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Model leadership: discovering successful principals' skills, strategies and approaches for student success

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Model leadership: discovering successful principals' skills, strategies and approaches for student success

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Content Running Head: MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 1

Model Leadership: Discovering Successful Principals’
Skills, Strategies, And Approaches
For Student Success
by
Agnes Oteng Asiedu-Kumi
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION
May 2013
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 2

Dedication
I dedicate this work first and foremost to my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ for the
bountiful supply of the Spirit that has sustained me through this process. I also dedicate this
work to my mother, the woman who never had the opportunity to step into a classroom because
of her gender but made God and education a priority for all of her children. Her hard work on
our behalf will never be forgotten. We will carry on the baton for the next generation.
This work is for my cheer leaders. My sister Elizabeth is my role model. Kathy and
Josie are the next generation of scholars. Brother Kojo was there for me all the way; I knew that
I could always count on his support and intelligent advice.
Finally, this work is dedicated to my dear husband Sam, whose immeasurable support,
encouragement, and attention to details kept me on track. I could never have made it without
him and his timelines.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 3

Acknowledgments
I wish to express my sincere appreciation to my dissertation chair, Dr. Pedro E. Garcia,
for accepting me in his thematic group, giving me the structure and timelines that kept me
working, and constantly encouraging me to fight on. He has been my inspiration. I truly
appreciate the motivation, guidance, and coaching that he rendered to me through this process.
He stirred a passion in me for USC and for educational leadership. I thank him for being always
available and willing to guide.
I thank Dr. Rudy Castruita and Dr. Hocevar for their faith in me, equally guiding and
motivating me through the process. I appreciate the entire thematic group, who were a great
collaborative team.
I owe a debt of gratitude to my brother in the Lord, Mr. Bruce Giddens, for the countless
hours spent editing and supporting me throughout this journey. I always knew that he was only a
phone call away and that I could count on him.
I thank my entire church family for the encouragement they gave me all the way and for
all of the young people who endured my absence some Saturday nights from the youth
gatherings I have always cherished dearly.

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 4

Table of Contents
Dedication ........................................................................................................................... 2
Acknowledgments............................................................................................................... 3
List of Tables ...................................................................................................................... 6
List of Figures ..................................................................................................................... 7
Abstract ............................................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 1: Introduction ...................................................................................................... 9
Background ..................................................................................................................... 9
Urbanization, diversity, and poverty. ........................................................................ 10
Fundamental issues. .................................................................................................. 11
Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership ...................................................................... 12
The No Child Left Behind Act ...................................................................................... 13
Statement of the Problem .............................................................................................. 15
The Impact of Leadership ............................................................................................. 16
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 17
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 17
Significance of the Study .............................................................................................. 18
Limitations and Delimitations ....................................................................................... 18
Definitions of Terms ..................................................................................................... 19
Organization of the Dissertation ................................................................................... 20
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................................... 21
Background to the Study ............................................................................................... 21
Problems to Reform ...................................................................................................... 22
Leadership Defined ....................................................................................................... 22
Models of leadership: leadership effects................................................................... 24
Cognitive outcome criticized. ................................................................................... 25
The mediating factors effect. ..................................................................................25
The district office effect. .........................................................................................27
The ultimate effect. .................................................................................................27
Instructional Leadership................................................................................................ 27
Building capacity for the teaching staff. ................................................................... 29
Bridging the gap. ....................................................................................................... 33
Presentation of Theories ............................................................................................... 35
The four frames approach to leadership.................................................................... 38
The skills-based approach to leadership. .................................................................. 40
How human skills affect leadership. ......................................................................... 41
Skills model of leadership. ........................................................................................ 41
Individual attributes. ................................................................................................. 42
Comparing theories. .................................................................................................. 43
Comparing leadership and management. .................................................................. 44
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 45
Chapter 3: Methodology .................................................................................................. 47
Purpose of the Study ..................................................................................................... 47
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 48
Method of Study ........................................................................................................... 48
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 5

Sample and Population ................................................................................................. 49
Instrumentation ............................................................................................................. 50
Data Collection ............................................................................................................. 51
Data Analysis ................................................................................................................ 53
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 53
Chapter 4: Results ............................................................................................................ 55
Instrumentation and Theoretical Framework ................................................................ 55
Research Questions ....................................................................................................... 57
Demographics of Participants ....................................................................................... 58
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 1 ............................................................ 65
Promote a sense of cooperation among teaching staff. ............................................. 66
Provide and enforce clear structures for staff. .......................................................... 68
Build and use leadership teams. ................................................................................ 69
Lead in the pursuit of innovative challenges. ........................................................... 69
Hold people accountable. .......................................................................................... 70
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 2 ............................................................ 75
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 3 ............................................................ 82
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 4 ............................................................ 87
Chapter Summary ......................................................................................................... 92
Chapter 5: Conclusions .................................................................................................... 96
Summary of Findings .................................................................................................... 96
Effective leaders........................................................................................................ 98
Structural designers and builders. ............................................................................. 99
Instructional leaders. ............................................................................................... 101
Culture builders through relationships. ................................................................... 102
Humility vs. pride. .................................................................................................. 103
Comparing perspectives of veteran and new superintendents and principals. ........ 103
Limitations of the Study.............................................................................................. 104
Implications for Practice and Policy ........................................................................... 104
Leadership. .............................................................................................................. 105
Instructional leadership. .......................................................................................... 105
Positive School Climate and Culture ...................................................................... 105
Humility. ................................................................................................................. 106
Recommendations for Future Research ...................................................................... 106
Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 107
References ....................................................................................................................... 108
Appendix A: Letter to Participants ............................................................................... 116
Appendix B: Superintendents Survey Questions .......................................................... 117
Appendix C: Principals Survey Questions .................................................................... 119
Appendix D: Interview Questions (Qualitative) for Principals .................................... 122
Appendix E: Interview Questions (Qualitative) for Superintendents ........................... 124

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 6

List of Tables
Table 1: School Principals’ Responsibilities and Their Correlation (r)
With Student Achievement 37
Table 2: The Relationship of the Research Questions to Instrumentation 52
Table 3: Age Range, Years in Education, and Prior Positions Held by
Participants (Percentages) 59
Table 4: Positions in Education Formerly Held by Participating Superintendents
and Principals 59
Table 5: Demographics of Interviewed Superintendents 63
Table 6: Demographics of Interviewed Principals 63

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 7

List of Figures
Figure 1: Skills model of leadership 42
Figure 2: Gender of participating superintendents and principals 58
Figure 3: Highest educational level attained by superintendents who responded
to the survey 60
Figure 4: Highest educational level attained by principals who responded
to the survey 61
Figure 5: Percentages of superintendents and principals who held various
positions as educators before assuming their current positions 62
Figure 6: Ethnicities of survey and interview participants 64
Figure 7: Average ratings of responses to survey questions related to
Research Question 1 72
Figure 8: Participants’ responses to the survey question, “How do principals
influence classroom instruction for student success?” 77
Figure 9: Distribution of responses to questions related to Research Question 3,
regarding the principal’s responsibility to create and maintain a
productive school climate 84
Figure 10: Response rates by participating superintendents and principals to
the question, “How does the school district support principals to
be successful?” 87
Figure 11: Model of district support for the successful principal 95

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 8

Abstract
Urban schools are traditionally linked with low student performance perpetuated and sustained
by ineffective leadership. However, some urban school principals have been overcoming
mediocrity, low expectations, and other hindrances and their schools are ranking well. Middle
and high school principals from these schools in Southern California were identified as
successful and were invited to participate in this study. The focus of the study was to identify
the skills, strategies, and approaches that make principals of these schools successful. The
perspectives of selected superintendents and principals were sought through surveys and
interviews. Surveys were quantitatively analyzed and interviews were qualitatively analyzed.
The study found that the skills, strategies, and approaches that successful principals use are
manifold, interrelated, interconnected, and that they are acquired rather than inherent. All of the
skills are needed and each must be used according to the context, environment, and situation
existing in the individual schools. The study found that successful principals have skills,
strategies, and approaches that make them effective leaders. They influence student success by
designing and building structures for teachers, students, parents, and the community to work
together for student success. They are innovative leaders who create a culture and climate for
learning by building healthy relationships with all stakeholders. They are humble enough to ask
for and receive support from the district and superintendent and often credit their success to
others, thereby actually enabling others to be successful.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 9

Chapter 1: Introduction
This study focused on discovering the skills, strategies, and approaches of principals
whose leadership has facilitated success in middle and high school students in urban
neighborhoods. Selected schools had similar school ranking (SSR) from 7 to 10 when their
Academic Performance Index (API) is compared with schools with similar challenges
(California Department of Education, 2010). The API of these schools had to be 700 or more or
the school should have been showing sustained improvement in their API scores for 3
consecutive years. The principals of these schools and their respective superintendents were
surveyed and interviewed to identify the skills, strategies, and approaches that have made the
principals successful.
Background
There is a growing demand to maintain competitiveness of the United States in the world
and to eliminate poverty at home. This demand has been spurred by the continual decline in
performance on national and international assessments of learning by American students. The
growing urge to reform education to meet this demand spurred President Ronald Reagan in 1983
to establish a commission to evaluate the condition of education in the nation. The report of the
National Commission on Excellence in Education (NCEE), called A Nation at Risk (NCEE,
1983), drew widespread attention (Milton & Harvey, 1983).
The commission’s findings contained three main points. First, the nation was losing its
once-unsurpassed preeminence in the world in the areas of commerce, industry, science, and
technology. Second, mediocrity was threatening to take over the educational foundations of the
nation. Third, U.S. students were falling far behind students from other industrialized nations.
Mediocrity was revealed in that 13% of U.S. teenagers and 40% of minority adults were
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 10

functionally illiterate. The final and encouraging main point of the report was that the trend
could be reversed. America has the will and the power to do it and must therefore reform its
educational approach. A desperate nation responding to the findings has since sought a way to
restore American education to its once-revered and prominent position in the world (Milton &
Harvey, 1983).
Urbanization, diversity, and poverty. Twenty-eight years after the publication of A
Nation at Risk the struggle to reform school persists. Within America’s urban cities are groups
of students who are defined by race, gender, ability, and/or socioeconomic status who are
consistently performing below average levels in schools (Bennett, 2001). The dropout,
expulsion, and suspension rates among these students are above average levels. The dropout rate
represents the percentages of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and who have
not earned a high school diploma or an equivalency credential such as the General Education
Development (GED) credential (National Center for Education Statistics [NCES], 2011).
According to the NCES (2011), school dropout rates in the nation declined between 1980
and 2009. Nonetheless, for each of those years, the dropout rate for Hispanics was higher than
the rates for other races. The Hispanic Education Coalition (2010) asserted that 1 in 5 K–12
students in the United States is Latino, and their number continues to rise. The NCES asserted
that in 2008-2009 a greater percentage of Black, Hispanic, American Indian, and Alaska natives
attended high-poverty elementary and secondary public schools than did the rest of American
students. High-poverty schools have 40% or more of the student population eligible for free or
reduced-price lunches. In 2008-2009, 45% percent of Hispanic students, 44% of Black students,
and 31% of American Indian or Alaska Native students were enrolled in high-poverty
elementary schools, compared to 17% of Asian/Pacific Islander students and 6% of White
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 11

students. These numbers give a snapshot of how students of various ethnicities are concentrated
in urban schools. These schools have a high teacher turnover rate; teachers report less support
from the administration, no backing by the principal, limited influence over curriculum and
content. They report that they have often been disrespected, threatened, or attacked in their work
environment (Imazeki & Goe, 2009).
The impact of poverty on children during various stages of their growth has been
documented by researchers. According to Brooks-Gunn and Duncan (1997), depending on the
timing and duration of poverty within a family, a child’s cognitive well-being can be adversely
affected, affecting the child’s educational attainment. Long years of poverty create emotional
and behavior problems in children that further affect their success in urban schools.
Nevertheless, education is an important determinant of the ability to eliminate poverty.
Education determines how much a person will earn and therefore is a significant factor to
protect today’s students against a life of poverty in the future. According to the NCES (2011), in
2009 a young adult between the ages of 25 and 34 with a college degree earned more than twice
as much as an adult without a high school diploma or its equivalent, 50% more than high school
completers, and 25% more than those with an Associate degree. This is important because
education is supposed to be the one factor that levels the playing field for all students, regardless
of background, family income level, or language spoken at home. However, education has not
leveled the playing field for all students; instead, the education gap between rich and poor
students is growing (Tavernise, 2012). These facts seem to make poverty the reason for lack of
student success. Is poverty the real issue in urban schools?
Fundamental issues. Gorski (2008) disagreed with assertions about poverty, arguing
that the issue of poor student performance is bigger than just poverty. Gorski explained that
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 12

poverty is only one issue of a social structure that breeds classism, racism, sexism, and other
forms of social stereotypes and that feeds inequalities in society, one of which is educational
inequality. They are all intertwined. This explains why, during the 20th century, even though
there was an expansion of educational opportunities alongside industrialization and
bureaucratization, the problem of educational inequity persisted (Blossfeld & Shavit, 1993).
Schools need models of effective leadership that can turn the tide for all students.
In the search for a solution to the problem of educational inequality and poor student
performance, a segment of politicians, educators, and entrepreneurs has advocated for public
school choice as a solution (Holme, 2002). According to Holme, school choice backers argue
that parents with high social status use their economic and political powers to obtain choice for
their children either by sending them to a private school or by buying expensive homes in
preferred school districts, while poor parents have no choice beyond failing schools. They argue
that charter schools and vouchers will provide choice for poor families in urban cities. Holme
disagreed with their assertion, noting that research has found that the criteria that affluent parents
use for school choice has more to do with social status, race, and wealth, rather than school
curriculum or instruction. Curriculum and instruction are directly related to student performance
(Holme, 2002).
Curriculum, Instruction, and Leadership
Curriculum and instruction are the driving force to student success (Fisher & Frey, 2005;
Langer, 2001; Lauren, 2003). Nevertheless, the responsibility for success does not lie entirely in
the classroom. As much as classroom instruction is important to student success, a schoolwide
structure must be in place to make the classroom effective. According to Darling-Hammond
(2002), there must be an organized behind-the-scenes structure in schools to influence what goes
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 13

on in the classroom, such as a shared set of schoolwide objectives, focus, obligations, and
practices. This was confirmed by Dafour, Dafour, Eaker, and Many (2006) and Elmore (2005).
School leaders set up such structures in schools and school systems.
Datnow and Stringfield (2000) and MacIver and Farley (2003) confirmed that school
reform that results in success for all students demands that the effort, its implementation, and its
sustenance be the responsibility of all educators, from the school district level to school site
administrators, teachers, parents, and the entire school community—not excluding the state and
federal governments. All aspects of education reform must be a collaborative exercise (Datnow
& Stringfield, 2000; MacIver & Farley, 2003). Unfortunately, national and state efforts for
school reform have often been bureaucratic. As high academic performance for all students
remains a national priority, federal and state governments pressure public school leaders through
legislation and policies to reform their schools and raise student academic success (EdSource,
2005; Elmore, 2003).
The No Child Left Behind Act
According to Bolman and Deal (2008), the government responds to difficulties by
creating new legislation and new policies that may be detached from the solution to the problem.
Such is the Public School Accountability Act (PSAA) enacted by California in April 1999
(California Department of Education, 2010) and the reauthorization version of the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001
(EdSource, 2005).
The NCLB policy design and implementation has been less than perfect (Elmore, 2003;
Linn, 2005; Porter & Polikoff, 2007). The legislation placed pressure on schools to be
accountable, make annual yearly progress (AYP), and be publicly designated as “high
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 14

performing” or “in need of improvement.” Schools in need of improvement face sanctions
(EdSource, 2005). There was no capacity-building component in the policy. Instead, the policy
relied on standards and assessments with assumptions that there was enough capacity to improve
school systems. But standards were not uniform across states and some states watered down
their standards to meet the demands of the policy.
In an effort to fix some of the problems in NCLB policy design, the federal government
is providing waivers in exchange for adopting comprehensive school system reforms. Reforms
include the acceptance of common core national academic standards, college and career-ready
standards, high-quality assessments, state-developed differentiated recognition, accountability,
support systems, and so forth (U.S. Department of Education, 2011). Federal funds are now
available for this reform effort and the goal is to gain success for all students. These
developments further call for models of effective leadership in all K–12 institutions, especially in
urban schools.
Legislation, new policies, and waivers to old policies are not in themselves capable of
improving schools if there are no effective leaders taking charge of the effort so that every child
in the urban school system becomes successful. Urban schools, just like other complex systems,
are filled with politics, have ambiguous issues and dilemmas of what to change and what to
uphold and what to let go, and multiple stakeholders scrambling for attention (Bolman & Deal,
2008). Complex systems demand more than managers; they demand shrewd leadership (Bolman
& Deal, 1994).
School systems can either be worlds of disorder, frustration, and failure or worlds of
enthusiasm and opportunity, based on how leadership is practiced (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 15

