicated they felt participation would increase if the inservice was offered on school time. On the other hand, 125 principals (58.4 percent) indicated they did not feel participation would increase if the inservice was offered on school time. Five principals (2.3 percent) did not respond to this part of the question. TVenty-eight (13.1 percent) principals indicated that inservice participation would increase if the sessions were held on personal time, whereas 181 (84.6 percent) indicated that participation would not increase if sessions were held on personal time. Five individuals (2.3 percent) did not respond to this part of the question. 75 On the combination choicer 176 (62.2 percent) principals indicated they believed that participation in skill courses and inservice seminars would increase if offered partly on personal time and partly on school time. Of the 214 principals respondingf 38 (17.8 percent) indicated they did not believe that participation would increase if the inservice was offered in combinations of school and personal time. Who Should Pay for Inservice Development Programs? Principals were asked: Should boards of education pay all, part, or none of the costs of professional inservice development programs for elementary school principals? Of the 214 elementary school principals responding to the survey, 122 (57 percent) indicated that the board of education should pay all of the costs of professional development programs. Eighty-seven (40.7 percent) indicated that the board of education should pay part of the costs, and 5 (2.3 percent) indicated that the board of education should pay none of the costs. Clearly, the majority of the elementary school principals (57 percent) believed that the board of education should pay all of the costs for elementary school principals' inservice development. When these responses are combined with those of principals who believed that the board of education should pay at least part of the costs, it can be seen that an overwhelming 97.7 percent of the \ principals believed that the board of education has some 76 responsibility to help pay the costs of inservice development programs. Sunmarv of Chapter IV Data collected in the research project were reported in this chapter. A prioritized educational needs list for elementary school principals was formulated on the basis of principals' selection of what they felt were the ten most important educational needs of the principalship. Multivariate analyses of variance were conducted to test the three hypotheses. An analysis of variance wets performed to determine whether there was a significant relationship between enrollment size of schools and the principals' selection of educational needs (Hypothesis I). An analysis of variance was also computed to determine whether there was a significant relationship between schools' level of eligibility for compensatory funding and principals' selection of educational needs (Hypothesis II). An analysis of variance was performed to determine whether there was a significant interaction between enrollment size of school and level of compensatory funding, in terms of principals' selection of educational needs (Hypothesis III). Based on the predetermined .05 level of significance, none of the three tested null hypotheses could be rejected by analysis of variance results. Elementary school principals' selection of educational needs were not significantly related to the enrollment size or level of compensatory funding of the schools they adninistered. Likewise, there was no significant interaction 77 between school enrollment size and level of compensatory funding, in teems of principals' selection of educational needs. Findings pertaining to structuring inservice for elementary school principals were also reported in this chapter. More than 90 percent of the elementary school principals believed that skill updating and inservice education are necessary. There was less agreanent about who should pay for this inservice education. There was very little agreement on when the inservice sessions should take place so as to encourage maximum participation. In Chapter V, a further sunonary of results is provided and conclusions are drawn. In closing, recommendations are made for further research on the educational needs of elementary school principals. CHAPTER V CONCLUSIONS AMD RECOMMENDATIONS Conclusions In Chapter IV, results of the survey were presented. This chapter contains the conclusions drawn fran the results of the data analysis, as well as recommendations for further research. Of the 27 educational skills for elementary principals that were considered in this study, each of the items was selected by same principals as part of their ten most important items. The ten items selected most often, in order, were Curriculum, Leadership, Achievement, Community Involvement, Instructional Evaluation, Systematic Teacher Evaluation, Accountability, Planning, student Progress and Reporting, and Appreciate True Value of People. Of these items, Curriculum was selected by 151 (70.6 percent) of the 214 responding principals as one of the ten most important skills for elementary principals. Findings of the analyses of variance conducted on selections in the three educational need categories— instructional skills, management skills, and human/public-relations skills— indicated that no significant differences were found on this measure, in terms of either enrollment size or level of compensatory funding. A multivariate analysis of variance was performed to determine whether a significant relationship