Sadly, many urban school leaders, staff, and students have experienced the former rather than the
latter. There is a great need for model leaders in urban school systems.
Good leadership is needed to reform schools and prepares all students in K–12
institutions to be college and career ready (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2008; Waters, Marzano, &
McNulty, 2004). According to Louis, Leithwood, Wahlstrom, and Anderson (2010), good
leaders can provide direction and guidance to improve a distressed school. Leaders should know
how to delegate ownership of any effort to those who will perform the effort. Leaders can create
a working environment in which each person wants to be accountable. Leaders can develop the
capabilities of others (Belasco & Stayer, 1993). These are the leadership skills that are needed in
urban schools.
Statement of the Problem
According to Waters et al. (2004), there is the need for effective leadership in every
school because leadership has the potential to enhance student success. Some students in
California’s urban school systems do not have access to basic conditions for educational success.
They also do not have learning environments that foster a sense of belonging and that promote
healthy relationships among all members of their school communities. Expectations for success
are low, which produces mass student failure (California P-16 Council, 2007). What is
prevailing is a social system that rears stereotypes such as classism and racism and a system of
educational inequity that is sustained by ineffective leaders in urban school systems. Ineffective
leadership in urban schools is sustaining a social system that breeds social stereotypes and feeds
educational inequality. All students do not have equal access to education and their school
culture and climate is toxic because of ineffective leadership.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 16

Some urban school leaders have shown success by overcoming mediocrity, low
expectations, and barriers of low socioeconomic factors, language, and disability in their schools.
Students are becoming successful. Their leadership skills, strategies, and approaches are gaining
traction over the barriers of urbanization. The skills, strategies, and approaches that effective
principals in urban schools rely on and practice as a response to the educational needs of all
students must be discovered. There should be leadership for helping all students to succeed.
The Impact of Leadership
Research by Murphy (1988), Hallinger (2011), and Leithwood and Jantzi (2008) has
found that leadership has an explicit impact on student success but is not the only key to student
growth and success. There are other influences on student success. Influences originate from
the classroom, school site, and district level (MacIver & Farley, 2003). Effective leaders harness
all influences to produce student success. Hallinger (2011) compiled 40 years of empirical
evidence of the impact of leadership on student learning in the elementary school context.
The most successful principals use specific skills, strategies, and innovative approaches
to create organizational structures that increase the quality of classroom instruction. The
paradigm of leadership, structure, climate, culture (Gonder & Hymes, 1994), and the efficient
use of data must be made to improve student success. These skill sets should be identified and
structured so they can be passed on to other principals.
To identify the skills and strategies that successful principals’ exhibit, a series of
questions was formulated to elicit the information. The researchers wanted to know about the
skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that principals use to deal with bureaucratic and
accountability demands to improve student success. How do they overcome the daily challenges
to reform? How have they shaped a climate and culture of high expectations in their schools?
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 17

What are the marks of their leadership style? How have they become effective over time? What
skills and strategies have these leaders used to shape and influence what goes on in the
classroom? What is the mark of teacher and student success in their estimation and how do they
achieve that goal as leaders? In summary, how have successful leaders modeled their leadership
to influence their quest for success for all students? A quantitative/qualitative case study
approach was used to investigate how principals affect student success.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to contribute to research on effective educational leadership
studies by examining the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that urban leaders use to
improve student success. This work adds to the body of research on educational leadership that
spurs student success. New school site principals can depend on this research as they navigate
the urban school system with its challenges in pursuit of success for all students. Veteran and
new administrators can learn how to navigate a school accountability system that demands that
they be instructional leaders and not only managers of their school sites. This research identifies
best practices for urban school leaders.
Research Questions
This quantitative and qualitative case study was designed to identify skills, strategies, and
innovative approaches that urban school leaders use to gain success for all of their students. Four
research questions guided the study:
 What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that school principals use to
construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and lead to student
success?
 How do principals influence classroom instruction for student success?
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 18

 How do principals create and shape a climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success?
 How does the school district support principals to be successful?
Significance of the Study
It is increasingly necessary to have effective leadership in urban schools to ensure
success for every child because of a history of mass student failure. Urban students are likely to
be designated as “at risk” because of the tendency of not completing high school, thereby being
set for failure in a technological and competitive society (Darling-Hammond, 2007). The pace at
which worldwide events are moving is unprecedented. Technology and communication have
reduced the world to a global village, and there is global competition for the world’s limited
resources. For students to succeed in the emerging world economy, they must be educated for
success (California P-16 Council, 2007). The principal’s effectiveness is integral to student
success and survival in the world economy.
It’s imperative to have an effective principal in every school and to give more educators
the courage to take on the challenge of leading schools. This will close the gap in the number of
principals as a greater number of them retire. The turnover rate among urban teachers is high.
This study provides a menu for principals to coach and support all teachers. This study provides
a lens for superintendents as they seek to fill the gaps in leadership eminent in K–12 institutions.
Limitations and Delimitations
This study explores the skills, strategies, and approaches of principals that influence
student success. Student success is determined by the ranking of the school on California’s SSR
on a scale of 1 to 10, with 10 the highest ranking. The SSR is based on multiple factors,
including student performance on California Standardized Tests (CST) and California High
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 19

School Exit Exams (CAHSEE) data for selected schools. Since this study is specific to
California school sites, demographic and other barriers were focused on southern California and
may not be generalizable. The factors contributing to student success are based on California
and are location specific. Since student success and school ranking are determined from CST
data, these data cannot be generalized for any other population because the content standards are
state specific. Furthermore, leadership is not static but is subject to environmental context,
which provides some limitations to the findings from this study.
Definitions of Terms
Climate: Quantifiable properties of the school environment that are based on perceptions
that can be swayed by the practices of a school site leader (Heck, Larsen, & Marcoulides, 1990).
Culture: The subtle hidden reality of what members of the school community care about,
what they are willing to spend time doing, what they celebrate, how they celebrate, and what
they talk about (Alvy & Robbins, 1998). Shared beliefs, sense of community, and cooperation
(Waters, Marzano, & McNulty, 2003) are part of the culture.
Dropout rate: The percentage of 16- to 24-year-olds who are not enrolled in school and
who have not earned a high school diploma or an equivalency credential such as the GED
credential.
High-poverty schools: Schools in which 40% or more of the students are eligible for free
or reduced-price lunches.
Leadership: A practice by which a person sways others to attain a common goal.
Model leadership: In this context, model means exemplary leadership, perfect, classic,
definitive, ultimate, or archetypical leadership.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 20

Student success: Student learning or high student academic performance or achievement
as determined by performance on the CST and CHSEE.
Organization of the Dissertation
Chapter 1 presents an overview of the study, including the background to the study,
statement of the problem, purpose of the study, research questions that guided the study, ,
definitions of terms, and the organization of the dissertation. Chapter 2 presents a synthesis of
the literature and theories that were applicable to the study. Chapter 3 describes the
methodology for the study, including the sample and population, instrumentation, data
collection, and data analysis. Chapter 4 is a report of the findings organized according to the
research questions, followed by reflections on the findings. Chapter 5 begins with a summary of
findings, followed by limitations of the study, implications for practice by professionals in
certain fields, and recommendations for future studies related to the topic.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 21

Chapter 2: Literature Review
Chapter 2 contains a discussion, evaluation, and synthesis of information gathered from
empirical and conceptual literature regarding the effect on leadership on student success. This
chapter begins with a summary of the background to the study and the problems to be addressed,
followed by a review of the various definitions of leadership based on published information.
The chapter continues with a review of the literature on the proposed models of leadership
through mediating factors to student success. The works of the following researchers and
theorists are highlighted: Fullan (1983, 2001), Cuban (1990), Hallinger and Heck (1996, 2010a),
Witziers, Bosker, and Kruger (2003), MacIver and Farley (2003), Waters et al. (2003, 2004),
Marzano, Waters, and McNulty (2005), Bolman and Deal (1994, 2008), and Hallinger (2011).
The review includes a focus on “instructional leadership” as a banner for leadership to
ensure student success and a description of responsibilities of effective leadership based on
studies by Marzano et al. (2005). The chapter concludes with a review of theories of leadership
pertinent to this study: the “skill approach” to leadership described by Northouse (2010), Bolman
and Deal (2008), Fullan (2001), and Waters et al. (2003). A summary of the chapter
recapitulates the main points, general controversies, and questions that support the need for this
study.
Background to the Study
Since the publication of A Nation at Risk by the NCEE (1983), there has been an urgent
demand for K–12 schools to reform their practices. The urgency stems from the finding by the
commission of risk to the nation in the education of its citizens. The report declared that there
was so much mediocrity in American schools that the nation had been losing its preeminence in
the areas of commerce, industry, science, and technology ((Milton & Harvey, 1983; NCEE,
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 22

1983). By 1983, 13% of U.S. teenagers and 40% of minority adults were functionally illiterate
(Milton & Harvey, 1983). The nation has since responded by seeking ways to reverse this trend.
There is today a national call for accountability from educators who are charged with the
responsibility of educating K–12 students.
Problems to Reform
Educators have responded by introducing various methods, products, and innovations for
reforming schools to make all students successful—unfortunately, to no widespread avail
(Cuban, 1990). According to Fullan (1983, 2003), the issue is not having the right programs but
having the plans and resources to implement the reform process. The problem is not so much a
lack of innovative programs and products but a lack of leadership to create the structure, climate,
and culture to allow effective implementation and sustenance of the reform endeavor (Southwest
Educational Development Laboratory, 1990). Leadership is necessary to make schools effective
for student success (Waters et al., 2004). This notion was foreseen by Murphy (1988) and
affirmed by Leithwood and Jantzi (2008), Louis et al. (2010), Hallinger and Heck (2010b), and
Hallinger (2011). The need to educate all K–12 students demands leadership at each school site
that is equipped to influence the school community to embrace change and reform. What is
leadership and how is it different from the traditional role of the school principal?
Leadership Defined
Leadership is not easy to define. Nevertheless, there is general consensus that leadership
is a key component in determining the effective and efficient operation of any organization
(Northouse, 2010). The nation’s schools and school districts are organizations and need
leadership to become efficient (Murphy, 1988; Northouse 2010). Northouse explained that there
are as many definitions of leadership as there are those who have tried to define it. Without a
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 23

shared definition for leadership, describing the effective practice of leadership is difficult.
Northouse defined leadership as a process whereby one person is sways others within a specific
group to follow him or her to achieve a common purpose. It is a relationship between those who
lead and those who choose to follow as they work together toward a defined shared goal
(Northouse, 2010). Even though this definition provides some understanding of how leadership
functions, it is still not a united or a universally accepted definition.
Belasco and Stayer (1993) explained that leadership as not an individual phenomenon but
a shared responsibility. The designated leader not only creates an atmosphere of collective
ownership of efforts but actually hands over ownership, builds individual capacity for success,
and creates an atmosphere in which all are learners and learn competently and speedily.
According to Louis et al. (2010), leadership offers direction and influence. Bennis and
Nanus (1985) explained that leadership emerges when organizations are confronted with
complex challenges that require guidance to unravel. Leaders have the ability to lead systems to
their selected goals by instilling commitment and creating new cultures and strategies that bring
focus, vigor, and resources to attend to the difficulty (Bennis & Nanus, 1985).
Despite the many definitions of leadership, three ideas are central to the concept: (a)
Leadership is a process that involves the exercise of influence between leaders and their
followers; (b) the leader directs and influences followers to follow; and (c) leadership occurs
within a group and involves the attainment of goals (Belasco & Stayer, 1993; Bennis & Nanus,
1985; Hallinger, 2011; Louis et al., 2010; Murphy, 1988; Northouse, 2010). These central
concepts of leadership clearly align with meeting the needs of K–12 institutions. Schools need
leaders who can influence the school community with a clear agenda, set goals for student
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 24

success and focus, and influence all stakeholders to collaboratively bear the responsibility to
meet the set goals (Marzano et al., 2005; Waters et al., 2004).
Models of leadership: leadership effects. In the quest to find causal relationships
between educational leadership and student success, various pathways have been explored.
Witziers et al. (2003) conducted a statistical meta-analysis of studies that used a range of
analytical procedures to investigate the extent to which principal leadership influences student
performance. Witziers et al. determined that the general evidence for a direct influence was very
small. Using sophisticated analyses, Witziers et al. found no evidence of cause and effect within
the secondary school context. On the other hand, specific leadership behaviors, such as defining
and communicating the school mission statement, had a large effect size. Witziers et al.
concluded that, to form a better concept or idea about school leadership, it was necessary that the
context in which leadership was being exercised, as well as other mediating factors, such as
school culture and climate, be taken into account. In the view of these researchers, context and
mediating factors must be included in the search for the effect of leadership on student success.
They recommended future longitudinal studies to ascertain the relationships among leadership,
mediating factors, and student success.
Such a longitudinal study would be an excellent endeavor. Unfortunately, due to limited
time and resources, such an endeavor was not possible for the current study. In addition to the
limitation of time, this study was a case study that was designed not to establish a cause-and-
effect relationship between leadership and student success but to identify and isolate the skills
and innovative approaches of leaders who have shown signs of success. It was therefore
appropriate for this study to consider the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that these
leaders use to influence factors such as construction of school structures, how faculty is coached,
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 25

and how a climate and culture for learning is created and shaped. These factors, shaped by
effective leadership, can have a direct impact on student cognitive outcome (Marzano et al.,
2005).
Cognitive outcome criticized. Student success cannot be over emphasized. Schools
exist to ensure that all students are learning so they can become successful in the current and
future global economy. Some have criticized educational researchers for focusing on cognitive
student outcomes (Witziers et al., 2003) but the criticism is misdirected in that the federal and
state governments demand accountability that uses cognitive student outcomes as the measure of
success. In this era of demanding accountability for educators and students, cognitive outcomes
cannot be over emphasized. This implies that leadership skills, strategies, and other innovative
approaches should consummate in student success.
Student success is measured by cognitive outcome without sidelining the mediating
factors that have direct impact on students’ scores. Focusing on identifying multiple indicators
that bring about success, exploring their interrelatedness (Murphy, 1988; Witziers et al., 2003),
and identifying the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that bring them about can
provide a balanced view of effective school leadership.
The mediating factors effect. Mediating factors are the indirect leadership effects on
student success. Empirical studies by Hallinger and Heck (1996) reveal a minor but important
direct effect of a school principal’s leadership on improved learning climate. Improved learning
climates in turn had a direct effect on student success, implying that a principal’s leadership can
improve student success through improving the climate of the school. According to Hallinger
and Heck (1996), effective leadership must be measured not only by student cognitive success
but by its impact on the mediating factors, such as the school’s innovative capacity, working
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 26

conditions, culture, and climate of learning. All of these influences have been shown through
empirical studies to have direct effect on student success (Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Witziers et
al., 2003). According to Hallinger and Heck (2010b), their research findings can be summarized
descriptively in four models of leadership: (a) a direct effect, (b) a mediated effect, (c) a reversed
mediated effect, and (d) a reciprocal effect.
A direct effect indicates that leadership has a direct effect on student success. A mediated
effect indicates that where leadership affects the mediators directly and the mediators affect
student success directly, so leadership indirectly affects success. A reversed mediated effect
indicates that student success directly influences the climate and culture of the school positively.
A reciprocal effect is a simultaneous and combined effect of mediated and reversed mediated
effect. According to Hallinger and Heck (2010b), not only does leadership influence the
environment; the environment can also influence leadership behavior. The environment has
potential to reshape leadership. All of these effects and influences are context specific
(Hallinger, 2011).
All of these effects show the pathways by which leadership can influence student success.
It becomes imperative for school leaders to have the skill to integrate all of these effects into a
unique model of leadership. This unique model should juggle the effects for student success.
Hallinger and Heck (2010b) concluded that school leadership must be collaborative to bring
about student success.
Similarly, Murphy (1988), Leithwood and Jantzi (2008), and Hallinger (2011), through
empirical studies and meta-analysis of numerous other studies, have contributed to findings that
leadership has a direct impact on student success but that it is not the all-inclusive key to student
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 27

growth and success. There is agreement among them that mediating factors also influence
student success.
The district office effect. MacIver and Farley (2003) reviewed studies to determine
whether the school’s district office influences student success. They found that influences on
student success originate from the district office, to the school site leadership, to other school site
factors, then to the classroom. The quality of instruction in the classroom was the final
determining factor that determined student success. The researchers recommend studying the
links between the district office, school site leadership, and school-level influences to discover
how they affect instruction.
The ultimate effect. According to the Wallace Foundation (2009), based on empirical
studies conducted through their organization, classroom instruction was the major determinant to
student success, followed by school leadership. The MacIver and Farley (2003) model of
influences on student success cited the quality of instruction in the classroom as the only variable
with a direct influence on student success.
Quality of instruction is central but is surrounded by these other factors that either
weaken or strengthen it. Leadership at the school site, the culture created at the site, the climate,
availability of resources, and the hiring process all tend to influence the quality of instruction in
the classroom. Leadership skills and strategies seem to determine all of the influences that
directly influence the quality of classroom instruction.
Instructional Leadership
Since the quality of instruction has a direct impact on student success, it is important to
include the “responsibilities of instructional leadership” as a measure of effective school
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 28

leadership (Hallinger, 2011; Louis et al., 2010; Murphy, 1988; Olson, 2000). Instructional
leadership influences what happens in the classroom and affects student success.
According to Marzano et al. (2005), educationalists see instructional leadership as the
most important function of the school site leader. The instructional leader is responsible to
provide the resources needed by educators to carry out their responsibilities of teaching and
learning. Most important, the instructional leadership is in itself a resource for instruction.
Instructional leaders must model behaviors that are needed for student success; they must
participate in professional development (PD) and must have a record of giving priority to
instructional concerns.
The goal of instructional leadership is to lead the organization to achieve determined
goals—in schools, teaching and learning to make all students successful. The instructional
leader does not just make demands of people but seeks to equip them with necessary resources
and build their capacity to achieve the desired goals (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2008; Marzano et al.,
2005).
Marzano et al. (2005) compared instructional leadership to transformational leadership.
The instructional leader and the transformational leader have similar functions that make them
unique (Marzano et al., 2005; Northouse, 2010). These leaders act as role models for their
followers, as an “idealized influence.” They inspire and motivate others to reach for heights that
they never dreamed possible. Transformational or instructional leaders stimulate followers
intellectually to become creative and innovative. At the same time they act with the followers’
best interests at heart. They listen to the individual needs of their followers and help them to
build their capacity for success through coaching. Principals as instructional leaders must be
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 29

able to build the capacity of teaching staff to ensure implementation of instructional practices
that translate into student success.
Building capacity for the teaching staff. Building capacity for the teaching staff is
important. Schools exist in a highly accountable environment, and K–12 schools are
benchmarked against assessment results that are published widely and open to public review
(EdSource, 2005). Instructional leaders must draw teachers’ attention to the issues of
accountability and advocate for policy and program changes that make a difference in education
(Reeves, 2004). The absence of these functions in some schools has necessitated increased
scrutiny of the instructional role of school leaders and the skills and approaches that they employ
to improve their schools and bring about schoolwide student success (Hallinger, 2011; Murphy,
1988; Olson, 2000). Instructional leaders must provide the time and structure to build teacher
capacity. Teacher capacity can be enhanced through structured PD.
Three articles are reviewed to ascertain what is known about how PD might improve
teacher capacity: (a) Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, and Yoon (2001); (b) Firestone, Mangin,
Martinez, and Polovsky (2005); and (c) Borko (2004).
Garet et al. (2001) explored the characteristics that make PD effective in relation to
teacher learning. The authors gathered empirical evidence through a national sample of 1,027
mathematics and science teachers to provide a comparison of effects of various characteristics of
PD on teacher capacity. Each teacher indicated the extent to which his or her knowledge and
skills had been enhanced as a result of participation in specific activities that made the teacher a
part of the sample pool. Teachers’ response were averaged to create a multifaceted scale to
measure their enhanced knowledge and skill. The researchers identified three core and structural
features of PD that had significant positive impact on teacher capacity building: (a) PD that
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 30

focused first on content (subject matter) knowledge, (b) opportunities for active learning, and (c)
PD that was in coherence with other learning activities. The instructional leader must ensure that
the PD plan of the school is aligned to these core features. The researchers also concluded that it
is of foremost importance to establish these core features of a PD to significantly affect teacher
capacity building. The structural features of a PD include (a) the form of activity, whether it is a
workshop or study group; (b) how participation is arranged, whether it is a collective
participation of teachers from the same school, grade level, or subject area; and (c) the duration
of the activity (Borko, 2004; Firestone et al., 2005; Garet et al., 2001). The structural features of
PD are dependent on the core features for effectiveness. Both the core and structural features
demand an instructional leader who prioritizes and sets the tone for these features to be
engrained in the school system and structure.
Firestone et al. (2005) compared the coherence and focus of PD across three urban school
districts based on district leadership. The study showed how district leadership influenced
teacher capacity through the direction chosen for PD in the district during a 3-year period. Three
directions were pursued by Districts A, B, and C. Each district’s vision for PD choices and
decisions were analyzed to see how they influenced teacher capacity. Conclusions about the
impact of PD on teacher capacity were drawn from data gathered through interviews, PD
documents, and surveys of teachers, administrators, and school district leadership teams.
According to the researchers, each district’s approach in terms of the core features of PD
determined the impact of the PD on teacher capacity. District A focused on consistently building
teacher subject matter competency and subject-specific teaching practices. District C had less
direction for their PD, although there was some consistency in targeting generic teaching
practices of teachers. Their focus was not on helping teachers to develop content knowledge
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 31

about select subjects and their teachers reported less influence on their learning and practice from
PD programs. Teachers in District A enhanced their instructional capacity more than teachers in
District C. These findings confirmed the findings reported by Garet et al. (2001) that
consistency and focus on subject matter are core features of PD that enhances teacher capacity.
District B focused PD on understanding students’ special needs, such as human development,
disability, sociology of students’ ethnic groups, and exceptionalities of students. The influence
of teacher capacity for district B was rated between that of Districts A and C. The researchers
concluded that PD that focus on subject matter knowledge and understanding of students’ special
needs were core features of PD that affected teacher capacity. This is contrary to the idea of
focusing PD on enhancing generic teaching practices. Nevertheless, the study confirmed the
need to maintain consistency in whatever area PD is focused (Firestone et al., 2005; Garet et al.,
2001). These findings show how PD might affect teacher learning.
Borko (2004) explored the terrain of PD and teacher capacity, mapping the impact of one
on the other and exploring new territories of PD and teacher capacity. Borko deduced from
classroom observations and teacher surveys that effective PD can affect teacher learning and
subsequent teacher practice. Borko asserted that the effect of PD on teacher learning is obvious
in the classroom. The difference in Borko’s approach from that of Garet et al. (2001) and
Firestone et al. (2005) was that the researchers in the latter studies were also the designers of the
PD, which leads to skepticism regarding their findings. The participants were motivated
volunteers. Borko used a sociocultural conceptual framework to investigate how a group of
teachers in a professional learning community (PLC) participated in PD activities and to measure
the impact on their practice as evidence of increased teacher capacity. The research approach
was to focus on individual teachers as learners and to focus on their participation in PLCs.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 32

Borko observed two or three lessons in each teacher’s classroom approximately once a month
and analyzed changes in their teaching practices. He looked for evidence to support or challenge
the assertion that changes in teacher practices were related to their PD experience. Borko
concluded that teacher learning is incremental, as teachers continue in the process of teaching
and as they are observed over a period of time. Teachers become more knowledgeable as they
continue teaching. Borko concluded that teacher learning does not necessarily have to be in a
formal setting. On one hand, it can be in the classroom, through interaction with the students on
academic content, or through a chance encounter with a colleague in a hallway. On the other
hand, it can be through an inservice PD course or college course. The context for learning varies
but the goal must be to provide high-quality learning experience that builds the capacity of
teachers to be effective. Borko identified the essentials of PD structure as the content of the
program, the teachers who are the learners, the facilitator who directs the program, and the
context in which the PD occurs. These essentials are in conformity to the findings reported by
Garet et al. (2001), except that the facilitator of the PD is considered here to be essential. Also,
the milieu and time frame for the PD was more defined in Borko’s study.
The school principal as an instructional leader must provide the needed context and
acknowledge the variety in context and create the culture and climate that uphold these variations
for teacher capacity building. The instructional leader must also build teacher capacity to use
data to inform instruction (Datnow, Park, & Wohlstetter, 2007). According to Black and
William (1998), there is sufficient research to support the assertion that higher student success
can be attained if attention is focused on formative assessments. Black and William emphasized
that, as formative assessment data are used to inform instruction, students with disabilities
improve greatly. School leaders must have the skills to equip teachers to use formative
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 33

assessment data for student success (Black & William, 1998; Datnow et al., 2007). According to
Elmore (2000), the responsibility of instructional leadership can become overburdening; Elmore
thus recommended that leadership must be distributed throughout the school. Marzano et al.
(2005) agreed with this assertion.
Bridging the gap. Scrutiny by school leaders has motivated researchers to review the
quality of research and to make recommendations for future studies and for the practice of
instructional leadership (Hallinger, 2011; Murphy, 1988). Instructional leadership is needed
from both the school district and school site levels to evaluate what research shows to be
effective instructional practices and what actually happens at school and in classrooms (MacIver
& Farley, 2003).
Murphy (1988) undertook a comprehensive review of empirical research of instructional
leadership, provided an account of the progress that has been made in this area, and made
recommendations for future research. Murphy’s review of the empirical research studies of
instructional leadership identified three categories of problems: (a) the procedures used for the
studies, (b) the measuring instruments, and (c) conceptual issues to the research. Issues stemmed
from the following: (a) The base of the research—number of original efforts—in instructional
leadership studies was small and the sample sizes were small, and (b) no research efforts sought
a direct cause-and-effect relationship between instructional leadership and student performance.
Most of the research has been in studies of effective schools but the findings have merely been
extrapolated. Murphy asserted that most of the research has either used case studies or
correlational designs, with no longitudinal studies in this area. Therefore, the findings on
principals as effective instructional leaders could actually be extrapolations of the operations of
schools that are on the path to becoming effective (Murphy, 1988).
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 34

Accepting Murphy’s line of reasoning leads to the inference that instructional leadership
is highly correlated to an effective school and an effective school is a school where students are
successful. Nevertheless, Murphy (1988) affirmed that few studies have actually investigated the
influence of principal leadership on structural features of schools. According to Firestone and
Wilson (1985), and affirmed by Murphy, a fuller understanding of the influence of principals
leadership will be gained through studies of events and behaviors of principals, as assessed not
by only the principals themselves but also by teachers and students. Murphy cited a lack of
studies investigating the influence of principals’ instructional leadership on school structures and
on mediating influences, such as improved instruction, or on effect measures, such as student
success.
Murphy (1988) contended that another methodological problem with research into the
instructional leadership role of the school principal is that findings cannot be generalized from
one context to another. Most studies have been conducted in elementary schools. Differences
between elementary schools and secondary schools in terms of size, goal structures, student
characteristics, department structure, organization of curriculum, and connections to parents and
larger communities are great enough that findings from one setting cannot be generalized for the
other setting.
Hallinger (2011), based on his compilation of 40 years of empirical evidence on the
impact of leadership on student learning, contended that most of the evidence is based on
elementary school context. This observation led to the decision to base the current study on
middle and high school contexts.
Not only has research on the principal’s role as an instructional leader been conducted
chiefly in the context of elementary schools; it has also been conducted mainly in schools
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 35

situated in areas of poverty or low socioeconomic status (SES; Hallinger, 2011; Hallinger &
Murphy, 1985; Murphy, 1988). Thus, there is a need for further research in secondary school
settings and in schools with higher SES, since findings may not be generalized from one
population to the other. Hallinger (2011) confirmed this condition, noting that, even though
progress has been made in recognizing how leadership can affect student learning, there has been
a failure to connect leadership practices to different contexts. This affirms that the impact of
leadership on student success in different contexts should be studied.
A further methodological problem is that most research that seeks links between
leadership and student outcomes has measured the effectiveness of leadership by student
performance in reading and mathematics, thus neglecting other areas or school goals (Hallinger
& Murphy, 1985). This condition is even more prevalent as the call for accountability has
become stronger and clearer and the effectiveness of the school is measured by API and AYP
scores. Effective leadership, API, and AYP, are synonymous in the current accountability-
charged environment.
Presentation of Theories
What researchers such as Hallinger and Murphy (1985), Witziers et al. (2003), MacIver
and Farley (2003), and others have termed mediating factors, Waters et al. (2003), Waters et al.
(2004), and Marzano et al. (2005) labeled responsibilities of leadership. If these mediating
influences or factors are the responsibilities of leadership, it implies that leadership is that
influence that has direct impact on student success.
Waters et al. (2003, 2004) surveyed numerous quantitative research data spanning 25
years to determine how leadership in a school affects student success. The independent variable
was school leadership (from the viewpoint of teachers) and the dependent variable was student
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 36

success (a measure of student performance on state-adopted tests). Based on their analysis,
Waters et al. reached three major conclusions: (a) Leadership has significant impact on student
success, (b) leadership can be defined, and (c) effective leaders know not only what actions
should be taken but when to act, how to act, and why actions are taken.
Twenty-one key areas of leadership responsibilities that correlated positively with student
success were identified by Waters et al. (2003, 2004) and Marzano et al. (2005). These key areas
of leadership responsibilities included construction of school structures, a culture for student
success, communications, and visibility. Creating effective structures provides an orderly
environment where both teachers and students know the school’s expectations of them, with
clearly defined procedures and routines. The school culture influences and directs what the
school prioritizes, promotes, and celebrates. According to Marzano et al. (2005), knowledge of
curriculum, instructions, and assessment, as well as how to assess them, are also marks of
effective leadership. These researchers placed responsibility for student success on the shoulders
of school principals.
Table 1 summarizes the 21 responsibilities of the school principal posited by Marzano et
al. (2005) and shows how they correlate with student achievement.
Marzano et al. (2005), based on a factor analysis of the 21 responsibilities, concluded that
nine of the responsibilities can be distributed to a school leadership team by the principal to
ensure that all responsibilities are met for student success. The work of creating and sustaining a
leadership team is also an attribute of effective leadership. It is part of leadership skills to
determine what actions should be taken, when to act, how to act, and why that action is being
taken.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 37

Table 1
School Principals’ Responsibilities and Their Correlation (r) With Student Achievement
Responsibility Extent to which the principal: r
Affirmation Recognizes and celebrates accomplishments and
acknowledges
.19
Change agent Is willing to challenge and actively challenges the status quo .25
Contingent rewards Recognizes and rewards individual accomplishments .24
Communication Establishes strong lines of communication with and among
teachers and students
.23
Culture Fosters shared beliefs and a sense of community and
cooperation
.25
Discipline Protects teachers from issues and influences that would
detract from their teaching time or focus
.27
Flexibility Adapts his or her leadership behavior to the needs of the
current situation and is comfortable with dissent
.28
Focus Establishes clear goals and keeps these goals in the forefront
of the school’s attention
.24
Ideals/beliefs Communicates and operates from strong ideals and beliefs
about schooling
.22
Input Involves teachers in the design and implementation of
important decisions and policies
.25
Intellectual stimulation Ensures faculty and staff are aware of the most current
theories and practices and makes the discussion of these a
regular aspect of the school’s culture
.24
Involvement in
curriculum, instruction,
and assessment
Is directly involved in the design and implementation of
curriculum. Instruction and assessment practices
.20
Knowledge of
curriculum, instruction,
and assessment
Is knowledgeable about current curriculum, instruction, and
assessment practices
.25
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 38

Table 1 (Continued)
Responsibility Extent to which the principal: r
Monitoring/evaluating Monitors the effectiveness of school practices and their
impact on student learning
.27
Optimizer Inspires and leads new and challenging innovations .20
Order Establishes a set of standard operating procedures and
routines
.25
Outreach Is an advocate and spokesperson for the school to all
stakeholders
.27
Relationships Demonstrates an awareness of the personal aspects of
teachers and staff
.18
Resources Provides teachers with materials and professional
development necessary for the successful execution of their
jobs
.25
Situational awareness Is aware of the details and undercurrents in the running of the
school and uses this information to address current and
potential problems
.33
Visibility Has quality contact and interactions with teachers and
students
.20

Source: Adapted from School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results (pp. 41-42), by
R. F. Marzano, T. Waters, & B. A. McNulty, 2005, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.