existed between enrollment size of the 78 79 school and level of eligibility for compensatory funding, in terms of principals' selection of educational skills. pattern of selection was discerned, No significant lhus, no significant effect was found that would indicate rejection of any of the three null hypotheses tested. Elementary school principals' responses to the Base Data Survey showed that 94 percent believed that changing demands of the elenentary school principalship have increased the need for on-going inservice programs. Ninety-three percent indicated that elementary school principals have a professional responsibility to update their skills. More than 90 percent (90.2 percent) of the elementary school principals responding to the survey indicated that they believed participation in skill-updating opportunities would increase if recognition of participation in such programs was reflected in increased salary compensation. Almost 40 percent (39.3 percent) of the elementary school principals who responded to the survey indicated that they believed participation in skill-updating opportunities might increase if such sessions were offered during regular school time. On the other hand, 13.1 percent of the respondents indicated that participation in skill-updating opportunities might be encouraged if the sessions were offered on personal time. The majority of elementary school principals (82.2 percent) indicated that they believed participation in skill-updating 80 opportunities would be encouraged if these activities were offered on sane combination of school and personal time. In response to the question regarding whether boards of education should pay all, part, or none of the costs of professional inservice development programs for elementary school principals, 57 percent of the respondents said "all,” 40.7 percent said "part,” and 2.3 percent said "none." Almost one-fourth (24.3 percent) of the respondents indicated they had taken no graduate courses in the last five years. Hie remaining respondents (75.7 percent) listed graduate classes they had taken. One hundred sixty-two principals indicated that they had taken 898 courses— an average of 5.54 classes per principal for those who had taken graduate classes. Of those principals who had taken graduate courses during the last five years, 26.5 percent indicated that they had received sane tuition subsidy from their boards of education. Hie remaining 73.5 percent indicated that they had received no subsidy toward their tuition expense. Of the responding principals, 207 (96.7 percent) indicated that they had participated in 1,008 noncredit professional workshops or seminars; 7 principals (3.3 percent) indicated that they had not participated in any professional workshops or seminars. Boards of education paid workshop or seminar costs for 160 (77.3 percent) of the participants but did not pay such costs for 47 (22.7 percent) of the participants. 81 Of the 207 respondents who had participated in noncredit professional workshops or seminars, 126 (60.9 percent) indicated that boards of education had paid all of their costs, 58 (28 percent) indicated that boards of education had not paid their travel or lodging expenses, and 23 (11 percent) indicated that boards of education had paid no costs. Although the sharing of expenses and responsibility for taking inservice development programs for elementary school principals seemed to be clearly stated in survey responses, the preference of locations and best time for such programs was not discernible fran the responses. determined. No patterns of choices could be Choices of locations included on campus, off campus, at local motel conference center, at motel conference center at least 60 miles fran home school district, alternate classes between local school buildings, and no classes in any local school building. Choices of program times included week-ends, not on week-ends, evenings during the week, not on evenings during the week, during the school day, not during the school day, during the summer break period, and not during the simmer break period. The time selected most often was part of Friday and part of Saturday, not more than once a month. Recommendations Fon Educational Institutions Practicing elementary principals confirmed what studies on effective schools have found. They stated in this study what they feel their educational needs are to properly administer an effective 82 elementary school. They expressed their felt need for updating skills. Hie survey showed that 94 percent believed that there was need for on­ going inservice programs. Ninety-three percent indicated that princi­ pals have a professional responsibility to update their skills. Certainly, this overwhelming majority of responses provides sane kind of mandate to universities to package the skills courses necessary to provide the principals the educational updating to manage effective schools and to ascertain the most appropriate times and places for implementing the training. Likewise, the university seems to be the appropriate institution for seeking out and budgeting the money necessary to carry out the training properly. Universities and area educational colleges should provide the leadership to unite elementary-principal groups and local boards of education to assess the needs for effective schools in that geographi­ cal area and jointly provide the inservice skills training necessary. Hie university is the institution with skilled personnel and talented, eager researchers to provide the evaluation and follow-up necessary to ascertain whether the schools are becoming more effective. Every member of every board of education would certainly be committed to such a worthwhile effort and, according to the results of this scientific survey, about 95 percent of the elementary principals are canmitted to updating their skills. It is unlikely that there is an elementary school principal who would not like to have his/her school become more effective in raising the level of student achieve­ ment. 83 For School Boards, and Superintendents School boards and superintendents should be aware of the felt needs (94 percent) for skills updating of elementary principals. Further/ they should be cognizant of the facts that principals feel (82.2 percent) that participation in courses and updating skills would increase if these activities were offered on combination of school and personal time, that most (90.2 percent) believe that participation in skills updating would increase if seme recognition were reflected in increased salary compensation/ and that most principals thought that boards of education should pay all (57 percent) or part (40.7 percent) of the principal's cost of participation. Certainly/ a response of 97.7 percent of respondents indicating to boards that sane financial responsibility rests with boards for updating skills is a message that cannot be entirely ignored. For Elementary Principals Information about effective schools should be disseminated among all elementary school principals. Principals should be informed that most other principals (4 percent) have expressed a belief that changing demands of the elementary principal position have increased the need for on-going inservice programs and that a majority (3 per­ cent) indicated that elementary school principals have a professional responsibility to update their skills. Principals should know that more than 90 percent of other principals indicated that participation in professional updating programs would increase if recognition of participation in such programs was reflected in increased salary compensation. Principals 84 should know that almost 98 percent (97.7) believe that boards of education should pay all or part of the expense involved in the process of participating in updating of skills programs. Principals should know that 96.7 percent of the elementary principals had participated in skills-updating noncredit professional workshops or seminars in the last five years and that boards of education paid the costs for 77.3 percent of the participants. Fp l Further Research Some implications for future research became evident as a result of this study and are recommended by the researcher. The following are seme of the possibilities for continuing and further studies in areas identified in this research. 1. This study should be replicated using a larger sample of elementary school principals than this study employed. The present study was limited to practicing elementary school principals in school districts that belonged to the Michigan Middle Cities Association. Further study should include all types of school districts and administrators from all levels, rather than just elementary school principals. 2. A research study should be conducted to investigate whether a relationship exists between school enrollment size and student achievement. In this survey of 214 elementary school principals, there appeared to be a direct correlation between school size and student achievement. 85 Using a chi-square test, a significant relationship was found to exist between school enrollment size and the percentage of students eligible for compensatory education funding. The percentage of eligible students increased as enrollment size increased. Table 5.1 presents these data. (See also Table 3.1.) Figure 5.1 portrays the same information graphically. Further studies should survey various indicators of achievement levels and other school-size categories than were used in this study. 3. A study similar to the present research on elementary school principals' educational needs should be conducted by surveying a sample of elementary school teachers. Using the same skills list and Q-Sort technique, a prioritized educational needs list for elementary school principals, from the perspective of elemen­ tary school teachers, could be developed and compared to the list formulated in this study. 4. A similar study of elementary principals' educational needs should be conducted by surveying a sample of school superintendents, directors of elementary education, school personnel directors, board-of-education members, and any other individuals or groups who directly influence the selection of elementary school principals. Using the skills list and Q-Sort technique, a prioritized educational needs list for the elementary school principalship, from the perspective of those responsible for selecting elementary 86 Table 5.1.— Relationship between school enrollment size and percentage of students eligible for ocrpensatory education funding. Enrollment Size of Building Level of Eligibility < 300 Row Total > 500 N Percent 300-500 N Percent N Percent N Percent 25% or more 26 50.0 78 62.4 30 81.1 134 62.2 Less than 25% 26 50.0 47 37.6 7 18.9 80 37.4 Column totals 52 24.3 125 58.4 37 17.3 214 100.0 Raw chi-square = 8,92758 df = 2 Significance = .0115 Enrollment < 300 300-500 > 500 100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% (x) 30% 20% 10% Figure 5.1.— Relationship between school size and eligibility for compensatory funding. 