The four frames approach to leadership. Bolman and Deal (2008) posited the
responsibilities of a school leader by explaining the importance of the what, the when, the how,
and the why of activities of the leader. Waters et al. (2004) made similar assertions. According
to Bolman and Deal, situations can be looked at through various lenses or evaluated from various
perspectives by the leader. Effective leaders know how to change the perspective of their
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 39

organizations based on influences from the environment and current circumstances. Leaders
must change the lens through which the needs of the organization are assessed. As the
environment and/or situation changes, leaders must reframe accordingly (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
Thus, leaders act to guide their organizations without losing sight of their ultimate goal. In the
context of the current study, the ultimate goal of effective leadership is student success.
According to Bolman and Deal (2008), leadership is set within specific context and
relationships. Managers—unlike leaders—may be legitimate but may not be able to lead. While
managers may be good at planning, organizing, and controlling, they may lack the ability to
bring about change. On the other hand, effective leaders have a vision for the long term and can
influence their teams to get “on board” through creativity and political wit. Effective leaders
know how to gain commitment from their followers for their vision through relationship building
and networking. However, leadership exists within context, and sometimes stereotyping
complicates leading based on the gender of the leader. Bolman and Deal suggested that
reframing allows leadership not to be constricted to a particular agenda or view. Context
determines the leadership behavior that is manifested.
In looking at leadership through the structural frame, Bolman and Deal (2008) argued
that, on the one hand, the leader may be an analyst or an architect who knows how to analyze or
design structures for student success. On the other hand, an ineffective leader can be an
insignificant administrator or a tyrant who manages by detail and uses decrees and
commandments to get things done. Through the human resource lens, the effective leader can be
a catalyst, spurring success, and a servant who gets things done by empowering followers
(Bolman & Deal, 2008). Alternatively, the authors asserted that the leader can be a weakling and
a pushover who leads by renouncing responsibilities. Ineffectiveness is manifested through the
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 40

leader acting like a con artist who manipulates others or a thug who creates fraud for success
(Bolman & Deal, 2008). The effective leader is an advocate and a negotiator who knows how to
build alliances and partnerships to get things done (Bolman & Deal, 1994).
Bolman and Deal (2008) asserted that structural leaders do their homework by studying
the entire structure before recommending changes. They evaluate the relationship among the
structures in the organization, their strategy, and the context in which the system exists. Bolman
and Deal cautioned that these leaders are likely to overlook the resistance that might arise to the
changes that they seek to implement. Thus, they need to know how to build alliances for their
proposals as politicians do, to empower others, and not to allow bureaucracy to suffocate
innovations.
The skills-based approach to leadership. Northouse (2010) cited studies funded by the
U.S. Army and the Department of Defense that sought to identify underlying elements of
effective leadership performance. According to Northouse (p. 43) the research questions were
the following: (a) “What accounts for why some leaders are good problem solvers and others are
not?” (b) “What specific skills do high-performing leaders exhibit?” and (c) “How do leaders’
individual characteristics, career experiences, and environmental influences affect their job
performance?” The findings became the basis for developing a skills-based approach to
leadership by Mumford, Zaccaro, Harding, Jacobs, and Fleishman (2000), based on work by
Katz (1955). The researchers concluded that efficacy of leadership was dependent on a threefold
skill set that can be acquired through learning, grounded in experience, and impacts of the
environment (Katz, 1955; Mumford et al., 2000).
None of these skills—technical, human, or conceptual—is considered to be inherent.
Technical skills enable leaders to work with software, human skills enable leaders to work with
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 41

people, and conceptual skills enable leaders to work with concepts and ideas. Leaders in high
managerial positions, such as school principals and superintendents, must have more human and
conceptual skills. They may make up for a lack of technical skills by depending on lower
management in the system; however, they cannot depend on others for their human and
conceptual skills (Northouse, 2010).
How human skills affect leadership. Human skills enable a leader to work effectively
with subordinates, peers, and superiors. A leader’s sensitivity to the needs and motivations of
others is based on human skills. Leaders are guided by that same sensitivity in their decision-
making process. Human skills guide a leader to create collaborative environments that spur
cooperation by team members and eventual success for their group effort. The leader depends on
his or her conceptual skills to talk about vision, ideas, and goals for the organization and to sell
these ideas to stakeholders. These skills enable a leader to solve complex organizational
problems (Mumford et al., 2000; Northouse, 2010).
Skills model of leadership. The skills model of leadership (Figure 1) developed by
Mumford et al. (2000) and cited by Northouse (2010) graphically shows how individual
attributes and competencies come together with career experiences and environmental influences
to shape leadership outcomes.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 42

Figure 1. Skills model of leadership. Adapted from Leadership Theory and Practice (5th ed.),
by P. G. Northouse, 2010, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
Individual attributes. Northouse (2010) explained individual attributes or
characteristics as a leader’s general and intellectual capabilities, as well as the leader’s
motivation and personality. These attributes are developed through experiences on the career
ladder and are influenced by the environment. Competencies are the problem-solving skills,
social judgment skills, and knowledge to assess, analyze, and evaluate situations and make the
right calls for success. The leader’s competency also determines how creative the leader
becomes while facing situations that may not have bearing on prior experience and situations that
demand innovation. These are also shaped by career experiences and the environmental context
in which leadership is exercised. The knowledge competency of leadership is linked to the
problem-solving skills of a leader. The knowledge capacity is developed through “learning,”
that is the accumulation of information and integrating that into prior knowledge and organizing
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 43

that into structures for solving problems. The leadership outcomes are effective problem solving
and performance (Northouse, 2010).
According to Northouse (2010), the curricula of most programs that train leaders for
education are based on the skills approach. Since the current study was designed to explore the
skills, strategies, and approaches of principals, the skill approach was an appropriate framework
to use to glean from principals and their superintendents the skills, strategies, and approaches
that the principals used to execute their daily responsibilities. Using the skills approach for this
study afforded the opportunity to explore how knowledge in schools changes over time in the
real world, as the strategies are applied. It also allowed the researcher to compare the
characteristics of participating principals to those of the study population.
Comparing theories. The skills described by Northouse (2010) are very comparable to
the responsibilities of leaders posited by Waters et al. (2003) and Marzano et al. (2005). While
Marzano et al. clearly described the responsibilities of the effective leader, Northouse added the
dimension of how to acquire these skills. The description of relationships, affirmation,
optimizer, and so forth presented by Waters et al. is similar to what Northouse calls human skills.
According to Waters et al., the school principal remains aware of the needs of teachers,
maintains personal relationships with teachers, and gives affirmation by methodically and fairly
recognizing and celebrating accomplishments. The school leader inspires teachers to accomplish
apparently impossible objectives. This implies that human skills are needed to build effective
relationships and to know how to work with all stakeholders for student success (Northouse,
2010; Waters et al., 2003).
Marzano et al. (2005) characterized the knowledge of and the ability to assess curriculum
and assessment as a responsibility of effective leadership that leads to student success. The same
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 44

principle was demonstrated as Northouse (2010) described the conceptual skills of effective
leaders. As leaders develop conceptual skills, they will gain knowledge of curriculum and
instruction, and have the capability to use it for student success. According to Marzano et al.
(2005), effective leadership is conducted by a team. The leader must be able to shift the
leadership responsibilities and focus from an individual perspective to a collective perspective.
The leadership perspective posited by Bolman and Deal (2008) is aligned to a large
extent to those of Northouse (2010), Waters et al. (2003, 2004), and Marzano et al (2005).
Bolman and Deal contended that organizations such as urban school systems, based on their
structure, are complex systems. As such, the inner workings of school systems are political.
Ambiguous issues and numerous dilemmas such as what to change, what to uphold, and what to
let go, face urban school leaders constantly (Bolman & Deal, 2008). Schools have multiple
stakeholders, all scrambling for attention, which adds to the stress of leading an urban school
system. Complex systems demand skillful leadership (Bolman & Deal, 1994; Northouse, 2010).
Comparing leadership and management. The complexity of the school system
includes the multiple functions of school leader, administrators, and instructional leaders. Often,
leadership functions are confused with administrative or managerial responsibilities. According
to Olson (2000), the consensus among many educational policy makers is for principals to
become leaders of instruction, in addition to managing their school sites, to reverse the trend of
failing public schools. Olson argued that, for many principals, adding leadership responsibilities
to management is not what they were trained for. The demarcation lines of the principal’s
responsibilities of day-to-day management of the schools have changed as the demand for
accountability for student learning and success has increased.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 45

Some theorists put less stress on principals being managers and more on them acting as
instructional leaders who directly influence what goes on in the classroom (Olson, 2000). Other
theorists have applied the concepts of management and leadership interchangeably, asserting that
the lines between the two are too indistinct for separation (Bolman & Deal 1994; Fullan, 2001;
Murphy, 1988; Olson, 2000). Still other researchers and theorists have contended that leadership
is more of a collective responsibility and must therefore be shared (Hallinger & Heck, 2010a).
According to Lambert (2002), the responsibility for instruction is more than one person can
handle effectively, and leadership for instruction should be a shared responsibility with other
school community members, such as department chairs and lead teachers (Hallinger & Heck,
2010a; Lambert, 2002).
Chapter Summary
Even though leadership is not easily defined, various models of effective leadership can
affect student success.
First, leadership affects student success through mediating factors such as the context of
the school, the culture of the school, and the quality of instruction in the school. The quality of
instruction in a school has a direct impact on student success, which makes instructional
leadership a prominent aspect in the investigation of skills and approaches that facilitate effective
leadership for student success. The number of studies in this area is limited.
Second, mediating factors can be categorized as leadership responsibilities, as well as
lenses through which leaders assess their organizations and respond accordingly. These findings
provide a framework to assess effective leadership.
Third, the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches of leadership are not inherent but
are developed and learned through experience and the context in which leadership is being
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 46

exercised. Since skills are learned over the course of time, it is necessary to glean from the
mouths of leaders what constitutes effective leadership. This call for the current study to explore
what these skills are in the context of each leader. Skills that are most important for effective
leadership are human skills, conceptual skills, and, to a lesser degree, technical skills.
Fourth, leadership is context specific. Findings from studies of the elementary school
context or in low-SES context cannot be easily extrapolated to other contexts, such as middle
schools, high schools, or schools with students other than average SES.
This study was designed to explore the skills and innovative approaches that facilitate
effective leadership. Skills that facilitate effectiveness will influence school structures, school
culture, and instructional success. These skills, strategies, and approaches were explored in this
study using a quantitative and qualitative methodology. The skills model of leadership proposed
by Northouse (2010), the reframing leadership model developed by Bolman and Deal (2008),
and the framework of balanced leadership posited by Waters et al. (2003) were combined to
serve as the conceptual framework for this study.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 47

Chapter 3: Methodology
This chapter describes the methodology of the study: how the research was designed, the
sample and population of the study, and the conceptual framework for the instrumentation. A
brief description of the relationship of the research questions to the instrumentation is provided.
The chapter concludes with a description of how data were collected and analyzed.
Purpose of the Study
This study identified the skills, strategies, and approaches that successful school leaders
use to overcome daily challenges and spur success for their students. Skills that influence
mediating factors, between leadership and student success, were explored. The mediating factors
included culture, effective instructional practices that include the use of data, and existing
structures for student success. The study contributes to the body of research on effective
educational leadership and is an update on leadership practices that spur student success. New
principals are guided to navigate the urban school system with its challenges. The study
provides a menu for veteran and new principals on how to be instructional leaders. Principals
and district leaders can use the knowledge gained from this study to construct and maintain a
culture of improvement, and to be a resource for leadership training programs.
Literature reviews indicated that the research base of instructional leadership in the
middle to high school context was narrow. Findings in the elementary school context could not
be adequately generalized for the middle and high school contexts. This necessitated this
research in the middle school and high school contexts.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 48

Research Questions
Four research questions guided this study:
 What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that school principals use to
construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and lead to student
success?
 How do principals influence classroom instruction for student success?
 How do principals create and shape a climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success?
 How does the school district support principals to be successful?
Method of Study
A case study with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative analysis was used for
this study. Surveys with both a Likert-type scale and open-ended questions were sent as
attachments to emails to principals and superintendents whose schools had a ranking from 7 to
10 on the California SSR. Based on survey responses, follow-up interviews were conducted with
superintendents and principals. Permissions were sought to record interviews; where permission
was declined, the interviews proceeded with the investigator taking comprehensive notes.
The investigator was interested to know which insights, discoveries, and concepts made
these leaders effective. The initial survey included some open-ended questions. The principals
were queried through open-ended interviews after the initial survey. By using a qualitative
approach, the study gleaned narrative expressions that led to improved understanding of effective
school leadership (Patton, 2002). The mixed methodology allowed for description,
understanding, and interpretation of school principals in a broader framework. The research
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 49

generated new knowledge about leadership skills, strategies, and innovative approaches used by
successful school principals.
Sample and Population
Participants in the study were recruited in southern California through a step-by-step
procedure. Invitation to participate depended on the SSR of the school as designated by the
California Department of Education. The perspectives of veteran and new principals and
superintendents were sought in the process of identifying principal skills for student success.
The number of years the principal and superintendent had served in a particular school and
district were taken into account in inviting them to participate in the study.
The SSRs of individual schools are posted on the California Department of Education
website. School rankings range from 1 to 10, with a rank of 10 considered to be highly
successful. Schools with rankings of 7 to 10 were targeted for this study. Based on the initial
survey, the schools were further shortlisted by choosing principals based on the number of years
of service. Principals on the two ends of the longevity line were chosen to participate in the
interview. New principals had been in the position for less than 4 years and veteran principals
had been in the position for more than 5 years. According to Northouse (2010), skills and
knowledge of leaders are shaped by their career experiences as they handle complicated
problems.
The superintendents of the identified schools were invited via email to participate in the
study. They were told the focus of the study, the topic and subtopics of the survey questions, and
the estimated time required to complete the survey. Prospective participants were told of the
possibility for a follow-up interview based on data collected via the survey. Prospective
participants were told of the possibility of audio taping the interview if permission were granted.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 50

Prospective participants were told they could opt not to be recorded and still continue their
participation.
Following the initial contact with superintendents of the district and principals of
identified schools, eligible candidates were invited to participate in the study. Based on their
responses, follow-up interviews were scheduled with selected principals and their
superintendents for in-depth questioning. The investigator traveled to selected school sites for
the interview sessions. Names, addresses, and other identifiable information were not collected.
Participation and answers were kept confidential and anonymous. Six principals from three
school districts and five superintendents were interviewed.
Superintendent surveys assessed the skills and strategies that the superintendents
expected their school principals to display. Surveys took 15 minutes and interviews took 45
minutes. Survey links were attached to invitational emails. Interviews were face-to-face. One
round of survey and subsequent interview was conducted.
Instrumentation
The measuring instruments used for the study included surveys and interviews. Survey
and interview questions were based on (a) the skill model proposed by Mumford et al. (2000)
and adapted by Northouse (2010), (b) the four-frame model developed by Bolman and Deal
(2008), and (c) the 21 responsibilities and related practices of a school leader proposed by
Marzano et al. (2005) and Waters et al. (2003). Bolman and Deal (1994) and Marzano et al.
(2005) agreed that schools are complex systems that demand a complex array of skills for school
leaders to be effective.
The survey questions explored what principals describe, explain, or predict as their
actions, skills, strategies, and approaches—as compared to what superintendents attest as the
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 51

behavior, skills, strategies, and innovative approaches of effective principals—in daily practices,
in accordance with the theory posited by Argyris and Schon (1974, 1996) that compares what is
said to what is practiced. According to Bolman and Deal (2008), based on theories for action by
Argyris and Shone (1974, 1996, as cited in Bolman & Deal, 2008), an individual’s descriptions
of personal skills, behaviors, and strategies are often disconnected from actual actions. While
principals may describe themselves as concerned for others, rational, open, and democratic, their
superintendents may not see them in that light. This makes it necessary to survey supervising
superintendents on the same items as those presented to principals. Superintendents may identify
skills and strategies that make effective principal leadership because they supervise the work of
principals.
The survey and interview questions were pilot tested with school leaders who were not
involved in the study to ensure that the questions elicited the information sought by the
investigator. The interviews were taped and transcribed. Emails, surveys, and interview
questions are contained in Appendices A, B, C, and D. Instrumentation was based on the skill
model of leadership (Northouse, 2010), the four frames of leadership (Bolman & Deal, 2008),
and the 21 responsibilities and practices of a school leader (Marzano et al., 2005). Table 2
illustrates the relationships.
Data Collection
Data were collected via survey, interview, and document review. The surveys and
interviews were the primary source of data. The survey questions addressed the
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 52

Table 2
The Relationship of the Research Questions to Instrumentation
Research question Northouse
a
Bolman and Deal
b
Marzano et al.
c

What are the skills,
strategies, and innovative
approaches that school
principals use to
construct school
structures that influence
classroom instruction and
lead to student success?
Human skills
Conceptual skills
Technical skills
Individual attributes
Competencies-
problem solving
skills, social
judgment skills and
knowledge
Human resource
Structural
Political
Symbolic
21 responsibilities of
leadership:
Affirmation
Culture
Change agent
Optimizer
Knowledge of
curriculum and
instruction
Input
Relationship
Intellectual
stimulation
How do principals
influence classroom
instruction for student
success?
Conceptual skills
Competencies
Knowledge
Structural
Political
Involvement in
curriculum and
instruction
Intellectual
stimulation
Monitoring/evaluating
resources
How do principals create
and shape a climate and
culture of learning that
ensures student success?
Conceptual skills
Problem-solving
skills
Structural Knowledgeable about
and involved with
curriculum and
instruction
How does the school
district support principals
to be successful?
Conceptual skills
Knowledge
Symbolic Culture
Vision

a
Leadership Theory and Practice (5th ed.), by P. G. Northouse, 2010, Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
b
Reframing Organizations (4th ed.), by L. G. Bolman & T. E. Deal, 2008, San Francisco, CA:
Jossey-Bass.
c
School Leadership That Works: From Research to Results, by R. F. Marzano, T.
Waters, & B. A. McNulty, 2005, Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 53

general characteristics of superintendents and principals, as well as leadership responsibilities
and practices. Recorded interviews were transcribed verbatim and served as qualitative data.
The reviewed documents included the school accountability report card for each school. Data
were collected from July through October 2012.
Data Analysis
Responses to survey questions served as the quantitative data. Quantitative data were
coded, scored, and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences™ (SPSS).
Descriptive statistics were used to determine variances contained in the data. Interview
responses, which served as qualitative data, were analyzed using the Creswell (2003) qualitative
data analysis model. According to Creswell (2003) and Patton (2002), qualitative methods are
appropriate for inquiry paradigms such as ethnographic studies (i.e., observing a culture theory
based on participant point of view, case studies, and experiences as described by the participants,
or a narrative research).
Creswell proposed a model for qualitative data analysis: (a) organize data for analysis;
(b) read through all data to acquire a general sense of what the data are saying; (c) chunk the
material and label each chunk to make the data meaningful; (d) describe participants and/or
setting, using labels; (e) develop themes or categories; and (f) label the descriptive themes or
categories; (g) analyze themes for each interview and across interviews; (h) decide how the
description and themes will be represented in the research narrative; and (i) interpret the data,
describing what information the data represent.
Chapter Summary
This study was a case study with a mixed method of quantitative and qualitative data
analysis. The conceptual framework used to create the instruments focused on leadership skills,
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 54

strategies, and approaches identified by Northouse (2010), Bolman and Deal (2008), and
Marzano et al. (2005). Data were collected using surveys, open-ended interview questions, and
examination of documents from each school site involved in the study. Quantitative data were
analyzed using SPSS and qualitative data were analyzed using the Creswell (2003) model of
qualitative data analysis.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 55

Chapter 4: Results
The focus of the study was to identify the skills, strategies and approaches that make
principals of middle and high schools successful, thus making their leadership a model of
leadership that can be considered exemplary. The sample population was superintendents and
principals of schools and school districts in southern California with SSRs ranging from 7 to 10.
The perspectives of these superintendents and principals were sought through surveys and
interviews. The interviews focused on school districts that had fewer than 21 schools.
Superintendents were asked to report on the skills, strategies, and approaches that they expected
a principal to bring to the position—skills that, from their perspectives, make a successful
principal—to construct structures and approaches for student success. The superintendents were
asked to report on the skills that influenced instruction and the school culture and climate and to
describe how the superintendent and school district supported principals to be effective and
therefore successful. The principals were asked to report on the skills, strategies, and approaches
that they use to construct the structures, influence instruction, and build a culture for success of
their students. The principals also reported on the support that they received from the school
district in this endeavor.
Instrumentation and Theoretical Framework
After an initial demographic and leadership survey of principals and superintendents in
Los Angeles and Orange Counties in southern California that focused on the research questions
of this study, in-depth interviews were conducted with veteran and new principals and
superintendents. The goal of each interview was to identify specific skills, strategies, and
approaches that successful principals use or are expected to use to be successful in their everyday
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 56

school settings as leaders, as well as the giving and receiving of support by and from the central
office. The ultimate goal was to identify how these factors contribute to the success of students.
Quantitative data were collected via survey questions sent to 41 superintendents and 59
principals in two southern California counties. Approximately 10% sent an automatic response
from their office that indicated that they were either out for the summer or were in the process of
changing school sites. The time limitation for this study did not allow the researcher to follow
up with these respondents. Twenty superintendents and 25 principals responded to the survey
and agreed to a follow-up interview. Five superintendents and six principals were chosen from
among these respondents, based on their demographic data. The selected participants were
interviewed for their in-depth perspectives of leadership skills, strategies, and approaches that
influence classroom instruction and school culture. Veteran and new superintendents and
principals were interviewed to explore whether perspectives change over time as people carry
out their leadership functions. The superintendent sample included two veteran and three new
superintendents; the principal sample included three veteran and three new principals.
The survey and interview questions were based on the theoretical framework of the 21
leadership responsibilities posited by Marzano et al. (2005), the four-frame model of leadership
developed by Bolman and Deal (2008), and the three-skill approach to leadership proposed by
Northouse (2010).
The analysis of the data was done in three stages. First, descriptive statistics were used to
measure the demographic differences between participants in terms of gender, race, age,
educational level, years in education, and positions held in education. The relationship between
these variables and the skills that were espoused as necessary by the superintendents and
principals were not explored statistically in this study. It is recommended that future research be
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 57

conducted to determine whether there is any relationship between demographic characteristics
and the skills that superintendents and successful principals espouse as necessary for the
effectiveness of the principal. Years spent in the current position as superintendent and principal
and their responses to interview questions were analyzed qualitatively to make inferences in the
study.
Survey and interview responses were related to each of the research questions and
analyzed to address the research questions. The responses were integrated as necessary to create
a menu of identified leadership skills, strategies, and approaches that led to the success of the
participants.
Research Questions
Four research questions guided this study:
 What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that school principals use to
construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and lead to student
success?
 How do principals influence classroom instruction for student success?
 How do principals create and shape a climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success?
 How does the school district support principals to be successful?
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 58

Demographics of Participants
Incorporating the views of both male and female superintendents and principals ensured
that the skills, strategies, and approaches that the study reported were universal among school
leaders. Seventy percent of the participating superintendents and 60% of the participating
principals were male (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Gender of participating superintendents and principals. Percentages are based on 20
participating superintendents and 25 participating principals.
Fifty-five percent of the superintendents and 64% of the principals were 50-59 years old.
Ninety percent of the superintendents and 60% of the principals had been educators for more
than 21 years (Table 3). They had a range of experience, including instructional aide to teachers,
Teacher on Special Assignments (TOSA), assistant principal, principal, and assistant
superintendent. TOSA positions included instructional coaches, instructional specialists, lead
teachers, and department chairs and co-chairs (Table 4). Each position provided unique
experiences that helped the participants to acquire the skills that they deemed important for the
success of a school principal. These multiple positions contributed to professional preparation as
school leaders.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 59

Table 3
Age Range, Years in Education, and Prior Positions Held by Participants (Percentages)
Participant group Ages 50-59 > 21 years in education
Education
positions held
Superintendents 55 90 Multiple
Principals 64 65 Multiple
Note. Percentages are based on 20 participating superintendents and 25 participating principals.

Table 4
Positions in Education Formerly Held by Participating Superintendents and Principals
Position Superintendents (%) Principals (%)
Instructional Aide 10 4
Teacher 85 100
Teacher on Special Assignment (TOSA) 55 35
Assistant Principal 70 91
Principal 80 100
Assistant Superintendent 90 0
Superintendent 85 0
Eighty percent of the interviewed superintendents had also served multiple years as
principals. Thus, they were speaking not only about skills that they expected from principals but
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 60

about skills that they had used as principals, that had made them successful as principals, and
that they still practiced as educational leaders. According to Northouse (2010), the skill set that
makes leadership effective is not inherent but acquired through learning, grounded in experience,
and influence the leaders’ environment (Katz, 1955; Mumford et al., 2000). Northouse’s views
supported the importance of the multifaceted professional preparation of the superintendents and
principals in this study.
Ninety percent of the superintendents who responded to the survey had a doctoral degree
and 10% had a master’s degree (Figure 3); 30.4% of the principals who responded to the survey
had a doctoral degree and 60.6% had a master’s degree (Figure 4). Two respondents did not
answer the question. No statistical analysis was done to measure the correlation between
educational level of survey participants and rate of their agreement to research statements. It is
recommended that the relationship between educational level and skills espoused be examined in
future studies.

Figure 3. Highest educational level attained by superintendents who responded to the survey.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 61

Figure 4. Highest educational level attained by principals who responded to the survey.
All participants had been classroom teachers before they became either superintendent or
principal. Even though 15% fewer superintendents had experience as classroom teachers,
compared with 100% of the principals, more superintendents had experience as IA and TOSA.
Ten percent of the superintendents and 4.3% of the principals had begun their careers in
education as instructional aides. Fifty-five percent of the superintendents and 34% of the
principals had experience as TOSA (Figure 5). Not all superintendents became assistant
principals or principals before becoming assistant superintendents or superintendents.
Nevertheless, the multiple experiences of both the superintendents and principals lend credibility
to the data collected in this study. These participants had lived multiple roles that had influenced
student success.
It was necessary in this study to interview both veteran and new superintendents and
principals. Sixty percent of the superintendents and 80% of the principals had served in their
current position for less than 3 years.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 62

Figure 5. Percentages of superintendents and principals who held various positions as educators
before assuming their current positions. Percentages are based on 20 participating
superintendents and 25 participating principals.
The longest-serving superintendents had served for 6 to 10 years in the position and the
longest-serving principals had served from 21 to 25 years in the position. Tables 5 and 6
summarize these data. For interviews, veteran superintendents were chosen from the 6- to 10-
year range and veteran principals were chosen from three ranges. One principal was chosen
from among those who had been in the position 6 to 10 years, another 11-15 years, and one 21-
25 years.
Participants in the survey portion of the study were from four ethnicities: 60% of the
superintendents designated their ethnicity as White, 35% as Hispanic, and 5% as Asian, and 75%
of the principals designated their ethnicity as White, 20.8% as Hispanic, and 4.2% as African
American. One respondent did not answer the question. All interviewed participants were
White. Efforts to interview other ethnicities failed because participants from other ethnicities
were few in number and there were scheduling conflicts on the part of participants and
researcher and limited time for the study.
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Table 5
Demographics of Interviewed Superintendents
Supt. Age Gender
Years as
educator
Years as Supt.
Level of
education
District type
Supt. 1 40-49 Female >21 3-5 Doctorate Urban K–8
Supt. 2 40-49 Female >21 3-5 Doctorate Urban K–12
Supt. 3 60-69 Male >21 6-10 Doctorate Urban 6–12
Supt. 4 60-69 Male >21 3-5 Doctorate Urban K–12
Supt. 5 50-59 Female >21 <3 Doctorate Urban K–12

Table 6
Demographics of Interviewed Principals
Principal Age Gender Years as
educator
Years as
principal
Level of
education
District type
Prin. 1 50-59 M > 21 11-15 Master’s High
Prin. 2 50-59 F 11-15 3-5 Doctorate Middle
Prin. 3 40-49 M > 21 < 3 Doctorate Middle
Prin. 4 50-59 M 16-20 3-5 Master’s Middle
Prin. 5 50-59 M > 21 6-10 Master’s High
Prin. 6 60-69 F > 21 6-10 Master’s Middle

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Figure 6 shows the ethnicities of superintendents and principals who participated in the
surveys and interviews. As the figure shows, leadership in the study was dominated by Whites.
Apart from recognition of the dominance of Whites in leadership positions, followed by
Hispanics and very few Asians or African Americans, no statistical analysis was conducted to
explore whether ethnicity has an impact on the skills, strategies, and approaches espoused by
successful principals. A study of this nature may be necessary because of the demographics of
students in southern California.

Figure 6. Ethnicities of survey and interview participants. Percentages are based on 20
participating superintendents and 25 participating principals.