87 school principals, could be developed and compared to the list formulated in this study. Personal Observations The unusually high response (67 percent) of the questionnaire returns within a period of about two weeks seems to be an indication that elementary principals considered the study of sufficient impor­ tance that is was worth taking precious time from a busy schedule to respond. The friendly notes that accompanied many of the returns of participating principals were very rewarding. Many expressed the view that a follow-up to this research was important to elementary principals. The ranking of importance of skills necessary for effective elementary principals produced some surprises to the researcher. b * suggested study listed^ School as a Society. The researcher had One envisioned this to be near the top of the chosen list, yet only 28 of the 214 participants selected this as one of the ten most important management areas for study. APPENDICES 88 APPENDIX A MIDDLE CITIES ASSOCIATION MEMBER SCHOOL DISTRICTS 89 90 Middle Cities Association Member School Districts Ann Arbor Public Schools Battle Creek Public Schools Bay City Public Schools Benton Harbor Area Schools Flint Ccmmunity Schools Grand Rapids Public Schools Jackson Public Schools Kalamazoo Public Schools Lansing School District Midland Public Schools Monroe Public Schools Muskegon Public Schools Muskegon Heights Public Schools Pontiac School District Saginaw School District Willow Run Community Schools Ypsilanti Public Schools APPENDIX B LETTER AND QUESTIONNAIRE SENT TO ELEMENTARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS 91 92 MICHIGAN STATE UN IV ERSITY COLLEGE OF EDUCATION EAST LANSING • MICHIGAN • 4M14 DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION AND HIGHER EDUCATION ERICKSON HALL November 2 6 , 1979 D ear E lem entary S chool P r i n c i p a l , T h is su rv ey i s b ein g s e n t e x c lu s iv e ly t o elem e n ta ry sch o o l p r in c i p a ls i n M iddle C i t i e s E d u ca tio n A s s o c ia tio n sc h o o l d i s t r i c t s and h as th e e n d o rs e ­ m ent o f Dr. C. R o b e rt Muth, E x e c u tiv e D ir e c to r o f M iddle C i t i e s E d u catio n A s s o c ia tio n . Com plete anonym ity o f a l l su rv ey re sp o n d e n ts i s a s s u re d . The elem e n ta ry sc h o o l p r in c i p a ls h i p i s re c o g n iz e d a s one o f th e m ost im p o rta n t a d m in is t r a tiv e p o s it io n s in e d u c a tio n . Your p o s it io n i s th e a d m in is t r a tiv e fo u n d a tio n on which s tu d e n t su c c e s s in sc h o o l and s e l f w orth i n e d u c a tio n a r e b u i l t . R eco g n izin g t h i s c o n c ep t and re c o g n iz in g you a s an o p e r a tin g e x p e r t in th e management o f th e elem e n ta ry s c h o o l, we a r e r e ­ q u e s tin g and w i l l a p p r e c ia te your a s s i s t a n c e by resp o n d in g to t h i s su rv e y . The su rv ey i s d e sig n e d t o have you c a ta g o r iz e th e im p o rta n ce o f c e r t a i n s k i l l a r e a s f o r elem e n ta ry p r i n c i p a l s w hich m ight b e u sed a s c r e d i t c o u rse s o r I n s e r v ic e u n i t s f o r th o s e se e k in g t o become e d u c a tio n a lly w ell p re p a re d ele m e n ta ry sc h o o l p r i n c i p a l s . T h is su rv ey ta k e s l e s s th a n tw enty (20) m in u tes to co m p lete. a r e th r e e p a r t s . 1 . Base d a ta su rv ey 2 . R a tin g s c a le 3 . Q -s o rt c o n s is tin g o f tw en ty -se v en s h e e ts There A fte r co m p letin g (1 ) Base d a ta su rv ey and (2) R a tin g s c a l e , s e l e c t TEN (10) Q -s o rt s h e e ts w hich you c o n s id e r m ost Im p o rta n t a s s k i l l a r e a s f o r e le m e n ta ry school p r i n c i p a l s . P le a s e r e t u r n : 1 . Base D ata Survey 2 . R a tin g S c a le 3 . TEN (10) ONLY Q -s o rt s h e e ts F e e l f r e e to u se t h i s o p p o rtu n ity t o s u g g e s t o th e r c r e d i t c o u rs e s o r i n s e r v i c e developm ent c l a s s e s which you c o n s id e r im p o rta n t f o r p r a c tic i n g o r p r o s p e c tiv e ele m e n ta ry sc h o o l p r i n c i p a l s . You may I n c lu d e your s u g g e s tio n in t h i s p a c k e t a s an anonymous c o n tr ib u tio n o r m a il u n d er s e p a r a te c o v e r to th e M iddle C i t i e s E d u ca tio n A s s o c ia tio n o f f i c e . Your Judgem ent in t h i s a re a i s h ig h ly v a lu e d . T h is stu d y i s th e f i r s t s e r io u s b ro ad b ased a tte m p t to s e c u r e th e c o l l e c t i v e knowledge and e x p e rie n c e o f p r a c tic i n g elem e n ta ry sc h o o l p r i n c i p a l s t o i d e n t i f y th o s e e d u c a tio n a l s k i l l a r e a s which a r e m ost im p o rta n t f o r th e s u c c e s s o f an elem e n ta ry sc h o o l p r i n c i p a l . 93 E lem entary S chool P r in c ip a l Page 2 November 2 6 , 1979 Compiled d a ta from t h i s s tu d y and p la n s f o r in s e r v l c e developm ent program s w ill be a v a i l a b l e th ro u g h M iddle C i t i e s E d u catio n A s s o c ia tio n . Thank you very much f o r your prompt re sp o n se . S in c e re ly y o u r s , W illiam V. H art 94 B a s e D a ta S u rv e y 1. Number of students registered in the elementary school you supervise Less than 300 _____ 301 through 500 _____ More than 500 _____ 2. Are 25% or more of the students registered in this school designated to qualify under catagorical compensatory education funding? Yes No ______ 3. Have changing demands of building level management Increased the need for ongoing inservice programs for elementary school principals? Yes N o ____ 5 (very im portant) 1 ACCOUNTABILITY ACHIEVEMENT APPRECIATE TRUE VALUE OF PEOPLE BUDGET COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT COORDINATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS CURRICULUM ENERGY MANAGEMENT ENVIRONMENT FURTHERING THE HOME-SCHOOL-COMMUNITY RELATIONSHIP CROUP PROCESS INFLUENCING HUMAN INTERACTION INSTRUCTIONAL EVALUATION PROCEDURES LAW RELATED TO EDUCATION LEADERSHIP MAINSTREAMING ORGANIZATION PLANNING PROGRAM EVALUATION PUBLIC RELATIONS AND COOPERATION SCHOOL AS SOCIETY STAFF CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE STUDENT PROCRESS EVALUATION SYSTEMATIC TEACHER EVALUATION TAXPAYER SUPPORT UNION CONTRACTS: IMPLEMENTATION OF NEGOTIATED MASTER AGREEMENTS VANDALISM AND VIOLENCE 2 3 A 5 96 ACCOUNTABILITY 1. Establishing goals for determining success. 