The selection of the superintendents and principals was based on their SSR scores of 7 to
10 (a ranking of 10 indicates that the school is very successful). The study equated success of
the school to success of both the principal and district superintendent.
All the superintendents in the interviews had a doctorate degree, which provided a similar
educational background. Two of the principals had a doctorate and the rest had a master’s
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degree. Even though this study did not explore how the educational backgrounds of principals
influenced their acquired skills, it became evident that educational background contributed to
professional capacity. While interviewing superintendents about the skills that they look for in
potential principals, Superintendent 4 asserted that, in addition to other criteria, he considers
having done doctoral-level academic work a sign of competence to lead a school. According to
Superintendent 4, the tenacity to do that level of work adds a level of credibility and
demonstrates that the person has a certain understanding of work ethic. Superintendent 4 stated
that, given two candidates for principal with similar experiential backgrounds but different
educational backgrounds, he would hire one who has a doctoral degree over one without the
degree, even though having a doctorate is not a requisite for the work of a school principal.
It might be productive in a future study to investigate the role of educational background
in the acquisition of leadership skills. Specifically, one could explore whether educational
background contributed in any way to acquiring of skills, strategies, and approaches that make a
school principal effective for student success.
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 1
Research question 1 asked, “What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches
that school principals use to construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and
lead to student success?” In addressing this question, various survey questions, followed by in-
depth interviews, solicited responses from participants. Participants agreed, at an average rate of
3.9 and 3.87 (maximum 4.0) by superintendents and principals, respectively, that a necessary
skill, strategy, and approach of a successful principal is to build structures in the school that
affect classroom instruction. This is done by promoting a sense of cooperation, collaboration,
and sharing of ideas among teaching staff and by providing and enforcing clear structures,
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building and using a leadership team, leading in the pursuit of innovative challenges, and holding
people accountable.
Promote a sense of cooperation among teaching staff. The promotion of a sense of
cooperation, collaboration, and sharing of ideas among teaching staff has been done in various
ways by these successful principals, as expressed in their responses to open-ended questions.
The promotions included the development and implementation of schoolwide instructional and
classroom management systems that stem violence, drug use, and classroom disruptions. Others
have developed and implemented Student Success Teams with a Level 1 program that intervenes
early with at-risk students and provides lower-level intervention, progress monitoring, and
accountability.
Some principals have restructured their bell schedules to build in a daily student support
period, some have redesigned special education and restructured their master schedule to assign
teachers based on the goals and priorities set by instructional teams. Others have established
PLCs. Without using the term PLC, some respondents indicated that they have built leadership
teams, interdisciplinary teams, and grade-level and content-level teams among teachers.
Principal 2, who was new to the position, explained that the structure in place that had led
to success was a strong alignment for excellence among the students, staff, community, district,
and school board. The result of this strong alignment was the success of their students. The staff
in Principal 2’s school is committed to the same focus, and their success can be fully attributed to
this collaboration and commitment to excellence.
Principal 3 (veteran principal) cited the instructional strength and level of collaboration
among his teachers. The teachers are committed to their benchmark exams and are constantly
sharing what works and how to become more successful in moving their students forward. The
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principal attributed success of the students to the structure set by the district to provide
intervention for the 10% to 15% of their students who were struggling academically. The district
and school have a strong English Language Development program, a strong special education
program, and TOSAs whose main objective is to work with students who struggle in reading and
mathematics. Principal 3 described the sense of community among the parents, parent-teacher
association (PTA), and teachers.
As much as possible, Principal 3 took no credit for the things that were happening in his
school but emphasized that he and the teachers feel privileged to work in such an environment.
This is very much in accord with what Collins (2001) described of Level 5 leadership in good to
great companies. Level 5 leaders are ambitious not for themselves but for the organization.
These leaders are humble and yet have a strong will for their organizations to do well. They look
for ways to attribute success to factors other than themselves. Principals 2 and 3 displayed
characteristics of Level 5 leaders. They took no credit for the success of their school and
students but attributed the success chiefly to their teachers and the district leadership. Principal 2
credited the teachers, noting that each time she went into a classroom and saw what the teachers
were doing, she saw what a teacher she was not. She praised the district, the students, their
parents, and the community for the success of their students.
Principals 2 and 3 confirmed that the secret to their success was the level of collaboration
among teachers: collaboration, trust, teamwork, commitment, acceptance of accountability by
teachers, and the attention to the results that they produce. According to Lencioni (2002), the
five dysfunctions of a team are absence of trust, fear of conflict, lack of commitment, avoidance
of accountability, and inattention to results. The schools run by Principals 2 and 3 exhibited the
absence of these dysfunctional factors. Principal 3’s teachers are taking their benchmark
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assessments seriously and sharing secrets of success. This is an exhibition of trust, taking
responsibility, commitment to student success, and giving attention to details. The structures for
success were all on display in these successful school sites.
The ability to bring staff members together to form a collaborative effort to develop and
implement research-based instruction, as well as to see and use the talents of all staff members, is
a skill that principals use to construct structures for student success. According to Dafour et al.
(2006), effective collaboration can take place only when school leaders ensure that each staff
member is assigned to a significant team. They explained that team structures can either be
teams that link teachers in the same content areas or teachers who teach the same content at
different grade levels.
Provide and enforce clear structures for staff. Providing and enforcing clear
structures for staff is a part of a principal’s ability to build structures for student success.
Superintendents agreed at a rate of 3.5 and principals at a rate of 3.6 on a scale of 4.0 that it was
necessary for the principal to provide and enforce clear structures, rules, and procedures for staff.
To be able to do this effectively, participants suggested in response to open-ended questions that
their success as principals depended on having decision-making skills. The successful principal
must have the courage and heart to do what is best for students. According to Superintendent 2,
who was new in the position, the foremost skills needed by a principal are good judgment, good
people skills, and the ability to connect with people. Principals should be able to discern what is
good for students. If they do not know how to discern what is good for students, they do not
have the skills to be a principal. With good decision-making skills, principals can provide and
enforce clear structures for staff.
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Build and use leadership teams. The participating superintendents agreed concerning
the need to use leadership teams (superintendents 3.7, principals 3.5). The difference was very
narrow, implying consensus that a successful principal has skills to build and use leadership
teams to move the school system forward for student success. In response to open-ended
questions regarding what skills of the principal have the greatest impact on student success, the
participants agreed to having skills to build and use leadership teams. Successful principals go
further to build autonomy within the leadership teams that they build. The leadership teams
operate with assurance of full backing from their principals and with the ability make immediate
decisions without waiting to clear them with the principal.
Lead in the pursuit of innovative challenges. At a rate of 3.5 and 3.56 for
superintendents and principals, respectively, there was agreement that the successful principal
takes the lead in the pursuit of innovative challenges. Most of the principals reported that they
had innovated in the areas of bell schedule and master schedule to give teachers time for
collaboration. Others had innovated in the areas of curriculum by developing new programs that
focus on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Other areas of innovation
included the Conservatory of Fine Arts and the addition of variety in foreign languages, such as
Chinese, and Advanced Placement (AP) course offerings.
Superintendent 3 reported that his high schools had increased the passing rate on the AP
test by 70% in the past 6 years. The district has allocated $100,000 in scholarships for students
to take the class and test. They also have all students who desire to attend the community
college take and pass the community college placement test in their junior year and repeat it in
the senior year if necessary. This procedure avoids students staying in remedial classes at the
community college, sometimes for as long as 5 years. Some students tend to give up on college
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as they linger in the community college for years. The district and high school leadership are
collaborating for their students to be successful in the community college and beyond by
investing in their future success now. In his view, this is how successful principals initiate and
innovate for student success.
Hold people accountable. One strategy that superintendents and principals agreed on in
the survey was holding people accountable. They agreed that, as far as student success is
concerned, every stakeholder in the school system, from the principal to the classroom teacher,
the custodian, the community, and the student must be held accountable. The principal must be
held accountable for putting structures in place, the teacher for classroom instruction, the
custodian for the school environment, and the student for the effort put into learning.
This response led to the question of how successful principals handle ineffective teachers.
The responses included the following: (a) model effective techniques for the teacher, (b) observe
the teacher regularly and closely, (c) give the teacher feedback that is honest and direct regarding
areas for growth, (d) have open and direct communication to identify areas for improvement and
create support plans to help the teacher to become effective (e) have honest and supportive
conversations with the teacher, (f) ensure that evaluations reflect teacher practices, (g) provide
opportunities for teachers to learn and improve their practices, including PD and peer assistance,
and (h) make available all necessary resources for the teacher to be successful.
There was consensus that the best approach to hold an ineffective teacher accountable is
to give the teacher honest feedback and them the opportunity to improve. Also, there was
consensus among veteran superintendents and three principals that the best approach to deal with
ineffectiveness is to reassess the hiring process, making it a very rigorous exercise to ensure that
effective teachers are hired.
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Superintendent 3 explained his approach and the approach he expected from his
principals regarding ineffectiveness:
In high schools we have an average of 90 teachers and only one principal. So how
many times can the principal get into the classroom? So what I tell my principals is
that it all comes down to who you hire and who you fire. If you hire well, then you
stay out of the teachers’ way and you support them. But if you hire poorly, then
you got your hands full. So it’s all about who you hire and who you fire.
In other words, Superintendent 3 contended that the principal must have a structure in
place that assesses a teacher’s effectiveness before the teacher is hired. His advice to his
principals was not to allow “ineffectiveness” an opportunity to enter their schools.
Superintendent 3 explained that there is a way to assess a teacher’s effectiveness before putting
the teacher in the classroom. Superintendents 2 and 4 confirmed the need for the principals to
put strong effort into hiring the right person for each classroom, which removes the stress of
dealing with ineffectiveness. Principals 2, 3, and 4 explained the rigorous process of hiring in
their districts and how the process eliminates the possibility of hiring either an ineffective
administrator or teacher. The rigor of the process often causes candidates to give up on the
process. According to Principal 2, the district is willing to go out of state if only 1 of 100
candidates is considered to be a fit for their school.
Effective principals and districts have rigorous hiring structures in place that weed out
ineffectiveness through the hiring process. Ineffective teachers who are already in the system
must be supported to become successful.
Principal 5 summarized the skills that lead to success as having patience; having a thick
skin; listening to students, teachers, and board members; and getting a pulse of what others are
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saying. The principal needs the ability to read and understand available data. Figure 7 shows the
rating averages of responses by superintendents and principals to the survey questions related to
Research Question 1: What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that school
principals use to construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and lead to
student success?

Figure 7. Average ratings of responses to survey questions related to Research Question 1.
The superintendents and principals who were interviewed agreed that structures and
support precede accountability. It is not a matter of enforcing but learning to give support and to
work with people. Leadership must provide the structure, rules, and procedures but, more than
that, leadership must possess “people skills” that are not inherent
but acquired: skills that cause people to trust a leader, to follow the leader’s lead, and to be
willing to do what the leader suggests without the necessity of enforcement.
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The most important thing that a principal needs to give attention to in a typical day is
to continually build positive relationships based on trust, credibility, and caring.
These three things a principal needs to do in every interaction with every person. He
or she needs to demonstrate that he or she really care about the person. Second, he or
she needs to demonstrate that he or she comprehends the needs of the person, and
third they help the person be successful. I care, I understand, and I am going to help
you to be successful is the message they convey. It’s about building relationships.
(Superintendent 3)
Superintendent 3, who is a veteran superintendent, explained that, if a teacher knows that
the principal can be trusted, is credible, and cares to help the teacher to be successful, the teacher
will gladly follow the structures and procedures set in place by the principal. As a result, the
principal, teachers, and students will all be successful. This assertion was confirmed by all of
participating superintendents and principals in one way or another.
Superintendent 4, who has been in the current position for 5 years but is a veteran
educator with more than 21years experience, confirmed this assertion by emphasizing that the
position of the principal is a complex one. The superintendent said that the foremost thing that a
principal must pay attention to in a typical day is people, explaining it as follows:
In any given day probably 100 different things are thrown at a principal that they
have to pay attention to. But first and foremost is to pay attention to the people that
are around you. Parents come in with a problem; principals have to greet people at
the front of the school in the morning. There are kids who want their attention, there
are teachers who want to believe that they are being supported, or have an issue that
needs to be addressed. There are custodial staffs. It really is the people. First and
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foremost pay attention to the people. I always say it this way: The principal’s job and
my job are to create the environment that raises the likelihood that other people can
be brilliant and successful, and that is their job. Their job isn’t to do the job; it’s to
create the environment that allows people to focus on teaching and learning.
(Superintendent 4)
Thus, Superintendent 4 agreed with Northouse’s (2010) assertion that a leader must have
human skills that enable the leader to work effectively with subordinates, peers, and superiors.
Northouse explained that a leader’s sensitivity to the needs and motivations of others is very
important. In this context, Superintendents 3 and 4 agreed that the skills that make a principal
successful are primarily human skills. Human skills guide a leader to create collaborative
environments that spur cooperation among people and eventual success for the group (Bolman &
Deal, 2008; Northouse, 2010).
Superintendent 2, who is new in the position, agreed with Superintendents 3 and 4 when
she acknowledged that the foremost skills needed by a principal are good judgment, good people
skills, and the ability to connect with people. She stated that principals should be able to discern
what is good for students; if they do not know how to discern what is good for students, then
they do not have the skills to be a principal. The essence of the argument presented by
Superintendent 2 is that good judgment and good people skills go hand in hand. Successful
principals are able to relate to people, read people, and make judgments by observing people and
their interactions. According to Superintendent 4, the position of principal is a leadership-
management position based on a foundation of sound management and sound people skills
embodied in relationships.
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Analysis of Responses to Research Question 2
Research question 2 asked, How do principals influence classroom instruction for student
success? Responses that addressed this research question were analyzed from both quantitative
and qualitative perspectives. Analyses revealed that successful principals (a) protect
instructional time; (b) ensure that teachers have necessary staff development opportunities that
directly enhance their teaching; (c) conduct research on effective instructional practices that are
available to teachers; (d) monitor and assess the effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, and
assessment; (e) are involved with teachers to address instructional issues in their classrooms; (f)
models and coach staff in the effective use of data to make decisions; (g) ensure that teachers use
assessment data to guide instruction; (h) have a presence in the classroom; (i) recognize
excellence or improvement; (j) create a learning environment that is supportive of creative and
innovative teachers; (k) support student-led initiatives and involve students in the decision-
making process and implementation of programs so they can achieve their academic and career
goals; (l) are consistent in practice; (m) work on a few things well; (n) are effective listeners,
promote open communication, and establish high expectations; and (o) monitor implementation
of initiatives and are not afraid to make changes if things are not working as expected.
The survey and interview responses related to Research Question 2 focused on two major
areas: (a) curriculum, instruction, and assessment; and (b) modeling and coaching for effective
data use. Survey responses revealed agreement by superintendents and principals on a Likert-
type scale of 1 to 4. Both veteran and new superintendents and principals were interviewed for
clarification of the rationales behind survey ratings and to identify skills that enable principals to
influence what happens in the classroom: namely curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
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In relation to curriculum, instruction, and assessment, the surveys and open-ended
interview questions addressed how principals ensure that teachers have necessary staff
development opportunities, making research on effective instructional practices available to
teachers, and monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, and
assessment. In response, the superintendents gave a higher survey average rating than principals
but both groups scored above 3.5 (4 = representing strong agreement).
Most of the superintendents agreed that monitoring and assessing the effectiveness of
curriculum, instruction, and assessment—and using data effectively—are primary
responsibilities of the principal. Not all principals agreed fully with that assertion, even though
all ratings were above 3.5. The principals gave stronger ratings on protecting instructional time
from interruptions, compared to superintendents. Figure 8 shows the average responses to the
survey items addressing Research Question 2.

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Figure 8. Participants’ responses to the survey question, “How do principals influence
classroom instruction for student success?”

Even though the principals gave higher ratings in their responses regarding protection of
instructional time, the most articulate defense of protecting instructional time was given by
Superintendent 2 during the interview. Superintendent 2 argued that it is critical for student
success to ensure that instructional time is not interrupted. In her opinion, successful principals
build a culture that tells teachers that instructional time is important to the principal. The
principal takes the initiative to limit interruptions to instructional time as much as possible by,
among other things, not making announcements on public address systems at the beginning or
during the instructional day. The effective principal must have a strong understanding of the
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teachers’ use of time. Principal 2 noted that the way principals structure the day tells what they
value.
An example of not valuing instructional time is the principal spending 5 minutes on the
public announcement (PA) system to make announcements that could be sent via email or put in
teachers’ mailboxes, resulting in time wasted. Multiplying the 5 minutes by the number of
students in each class indicates how much time is wasted. Superintendent 2 stated that principals
need a better orientation to time, explaining that it is not necessary for the principal to
communicate with the school via the PA. According to Superintendent 2, public announcements
should be limited to once a week, only announcements that must be made, and requiring no more
than 1 minute of class time. If teachers are convinced that the principal values instructional time,
they will also become jealous of instructional time. In the opinion of Superintendent 2, how time
is used communicates what is important.
Participants in the study agreed (3.85 and 3.78 by superintendents and principals,
respectively) that successful principals are involved with teachers to address instructional issues
in their classrooms. Concerning data use, there was consensus among superintendents (3.8) that
successful principals should ensure that teachers use data effectively to guide their instruction
and those principals’ should model and coach staff in the use of data. From the viewpoint of
Superintendent 5, data use is very important but data should be used in a way that does not
embarrass the teacher whose student data may not be impressive. Instead of calling the teacher
out, the principal should have the skill to communicate effectively what the data indicate, while
showing empathy for the teacher. The principal must use data frequently to track progress of
staff.
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Superintendent 2 explained that the first responsibility of the principal is to understand
the implications of data. What aspect of data can be realistically compared to other aspects?
Reading data effectively communicates to principals that, while different groups of students are
passing through a teacher’s hands year after year; one constant is the teacher. Therefore, if
student performance is consistently low then the constant in the equation—the teacher—must be
held accountable. Successful principals must also let data guide them to see what roadblocks are
hindering performance so they can remove them. The data must incorporate demographic
information. What groups of students are consistently performing below expectations? This
must be addressed.
Data should lead educators to know which factors are outside their control and which
factors are within their control—such as instructional practices. Factors outside of their control,
such as issues in students’ home lives—must not become the focus of why a student or group of
students is not successful. Instead, the principal must recognize that what is happening in
student home life is outside the control of the school.
According to Superintendent 2, the district must be involved by providing a computer
program and a data management person who can work across schools to explain to the principals
the message gained from the data. In her opinion, someone should be assigned the task of data
analysis, perhaps the person in charge of curriculum and instruction but definitely not the
principal. Such a system would provide opportunities for educators to compare data about
instructional practices and student performance across the district. Providing computer programs
that can be used across the district can lead to increased collaboration.
Superintendents 1, 2, and 5 cited a data management system that generates data based on
benchmarked or formative assessments every 6 weeks. According to Superintendent 1, their
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schools have a minimum day for students after each benchmark assessment, during which the
principal and staff analyze the data generated from benchmark assessment results. They focus
the data to individual students so principals and teachers can identify which students must be
moved from proficient to advanced—as well from basic to proficient—and, most important, how
each student is performing. Every student is accounted for in the data analysis.
Superintendent 1 (a new superintendent) explained it as follows:
In our district we use a lot of data. No district can survive without data use. We have
benchmark assessments three times a year. We give our principals a minimum day
after each assessment so they can collect and analyze data. The need to drill down to
each individual student using the computer program we has in place in the district.
The principal and staff separate their students into different categories such as
proficient, strategic and advance. The principal and teachers design a plan to move
each student forward. They are clear on what needs to be done for each student.
The point made by Superintendent 1 was that successful principals work with their
teaching staff to identify academic performance by individual students and to work together to
move these students forward. Superintendent 3 (a veteran superintendent) agreed about the
importance of data use but had a different approach for principals:
Data is not the panacea; data has limits, so data must be used within the context of a
whole bunch of other factors. The data that matters to me is how literate are the
students, how are students being helped to become literate in math and English
language arts. In my view curriculum is a means to an end and not an end in itself.
The purpose of the curriculum is for the most part to learn how to learn. Most kids do
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not care what they score on CST because it does not affect their future. Instead of
spending all the time analyzing CST data, we focus on high stakes test such as the
CAHSEE in the 10th grade and give them multiple opportunities before they graduate
from 12th grade. . . . We also focus on AP and community college placement test for
Math and English Language. With high stakes test such as these, the data is very
reliable and we make decisions as to who is teaching certain courses, and our budget
decisions. We budget $100,000 a year for these kids and half of our kids will be
taking the community college placement test. Half of our kids will be going to
community college.
In making this comment, Superintendent 3 argued that data use must not be stressed
outside the context of the source of the data. He argued that not all assessments actually make
students successful; therefore, spending time to analyze that kind of data is not useful. In his
view, student performance data on the CST was not useful. He contended that the test is flawed,
is too broad and not deep enough, and does not benefit students in any way. According to
Superintendent 3 (a veteran superintendent), the emphasis of principals in his district is to use
formative assessment data to prepare all students to be successful on assessments such as the
CAHSEE, AP course work and tests, and community college placement assessments. These
assessments have direct influence on students’ college and career readiness. Data on these
assessments must be used to inform educators as they prepare students to be college and career
ready. This position affirmed the contention made by Marzano et al. (2005) that principals use
data as a basis for assigning teaching duties to match the strengths of their staff. Marzano et al.
identified this as an “optimizer’s responsibility.” The optimizer principal celebrates the strengths
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of staff, students, and school, expressed in the analysis of data that deal with the creation of a
climate for learning.
To be an effective instructional leader, the principal must understand pedagogy and must
be able to know, after a short time in a classroom, whether or not learning is happening. This
implies that the principal must lead by example by getting into the classroom. This assertion was
made by all of the new principals and superintendents, who acknowledged that they had not been
successful in doing this enough. As mentioned earlier, the veteran superintendents agreed that
this concern will not arise if hiring is done correctly.
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 3
Research question 3 asked, How do principals create and shape a climate and culture of
learning that ensures student success? Quantitative and qualitative analysis of responses related
to this research question revealed that the superintendents and principals agreed that successful
principals must create and shape a climate and culture for learning by (a) celebrating the success
of teachers, students, and school; (b) motivating teachers by creating PLCs; (c) upholding
personal relationships with teachers and being cognizant of their personal needs; (d) recognizing
excellence and improvement; (e) shaping a culture of collaboration; (f) being consistently fair
but firm; (g) being willing to build rapport with parents and students; (h) being willing to have
difficult conversations as needed; (i) making connections with students to change their
perceptions of principals; (j) giving students a second chance to be successful, which sometimes
means doing what is right rather than doing the right thing; (k) treating every situation on an
individual basis; (l) promoting a caring and safe environment, with the primary objective being
learning; (m) having personal interaction with teachers and staff; (n) building trust through
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personal interaction with staff; (o) being personal with parents, students, and staff; and (p)
having the courage and heart to always do what is best for students.
According to Superintendent 3, it is very important for a new principal to seek to
understand the existing culture and to shape it strategically. This is necessary because, more
often than not, the culture will shape the principal instead of the principal shaping the culture,
since culture is very powerful. Either way, the principal owns the culture of the school and the
culture of a school is a reflection of the principal. Superintendent 3 further asserted that 5 to 6
years are required to complete a very thoughtful process with multigenerational students,
teachers, and leadership. Principals who do not believe in the vision of the school may cause
derailment of the vision.
Figure 9 depicts the results of quantitative analysis of responses addressing creation and
shaping of a climate and culture of learning, which was rated very highly by both
superintendents and principals. As part of building and shaping a climate and culture for
learning, upholding personal relationships with teachers and becoming cognizant of their needs
was rated very low by both superintendents and principals, with superintendents rating it much
lower than principals.
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According to Superintendent 1 (new), because the principal cannot mandate everything in
the school, it is important for the principal to build capacity in staff to provide effective
instruction. Building teacher capacity may occur through PD, peer-to-peer assistance, or support
from the TOSA. Effective instruction also includes use of data to provide intervention for
students as necessary. There must be a culture in the school that will move the school forward,
including involving the entire school community.

Figure 9. Distribution of responses to questions related to Research Question 3, regarding the
principal’s responsibility to create and maintain a productive school climate.
PLC = professional learning community.
Superintendent 1 explained it this way:
I tell my principals, the skills that I learned as a counselor, listening skills,
communication skills, the collaborative approach are essential. When I am
listening to you I am not thinking of the next thing that I am going to say, but I am
truly listening to you. I am also modeling and validating those skills they really
need as principals. . . . I think the principals need to be aware that there is more on
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their campus beside their teachers. A lot of time I find principals that set most of
their attention on teachers or almost exclusively on teachers. Principals need to
have a rounded approach; a rounded approach is making sure your classified
staffs are behind you, because your classified staffs most often live in the
neighborhood of the school. They have more communication with the parents
and community at large.

In making this comment, Superintendent 1 explained that she is constantly modeling the
skills that will make the principal successful and enlarging the horizon of the principal to pay
attention to all staff. The assertion of modeling was confirmed by Superintendent 5, who
explained that culture is built by modeling and insisted that the superintendent must model the
skills for the principals and the principal must model the skills of a healthy culture for the school
community. According to Superintendent 5, in addition to holding people accountable, the
leader must engender trust that he or she genuinely cares about people.
These are human skills, according to Northouse (2010). Marzano et al. (2005) called it
situational awareness. The principal is aware of the situation in the school and the community.
Bolman and Deal (2008) argued that an effective leader knows how to change the perspectives of
their organization based on influences from the environment. This implies that listening to all
staff members and communicating to all of them allows the principal to look at what is
happening within the school with a different set of eyes. In contrast, focusing on only a segment
of the school community such as teachers, because they deliver instruction, can destroy the
culture of the school. The successful principal must build a positive school culture by caring for
all stakeholders.
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The culture of the school, the culture of learning, and the skills to build that culture come
about as the principal models the appropriate culture. The principal leads by example to ensure
that the culture infuses the entire system. Principals who do not model in their leading are not
creating that culture.
Principal 3 strongly affirmed the need to build this culture through positive relationship
building and healthy communication that conveys respect. According to Principal 3, when a
principal verbally attacks people, even though the principal may be right, he or she ruins a
relationship that can never be fully recovered. The analogy was that a crumpled paper cannot be
smoothed to be exactly as it used to be. A necessary skill for principals is to know how to
communicate frustration with ineffective staff without ruining relationships.
Principal 2 asserted that she wished that she had recognized the level of her ignorance in
these matters before becoming a principal. According to this principal, effective principals
understand the need to ask questions when confronted with situations, without making
assumptions that they know everything. Daily situations that confront a principal might have
many facets, and making wrong assumptions can lead to wrong assessments and judgment of the
situation.
Superintendent 3 explained how a positive culture and relationship are important skills
for the principal by asserting that, even though he had been in the district for 39 years and had
hired 48 of the current principals, those principals who had been dismissed or left were those had
not had relationships or had behaved in a “politically stupid” way.
This notion was confirmed by Superintendent 4 as he explained that his district practices
an interest-based philosophy that protects the interests of all stakeholders. According to this
superintendent, all discussions and negotiations by a successful principal begin with the
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assumption that each party has an interest, not a position, in relationships, solving problems, and
finding solutions. Negotiations and discussions are designed to protect the interests of all
stakeholders, in contrast to fighting for a position. Practicing this philosophy takes the conflict
out of relationships and negotiations.
Analysis of Responses to Research Question 4
Research question 4 asked, How does the school district support principals to be
successful? Quantitative analysis revealed that these superintendents and principals agreed that
the school district office should support the principal for success. The superintendents gave an
average response rate of 3.5 on the question of the need for the principal to work collaboratively
with the school district. This question was framed differently for principals, asking them to
indicate the extent to which they agreed that the principal must maintain a positive relationship
with the district office; the average response rate was 3.65. Figure 10 illustrates the responses by
each group.