2. Involving students in achieving their goals. 3. Involving students in accountability process. a. Identifying and prioritizing their daily goals. b. Establishing criteria for success in achieving their goals. c. Student keeping records as part of accountability process. 1. Reporting to peers 2. Reporting to teachers 3. Reporting to parents and family 4. Reporting to importantothers 4. Student involvement in one time and attendance record keeping 5. Accountability reporting to the public. 6. Other suggestions: ACHIEVEMENT 1. Helping students identify where they are. 2. improving rate of achievement. 3. Help of parents and community resource people in order to achieve goals. 4. Other suggestions: 97 ADMINISTRATIVE RESPONSIBILITY IN CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE Corrective discipline is disciplinary action that includes a full effort to correct the unacceptable behavior of a staff member. This study might include the following topics; 1. Due process and just cause. 2. Building administrator's responsibility for corrective discipline. 3. Recognizing the individual staff member's rights and guarantees. 4. Practice providing practical knowledge of due process and just cause. 5. Progressively stricter steps to be taken to see corrective discipline through to a successful conclusion. 6. Other suggestions: SYSTEMATIC TEACHER EVALUATION The Michigan School Code and most local board policies make evaluation of employee performance a responsibility of supervisors. This study could cover such topics as: 1. Establishing the purpose of staff evaluation. 2. Differentiating between evaluation and discipline. 3. How to observe staff. 4. Conducting conferences with staff members. 5. Developing sound expectations and objectives. 6. Obtaining mutuality in a process of getting agreement. 7. Motivating for improvement. 8. Reaching the below-average teacher. 9. Building plans for assistance for improving performance. 10. Other suggestions: 9B APPRECIATE TRUE VALUE OF PEOPLE 1. Recognizing and giving credit to staff members for their accomplishments. 2. Recognizing and giving credit to total staff for accomplish­ ments. 3. Recognizing and giving credit to individual students for their accomplishments. 4. Recognizing and giving credit to the student body for their accomplishments. 5. Looking for and giving recognition for the best in others. 6. Showing appreciation to parents for accomplishments of students. 7. Other suggestions: BUDGETING 1. Budgeting as a requirement of school districts. 2. Accounting required of school districts. 3. Building-level budgeting with emphasis on process; e.g. , a. Zero-based budget (ZBB) b. Planning-programing-budgeting system (PPBS) 4. Developing a data information system. 5. Involving staff/ students/ parents/ and public. 6. Establishing priorities among identified needs. 7. Establishing criteria for determining success. 8. Costing of prioritized activities. 9. Other suggestions: 99 COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT 1. Identifying the caimunity. 2. Bringing the community into the school 3. Carmunity education. 4. School building as the community center. 5. Carmunity support for schools. 6. Involving the community in goal setting. 7. Carmunity involvement in curriculum. 8. Community support and involvement in discipline. 9. Carmunity involvement in violence problems. 10. Parents as partners in education. 11. Retiree use of school facilities. 12. Retirees as resources, aides, helpers, assistants. 13. Other suggestions: COORDINATION OF STATE AND FEDERAL PROGRAMS The overall goal in coordinating state and federal programs should be to improve quality and continuity of programs for more effec­ tive schools. In order to coordinate services and avoid duplication of efforts and monies, school principals need to be knowledgeable of the various state and federal program opportunities available and the potential for articulation and the cost of compliance. This study could focus on a review of categorical opportunities and understanding of program and reporting requirements, articulation of categorical programs in the regular school curricula, and coordi­ nating activities among programs and districts. Other suggestions: 100 ENVIRONMENT 1. Assessing the educational environment of the community. 2. Involving the parents and community in improving the educational environment. 3. Planning and implementing improved home environment for education. 4. Planning and implementing improved classroom environment for education. 5. Merging sound theory and good practice into total educational environment of school, home, and caimunity. 6. Other suggestions: FUKIHERING THE HOME-SCHOCL-COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIP This study could focus on getting the community involved in what goes on in the school in more than an informational exchange. This concept requires an openness and willingness on the part of the entire school community and a systematic planning process. Participants could have the opportunity to sharpen their under­ standing of community education. They would be provided a situation that could include involving community members in the educational process, needs, identification, goal establishment, and program devel­ opment, without diminishing the role and responsibility of the profes­ sional educator. Other suggestions: 101 GROUP PROCESS This study would focus on demonstrating faith in the democratic process of school administration. Concepts to be covered might include the following: 1. Establishing goals through the group process. 2. Building and improving curriculum through the group process. 3. Improving home-school-canmunity relations through the group process. 4. Improving discipline and self-control through the group process. 5. Other suggestions: ENERGY CONSERVATION AND TOE BUILDING PRINCIPAL 1. World and U.S. energy sources. 2. Hie need for conservation. 3. A building structure and its equipment. 4. Energy users within the school. 5. Energy wasters in the school. 6. Hie school energy audit. 7. What is a building conservation plan. 8. Hie economics of conservation. 9. Energy conservation as a curriculum infusion. 10. Conservation curriculum units. 11. Other suggestions: 102 CURRICULUM 1. Identifying board of education curriculum requirements. 2. Staff input on curriculum planning. 3. Parent and community involvement in curriculum planning. 4. Student involvement in curriculum planning. 5. Identifying needs not covered in current curriculum. 6. Prioritizing curriculum needs. 7. Budgeting for prioritized curriculum needs. 8. Planning resources necessary to achieve curriculum goals. 9. Establishing criteria to evaluate curriculum success. 10. Other suggestions: INFLUENCING HUMAN INTERACTION This study might focus on Interpersonal Process Recall (IFR). This is a method for learning about communication between people. Hie IPR training is designed to develop skills so that we can better understand ourselves and others. 1. The ability to respond in a meaningful way to statements another person is making to you so that the other person can expand, explore, and go deeper into the area being discussed. 2. The ability to focus on affective elements of communications. To recognize and label emotional states of others and of your own, as well as understanding which feelings seem to have greatest effect on you. 3. The skill to learn to allow and help another person to do his/ her own learning, growing, and changing without direction from you. 4. Other suggestions: 103 PROGRAM EVALUATION In this age of accountability, local, state, and federal decision makers are demanding accurate program evaluation. ITiis study might focus on assisting the principal in the use of program** evaluation techniques. Topics could include: 1. Developing program objectives. 2. Hie costs and benefits of measurement. 3. The time schedule in evaluation. 4. Using achievement scores to measure growth. 5. Reporting test results. 6. Continuous assessment. 7. Other suggestions. PLANNING 1. Planning long-range goals. 2. Planning short-range goals. 3. Planning curriculum. 4. Planning achievement for all students. 5. Staff planning organizations and functions. 6. Student planning organizations and functions. 7. Parent planning organizations and functions. 8. Community planning organizations and functions. 9. Other suggestions: 104 SCHOCL AS A SOCIETY 1. Identifying the school society and mini-societies. 2. School unit social structure. 3. Coordinating school educational goals with school social structure. 4. Use of societal strengths as motivational force for achievement of educational goals. 5. School society as an experiential laboratory for citizenship in a democratic society. 6. Educational-management adjustments for maximum use of stabilizing forces of school society and mini-societies. 7. Planning improvements as a social process within the school unit. 6. Other suggestions: PUBLIC RELATIONS FOR PUBLIC COOPERATION This study would include the following topics: 1. Planning for improving school's public image. 2. Planning for the use of the media. 3. Cooperative planning with parents. 4. Planning public reporting of school progress. 5. School participation in community and civic affairs. 6. School spirit as a public image. 7. Teacher morale as a public image of the school. 8. Other suggestions: 105 ORGANIZATION 1. Organization structures of local elementary school buildings. 2. Developing an organizational structure to achieve planned goals of the school. 3. Organizational management of the school. 4. Recognizing and using the mini-societies existing in the elementary school. 5. Parent organizations and the elementary school. 6. Student organizations and the elementary school. 7. Public organizations and the elementary school. 8. Professional organizations and the elementary school. 9. Other suggestions: MAINSTREAMING SPECIAL EDUCATION Federal Law 94-142 establishes the rights of access for handicapped children to public education. It also ensures rights of parents in the planning process for their child's educational program and the development of his/her individual educational plan. Michigan's Special Education Act requirements exceed those of the federal act. This study could include the following topics: 1. Court decisions leading to the act. 2. Philosophy and social and educational value of mainstreaming. 3. The Michigan Mandatory Special Education Act. 4. Parents' and students' rights under P.L. 94-142. 5. Planning and programming requirements at the building level. 6. I.E.P.'s— the process— who participates. 7. Teacher-union controls and mainstreaming. 8. Integrating special education into the entire school. 9. Other suggestions: 106 LEADERSHIP 1. Working with and through people to achieve organizational goals. 2. Developing leadership skills. 3. Developing leadership among teachers, parents, and students. 4. Sharing leadership. 5. Other suggestions: INSTRUCTIONAL EVALUATION 1. Developing objectives for instructional evaluation. 2. Identification of acceptable procedures for instructional evaluation. 3. Negotiated and contractual language relative to instructional evaluation. 4. Due process and instructional evaluation. 5. Other suggestions: 107 TAXPAYER SUPPORT FOR SCHOOLS Professional educators believe that good things happen in their schools. Taxpayers tend to question and resist spending of money on schools. It is important that the school principal inform taxpayers of the good things that happen in their schools. This study might include the following topics: 1. Importance of taxpayer good feelings toward the school all year roundf not just at millage-vote time. 2. Reporting student achievement to taxpayers as a positive report. 3. Showing appreciation to taxpayers for support given. 4. Providing accountability to taxpayers for money spent. 5. Planning taxpayer input in the budgeting process. 6. Planning taxpayer assistance in curriculum priorities. 7. Seeking taxpayer cooperation, in improving caimunity educational environment. 8. Other suggestions: 108 STUDENT PROGRESS EVALUATION AND REPORTING A very serious aspect of school life for elementary students is the evaluation of progress and reporting. This study might consider the following topics: 1. Identifying student progress from where to where. 2. Planning for all students toprogress. 3. Recognizing realistic achievement goals as an integral step in progress evaluation. 4. Self-recording methods of achievement progress. 5. Self-reporting of achievement progress to peers. 6. Self-reporting achievement progress to teacher. 7. Self-reporting achievement progress to parents and important others. 8. Experimentation with domino theory of student achievement process. 9. Using individual achievement to enhance self-image. 10. Other suggestions: 109 VANDALISM AND VIOLENCE Few school districts have not had some problems with vandalism and/or violence. Identifying some of the major causes and dealing with them may assist school principals in averting vandalism and violence. Topics covered in this study could include: 1. Identifying causes of vandalism and violence. 2. Ways that the school becomes a symbol to attack. 3. Frustrations of school-society rejection. 4. Planning for strong school spirit and pride including all students. 5. Planning school organization to include all students. 6. Planning for including the whole caimunity in the educational community. 7. Other suggestions: IMPLEMENTATION OF NEGOTIATED MASTER AGREEMENTS •mis study could include day-to-day handling of conditions set down in school employer/employee contracts. It would provide the necessary tools, materials, and know-how for developing a sound approach and attitude toward these binding documents. Topics that might be presented are: 1. Approaches to management implementation of negotiated master agreements. 2. Developing and maintaining proper management attitude toward implementation of the agreement. 3. Organizing and planning for master-agreement implementation. 4. Major implications for management implementation. 5. Grievance handling. 6. Other suggestions: 110 LPW AND EDUCATION 1. Constitution and education. 2. Legislative acts relating to education. 3. Court decisions relating to education. 4. State board of education regulations. 5. Title IX. 6. Student rights under due process. 7. Curriculum requirements under the law. 8. Certification requirements. 9. Parent rights in children's education. 10. Parent responsibilities for children's education under law. 11. Other suggestions: APPENDIX C COMPUTER CODES USED IN THE STUDY 111 112 Computer Codes Used in the Study SUBID Subject identification (001 through 214) SIZE Number of students registered in the elementary school supervised by the responding principal 1 Less than 300 2 301 through 500 3 More than 500 OOMP Are 25 percent or more of the students registered in this school designated to qualify under categorical compensatory education funding? 1 Yes 2 NO DEM Have changing demands of building-level management increased the need for ongoing inservice programs for elementary school principals? 1 Yes 2 No PR Do elementary school principals have a professional responsibility for skill updating beyond their professional reading and professional association participation? 1 Yes 2 No IC Would participation in elementary principal skill courses or inservice seminars be increased if boards of education recognized inservice units completed in sane form of increased canpensation? 1 Yes 2 NO SCH Would participation in skill courses and inservice seminars be encouraged if offered on school time, personal time, or sane combination of school time and personal time? 1 Yes 2 No PER Personal time 1 Yes 2 NO 00MB Canbination 1 Yes 2 NO 113 FAY Should boards of education pay all, part, or none of the costs of professional inservice development programs for elementary school principals? 1 All 2 Fart 3 None GC How many graduate courses have you taken in the last five years? ____ BE Did you receive board of education subsidy for tuition? 1 Yes 2 No WS How marry professional workshops or seminars(noncredit) have you attended in the last three years? ____ BEP Did the board of education pay the workshop or seminar costs? 1 Yes 2 NO "EL Or expenses of travel and lodging? 1 Yes 2 No Hie 27 educational needs were coded as follows: VI V2 V3 V4 V5 V6 V7 V8 V9 V10 Vll V12 V13 V14 V15 V16 V17 V18 V19 V20 V21 V22 V23 Accountability Achievement Appreciate True Value of People Budget Caimunity Involvement Coordination of State and Federal Programs Curriculum Energy Management Environment Furthering the Hcme-School-Carmunity Relationship Group Process Influencing Human Interaction Instructional Evaluation Procedures Law Related to Education Leadership Mainstreaming Organization Planning Program Evaluation Public Relations and Cooperation School as a Society Staff Corrective Discipline Student Progress Evaluation 114 m vo CJgCJ p r~ Systematic Teacher Evaluation Taxpayer support Union extracts: Implementation of Negotiated Master Agreements Vandalian and Violence REFERENCE LIST 115 REFERENCE LIST American Association of School Administrators Committee on the Selection of School Principals. "The Right Principal for the Right School." Washington, D.C.: AASA, 1967. Blumberg, Arthur, and Greenfield, William. The Effective Principal: Perspectives on School Leadership. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1980. Brookover, W. B., and Lezotte, L. W. "Changes in School Character­ istics Coincident With Changes in Student Achievement." Occasional Paper 17. East Lansing: Institute for Research on Teaching, Michigan State University, 1979. California Elementary School Principal's Association. Role of the Principal. Palo Alto, Calif.: National Press, 1968. Campbell, Clyde m. Practical Applications, of Democratic Administration. New York: Harper Brothers, 1952. Edmunds, Ronald, and Lezotte, L. W. "Correlates of School Effec­ tiveness." Paper presented at the National Conference on Urban Education, St. Louis, Missouri, July 10-14, 1978. Elsbree, Willard S.; McNally, Harold J.; and ffynn, Richard. Elementary School Administration and Supervision. 3rd ed. New York: American Book Co., 1967. Goldnammer, Keith; Becker, Gerald; Withyccmbe, Richard; Bqyel, Frank; Miller, Egar; Morgan, Claude; DeLoretto, Lou; and Aldridge, Bill. Elementary School Principals and Their Schools. Eugene: Center for the Advanced Study of Educational Administration, University of Oregon, 1971. Goodlad, John I. "Can Our Schools Get Better?" Phi Delta Kappan (January 1979). _______ . A Place Called School. Hill Book Co., 1983. New York: McGraw- Hagman, Harlan L. Administration of Elementary Schools. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Co., 1956. Hart, Joseph Kinmont. Democracy in Education. The Century Co., 1919. 116 New York: 117 Hicks, Hanne J. Administrative Leadership in the Elementary School. New York: The Ronald Press Co., 1956. Hyman, Ruth Bernstein. "Creativity in Open and Traditional Classrooms." Elementary School Journal (March 1978): 266. Jordan, William C. Elementary Srhnni leadership. New York: McGraw-Hill Bode Co., 1959. Kimbrough, Ralph B. and Practices. Administering Elementary Schools: Concepts New York: Macmillan, 1968. KLopf, Gordon j. The .Biincipal and Staff Development, in-theElementary School. New York: Bank Street College of Education, 1974. Larson, George, and Peterson, Brenda. "Does Noise Limit the Learning of Young Listeners." Elementary School Journal 78 (March 1978): 264. Mercer, Blaine E. House, 1956. The American Community. New York: Random Miel, Alice. Creativity in Teaching: Invitations and Instances. Belmont, Calif.: Wadsworth Publishing Co., 1961. Misner, Paul J.; Schneider, Frederick W.; and Lowell, G. Keith. Elementary School Administration. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc., 1963. National Commission on Excellence in Education, David P. Gardner, Chairman. A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform. Washington, D.C.: Government Printing Office, April 1983. Reavis, William C.; Pierce, Paul R.; Stullken, Edward n.; and Staith, Bertrand L. Administering the Elementary School. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1953. Sergiovanni, Thomas J., and Elliott, David L. Educational and Organizational Leadership in Elementary Schools. Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1975. Shane, Harold G., and Yauch, Wilbur A. Creative School AAninistration. New York: Henry Holt and Co., 1954. Shuster, Albert H., and Ploghoft, Milton E. The Bnerginq Elementary Curriculum. Columbus, Ohio: Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc., 1963. 118 Staith, Louis M., and Keith, Pat M. Anatomy of Educational Innovations.Jta..Qra^«tional Analysis of an Elementary. School. New York: John Wiley and Sons, 1971. Snyder, Fred A., and Peterson, R. Duane. Dynamics of Elementary Sshool JMminifitcation. Boston: HoughtonMifflin Co., 1970. Spain, Charles R.; Drummond, Harold D.; and Goodlad, John I. EducationaL-Leadership and the.,Elementary-Schools Principal. New York: Rinehart & Co., 1956. Stephenson, William. The Study of Behavior. O-Techniaue and Its Methodology. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1953. Stoops, Emery, and Johnson, Russell E. Elementary School Administration. New York: McGraw-Hill Bode Co., 1967. Stoops, Onery, and Marks, James R. Elementary School Supervision. Boston: Allyn and Bacon, 1965. Wiles, Kimball. Teaching for Better Schools. N.J.: Prentice-Hall, 1953. Englewood Cliffs,