Figure 10. Response rates by participating superintendents and principals to the question, “How
does the school district support principals to be successful?”
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Qualitative analysis of responses to open-ended questions that were designed to gauge the
expected relationship between successful principals and their superintendents gave insight into
how the district supports the principal to be effective. All interviewed superintendents attested to
the need for the superintendent to spend time at each school site, including personal time with
the principal in addition to formal meetings. Support for the principals comes in both formal and
informal encounters. Based on already established relationships, there are scheduled and
unscheduled meetings in which principals can discuss their challenges and successes. The
district can create opportunities for principals to interact with peers and to learn from each other.
New principals in one district have the privilege of working with a retired principal who had
served in the district for more than 20 years; they can reach out to him night or day for support
and assistance.
Superintendent 4 reported that he has a “real relationship” with each principal. He said
that knows them, he cares about them, he knows about their families, he knows when they have
issues, and vice versa. He described the key to the relationship as caring about others. He stated
that he makes sure that they get the support that they need. Superintendents, 1, 2, and 4
emphasized that they visit their school sites regularly, talk to their principals very often, and visit
their classrooms. The evaluation system in Superintendent 4’s school is a support system; the
superintendent and principals write goals together and give feedback on progress toward the
goals. They have collaborative meetings, they work as a team. The principals are expected to
stay in touch with the superintendents. They are expected to reach out even if they think they do
not need help, to let the superintendents know what is going on at their individual school sites.
At the core of their interactions is a relationship that is described as authentic, real, not a
performance, making them more of a family than a business organization.
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All superintendents and district staff have monthly leadership meetings with their
principals to address leadership issues, a common practice among all interviewed
superintendents and principals. The district led by Superintendent 4 has built an internal
program of leadership to develop new leaders and support new principals. This has made it
possible for them to promote people from within the district to the principal position rather than
hiring from outside the district. According to Superintendent 4, this allows them to create
continuity in the district culture and avoid dissonance in the community. The culture that they
seek to maintain is understanding how to work collaboratively on operating a school, facilitating
a budget, engaging the community, and addressing curriculum, instruction, and personal
evaluation. Superintendent 4 explained that the culture of learning depends on the principal
knowing how to interact with people. Participating principals who work with Superintendent 4
confirmed these assertions.
According to Superintendent 1, visiting the schools is a way to model to the principals
how they should visible to exhibit what is important to them. Superintendent 1 explained it this
way:
In addition to our monthly walks through each school with board members, my
assistant Superintendent and I randomly visit school sites. We will go and just sit
in the lounge and have lunch with the teachers. “Tell me what is going on? Are
there issues out there? What can I tell you about the budget?” Whatever is going
on, we both attend staff meetings so we can give presentations, but sometimes we
just attend so that we can be there to hear what’s going on and let them voice their
concerns to us. I was in another district where there where there were two
superintendent visits in a year and they were planned and very formal. With this,
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I never tell them when I am coming. I just show up. Now they see me walk in the
door and they just keep doing what they are doing. That modeling of being out
and about I think helps the principals. It is necessary for the principals to also
build this culture.
Superintendent 1 was consistent with MacIver and Farley (2003) about visiting randomly and
interacting with the staff to know what is going on. By making it a part of the district culture to
interact with teachers and visit classrooms, superintendents model that instruction is important to
them.
Principal 6 (a veteran principal) indicated that the superintendent, assistant
superintendent, and program specialists were in her school site continuously, providing is very
positive support, which confirmed the comments by Superintendent 1 and 4. According to
Principal 6, budget cuts had limited the number of people who support her site, regularly
working alongside her staff and herself. She reported that she informs her superintendent and
district on a daily basis via email to report on current events. She also asserted that, before the
budget cuts, her mails were responded to promptly; now it takes a day or two for her to receive
replies. She attributed this situation on limited resources and staff in the district office. She
stated that, between hers and her superintendent, there are no facades; she tells him as it is so she
can gain the help and support for her school.
Principal 5, a veteran principal, indicated that he has been in the district for 9 years and
has always received positive support from the district to make him effective. The district has
given him budgets and hiring autonomy to make decisions based on the needs of his site. His
superintendent had lobbied with the board when it was necessary to move a counselor from the
site. According to Principal 5, unlike the former district in which had had worked, the business
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office of the district did not dictate curriculum and instructional decisions. This was very
important to him because he was adamant that a business person should not make instructional
decisions.
In describing how the district supports the principals to be successful, Principal 2 noted
the trust and loyalty among principals in her district, as well as between the principals and the
superintendent and the district as a whole. Principal 2 stated that they are not afraid to display
vulnerability to colleagues and the superintendent, and that this is a mutual freedom, showing a
level of trust between the district and the school site (Lencioni, 2002).
In responding to the question of how the superintendent and district office support
successful principals, three principles cited the need to be humble enough to ask for a mentor or
a formal form of support. Principal 2 said,
I have been a principal for 10 years. If I did not have the pride level I had, and
been so self-sufficient, and had demanded a mentor, someone I could
communicate with, I will have saved me from all the mess I created and stepped
in myself. When I moved to this district, I had a mentor who gave me 24 hours, 7
days a week access. He was available to me whenever I needed him, and I needed
him. He saved me from stepping in my own “business.” Because of that he
helped shape me to become a mentor to others.
Essentially, Principal 4 was saying that he wished that someone with experience would
have guided and guarded him as a new principal, which would have saved him from some of the
mistakes and problems that he had created as a new principal. Principals 2 and 4 confirmed this
assertion. Principal 3 asserted that the state should have a Beginning Principal Support and
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Assessment (BPSA) system similar to the district’s requirement to have a Beginning Teacher
Support and Assessment (BTSA) program.
According to Superintendent 4, the district supports principals by asking them to be
realistic. The principals are helped to establish realistic and attainable goals that will require 3 to
5 years to accomplish and the superintendent helps the principal to put together a plan that will
make it possible to accomplish the goals. All participating superintendents agreed that their job
is to make principals successful.
The superintendents and principals who were interviewed cited an advantage of working
in school districts with fewer than 30 schools. The size of the district allowed the
superintendents to visit schools regularly. The superintendents spend time in the schools so they
know what is happening in each school and can tell principals to talk to their fellows about how
they are handling various issues and matters. In larger districts, such as the Los Angeles Unified
School district, the superintendent has four districts, each with more than 20 schools. Even
though this is an excellent exercise, it would be difficult for superintendents in school districts
with more than 30 schools to visit each school and interact regularly with teaching staffs directly.
Nevertheless, this can be done via emails.
Chapter Summary
This chapter was presented in six main sections. This first section presented the analysis
of the survey instrument that consisted of close-ended and open-ended survey questions, as well
as face-to-face interviews with five superintendents and six principals. Interviewed
superintendents and principals were chosen from a pool of veteran and new superintendents and
principals from schools with SSRs from 7 to 10. The theoretical framework for the study was
based on the theoretical framework of the 21 leadership responsibilities posited by Marzano et al.
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(2005), the four-frame model of leadership developed by Bolman and Deal (2008), and the three-
skill approach to leadership proposed by Northouse (2010). Each of these theoretical
frameworks contributed to produce a framework for this study, which confirmed the framework.
Survey and interview questions were designed to elicit responses to address the four
research questions of the study through statements and questions based on the framework of the
study. The statements in the survey were presented to be answered with a 4-point Likert-type
scale and responses to survey statements were analyzed to indicate the extent to which
participants agreed with the statements. The survey also included open-ended questions that
invited participants to express in their own words their responses to questions related to each of
the research questions. The interview questions were open-ended and allowed the researcher to
obtain detailed responses related to the research questions.
The second section of the chapter presented and analyzed the demographics of the
participants in both the survey and interviews. The findings in this section indicated that most of
the participants in the study were Caucasian males, and most had held multiple positions in
education before becoming either a principal or a superintendent. The extent to which their
ethnicity, gender, multiple positions held, and educational background influenced their responses
was not explored further.
The third section presented and analyzed responses related to Research Question 1,
exploring the leadership skills, strategies, and approaches that successful principals used to
create structures to make them and their students successful. The emerging theme for this
section was that successful leaders are effective leaders, structural designers, and builders.
The fourth section presented an analysis of the leadership skills that influenced classroom
instruction for student success, related to Research Question 2. This section also addressed how
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principals effectively lead and coach in the use of data and how they hold individual teachers
accountable. The emerging theme was that successful principals are instructional leaders who
not only hold people accountable but also model effectiveness, coach, and protect instructional
time.
The fifth section reported the skills that enable the principal to create a culture and
climate for learning that leads to student success, related to Research Question 3. The emerging
theme in this section was that successful principal build the culture by building and protecting
relationships every day.
The sixth section explored the support structure for principals provided by the
superintendent and the central office of the district. The structure was explored from the
viewpoint of the superintendents and principals and analyzed by the researcher. The emerging
theme was that, in addition to formal and informal support given to the principal through
leadership meetings, goals, and agendas, the new principal must have a mentor to turn to at any
time for support. New principals need a support system, just as new teachers have access to the
BTSA system. The district office, represented by the superintendent, directly supports the
principal to be successful by providing access to a mentor or coach. The principal, in turn,
through his skills, strategies, and approaches, influences instruction, as well as the climate and
culture of the school. The structures, instruction, climate, and culture directly influence student
success (Figure 11).
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Figure 11. Model of district support for the successful principal.
Five themes emerged from the analysis of the data: (a) effective leaders, (b) structural
designers and builders, (c) instructional leaders, (d) builders of culture through relationship
building, and (e) humility to receive support. The findings based on each of the sections are
summarized in Chapter 5.
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Chapter 5: Conclusions
Historically, urban schools have been associated with low student performance, among
other social stereotypes, such as classism and racism. A system of educational inequity has been
sustained by ineffective leadership in urban schools. Notwithstanding the status quo, some urban
school principals have shown success by overcoming mediocrity, low expectations, and other
social barriers. Their schools are ranking 7 to 10 on the California similar school ranking (SSR)
scale. Middle and high schools principals from these schools were identified as successful in this
study.
The purpose of this study was to identify the skills, strategies, and approaches that these
successful principals use to move their schools forward and to achieve success for their students,
from the perspective of the principals and superintendents. The findings will contribute to work
on effective educational leadership practices that spur student success, will be a guide for new
principals to navigate the urban school system with its challenges, and will provide a menu for
veteran and new principals on how to be instructional leaders.
This chapter presents a summary of the findings, the limitations to the study not cited in
Chapter 1, implications for practice, recommendations for future research, and a concluding
thought.
Summary of Findings
The findings of this study are based on responses to open-ended and close-ended survey
items and detailed responses from new and veteran superintendents and principals to open-ended
interview statements and questions designed to address the four research questions:
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 What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches that school principals use to
construct school structures that influence classroom instruction and lead to student
success?
 How do principals influence classroom instruction for student success?
 How do principals create and shape a climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success?
 How does the school district support principals to be successful?
Analysis of the demographics of the participants showed that White males dominated the
participant sample; African Americans, Asians, and females were minimally represented. All of
the superintendents had a doctoral degree and had been educators for 21 or more years. Most of
the principals had a master’s degree and had been educators for more than 10 years. The
superintendents and principals had held multiple positions as educators prior to assuming their
current positions.
The overarching finding of this study was that that the skills, strategies, and approaches
used by successful principals are multifaceted but interrelated and interconnected. They are
acquired skills, not inherent skills. All of the skills are needed and each must be displayed based
on the context, environment, and situation to make a principal successful. The skills, strategies,
and approaches are not utilized in isolation but in combination. This finding is in agreement
with Bolman and Deal (2008) in their assertion that leaders must have the ability to change the
lens through which the needs of an organization are assessed. As environments and situations
change, the leader must reframe accordingly to address the new needs. Schools are complex
organizations with unpredictable challenges.
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Five main themes in relation to skills, strategies, and approaches emerged from this
study, as seen in the responses to the survey and the interviews completed by veteran and new
superintendents and principals. Successful principals are (a) effective leaders, (b) structural
designers and builders, (c) instructional leaders, (d) culture builders through relationship
building, and (e) humble, not too proud to receive support.
Effective leaders. The study found that successful principals are effective leaders who
have a vision for their schools. They acquire leadership skills through their journeys in life
(Northouse, 2010). They are “Level 5 leaders” (Collins, 2001) in their skills, strategies, and
approaches because they credit the success of their school to others, not to themselves. They
give credit to their teachers, describing them as wonderful, great, and excellent. They credit their
school’s success to the teachers’ hard work and willingness to collaborate. They praise their
“great” superintendent whose leadership has given them a pathway to move their school forward,
and they boast about the level of cooperation that the school enjoys from parents and the
community at large. Finally, they praise their students, who have given them the opportunity to
serve. They praise everyone but themselves.
Successful principals of middle and high schools give themselves no credit. Yet they are
the ones who put in place the structures for teachers to collaborate, and they create the
atmosphere and the environment that makes everyone successful. As new principals, they were
humble enough to ask for and receive support from their superintendent and district office.
When there is no district-provided mentor, they align themselves with an experienced veteran
principal for support. They provide structures for parental and community involvement. This is
clearly in accord with Collins’s (2001) description of Level 5 leadership. According to Collins,
Level 5 leaders are ambitious, not for themselves but for the company. Even though they are
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humble, these leaders have a strong will for their companies to do well. They look out of the
windows to attribute the success of their companies to factors other than themselves. This was a
recurring theme among the interviewed principals.
The findings showed that successful principals are leaders who place a premium on
building relationships every day. They build healthy relationships with teachers, students,
parents, custodial and clerical staff, and the community at large. The relationships are built on
trust, caring, and respect. The principals are effective communicators who have strong insight
and discernment and good judgment (Bolman & Deal, 2008; Marzano et al., 2005). They let
their staff know that their success is a priority. The successful principal creates the environment
for everyone to be successful, as measured by their shared vision.
Leadership goes beyond managing the school and yet, as good managers, their
managerial duties are met effectively, not at the expense of building relationships. They take
care of paper work after hours. They are strategic in their approach to make their schools
successful through effective management skills, as well as designing and building structures for
the success of their staff and students.
Structural designers and builders. The findings showed that successful principals are
structural designers and builders who put in place the framework for the success of their schools.
They provide and enforce clear structures for their staff by creating PLCs, even though they may
not use that term. Through these learning communities they promote a sense of cooperation,
collaboration, and sharing of ideas in their teaching staff. They build and use leadership teams to
whom they give autonomy to move their schools forward. This approach is in agreement with
the assertion by Dafour et al. (2006) that effective collaboration requires that school leaders
ensure that each staff member is assigned to a significant team. Dafour et al. explained that team
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structures can either be teams that link teachers in the same content areas or teachers who teach
the same content at different grade levels. The approach confirms the 21 responsibilities of
school leadership cited by Marzano et al. (2005).
Successful principals do not shy from innovative challenges in their construction of
structures for student success. They embrace the challenges by using good judgment, solving
problems, and applying analytical and human skills of relationship building to navigate the
challenges. In the process they discover hidden talents among their staff and within their school
community. Some of the innovative challenges revealed in this study were in the areas of bell
scheduling and master planning, curriculum, budgeting, and effective use of data. Bell schedules
have been innovatively transformed to incorporate intervention for struggling students and to
give teachers time for collaboration. The successful principals in this study pursued innovation
in curriculum by developing new programs that focus on STEM subjects. They have also been
innovative in budgeting and use of data.
Bolman and Deal (2008) asserted that structural leaders do their homework by studying
the entire structure before recommending changes. They evaluate the relationship between the
structures in the organization and the strategy and context in which the system exists. Knowing
that there could be resistance to the changes that they seek to implement, they know how to
coordinate with others, build alliances for their proposals (as politicians do), and empower
others, without allowing bureaucracy to suffocate innovations (Bolman & Deal, 2008).
Successful principals have structures in place not only to hold people accountable but to
deal with ineffectiveness through support, modeling, coaching, and peer assistance.
Opportunities are given for reflections, feedback, and honest and courageous conversations built
on trust, faith, and a belief that the principal wants them to be successful. They invest in the
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hiring process to ensure that they have not only a qualified teacher but an effective teacher in
each classroom. They have structures in place that allow for parent and community involvement
for student success (Marzano et al., 2005).
In looking at leadership through the structural frame, Bolman and Deal (2008) explained
that the leader is an architect who knows how to design structures for student success. The
structural builder not only creates the structures but also advocates, negotiates, and builds
alliances and partnerships to get things done (Bolman & Deal, 1994).
Instructional leaders. Successful principals are instructional leaders who influence
instruction for student success by depending on the structures that they have in place and their
leadership skills to protect instructional time, ensure that teachers are equipped with necessary
resources, and make effective and research-based PD available to teachers. They recognize
effective pedagogy when it is present in a classroom. They can tell within minutes whether
learning is taking place in a classroom. They recognize excellence and improvement. They have
a presence in the classroom and know which data set is necessary for student success, especially
in the high school.
This study established that the fight for data use has been won in these schools but the
new fight is over which data set is most important for that school setting. Data from CAHSEE,
AP classes and assessments, and community college placement exams are most important for the
high school principal because they have a direct impact on students’ future. CST data do not
have the same value for the high school and must not be given too much attention. Successful
principals know how to read data, recognize trends in data, and take necessary actions such as
master scheduling, budgeting decisions, and curriculum and instruction decisions to influence
future outcome of students’ lives based on the data.
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Instructional leaders model effective data use for their staff and focus on the data that
they can change for student success. Data help them to identify demographic issues revealed by
the data. Instructional leaders take advantage of data managers provided by the district to
identify individual students and their needs.
Culture builders through relationships. Successful principals are relationship builders
in their approach to shaping the culture and climate of their schools. They create and shape a
culture of learning that ensures student success. They understand that the culture in their school
is a reflection of who they are and realize that, if they do not take the lead to model and shape the
desired culture, the existing culture will shape them. Therefore, they create a positive culture by
celebrating the success of teachers, students, and the school. They celebrate excellence and
improvement. They motivate and create the environment for effective collaboration among their
staff. They are willing to have difficult conversations when necessary. These principals uphold
personal relationships with teachers and are cognizant of their needs, all enabled by human skills.
The schools reflect their principals’ personality. The principals are effective communicators and
have strong interpersonal skills in dealing with all stakeholders. Their actions create and shape a
culture of learning in their schools.
Successful principals have acquired human skills through their years as educators. They
give attention to cultivating positive relationships with all stakeholders, built on trust, credibility,
and caring. Successful leaders have human skills that convey to their staff that they genuinely
care about success and that their priority is to help the teachers to be successful in whatever they
are doing. Teachers, students, and custodians trust their principal as one who is working for
them to be successful. Successful principals see relationships as a clean sheet of paper; once
crumpled, it cannot be restored to what it was before. No amount of straightening can remove
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the creases created by verbal attacks or wrong communication. Relationships are guarded for
student success.
Humility vs. pride. Districts support their principals to be successful. Both
superintendents and principals acknowledged that this support comes through formal and
informal settings and interactions. Successful principals know to work collaboratively with their
superintendent and to maintain a positive relationship with the district office. The principals in
this study placed more emphasis on this than did the superintendents but the groups agreed that it
is a necessary relationship. Successful principals know what they do not know and are humble
to receive guidance from f mentors to whom they can turn at any time.
Superintendents and district office management can make a principal successful, thereby
indirectly influencing the success of students in the district. The district office, represented by
the superintendent, directly supports the principal to be successful by being a mentor or
providing access to a mentor or coach. The principal, in turn, through skills, strategies, and
approaches, influences instruction, climate, and the culture of the school.
Comparing perspectives of veteran and new superintendents and principals.
Veteran and new superintendents and principals did not differ in their perspectives in most areas,
except in the matter of giving and receiving support from the superintendent and in the use of
data. Veteran principals repeatedly acknowledged the impact of having had mentors or the
desire to have had mentors early in their careers. The provision allowed them to avoid major
mistakes or the absence led them to make major mistakes. Of course, such sentiments were not
expressed by the new principals. The veteran superintendents saw data use not as a panacea for
all ailments but as a necessary tool to be used strategically, while the new superintendents saw
the importance of data use from the perspective of instruction.
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The veteran superintendents emphasized district philosophy in expressing the skills,
strategies, and approaches they expect from successful principals. One such district philosophy
was put great effort into hiring people who fit the philosophy of everyone being effective.
Another philosophy of a veteran superintendent was an interest-based philosophy that was
applied to all situations and practiced district wide. Interest-based philosophy makes the
assumption that every stakeholder has a set of interests in the organization and that all
discussions originate from that set of interests, eliminating the potential for conflict in all
negotiations.
Limitations of the Study
The methodology employed in this study called for surveying principals and
superintendents to identify the skills, strategies, and approaches that successful principals
practice for student success. The researcher gathered data only from the perspectives of
principals and superintendents, which presented a limitation. Data from the perspectives of other
members of the school community, triangulated with data from principals and superintendents,
might have provided a different picture. Principals may espouse the identified skills but other
members of the school community may agree or disagree, so the absence of those perspectives
constituted a limitation to the study. Detailed statistical analyses were not conducted to measure
the influence of ethnicity or education level of participants on the skills reported in this study.
This study was focused on middle and high school principals, so findings may not be
generalizable to elementary school principals.
Implications for Practice and Policy
The implications for practice based on the findings in this study are twofold, first for
principals and second for superintendent who hire and evaluate principals. With the ongoing
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 105

need of the nation to have all students prepared to compete at the global level and to continue to
make positive gains in urban schools, principals of high schools and middle schools seek success
for their schools. Effective educational leadership skills, strategies, and approaches must
promote effective leadership practices that include instructional leadership, the building of a
positive school climate and culture, and the maintenance of positive relationships between
principals and superintendents of school districts.
Leadership. Successful principals are leaders who deliberately (a) design and build
structures that spur teachers to be effective by collaborating to make students successful; (b)
build structures that draw parents and community members to participate in the school; (c) lead
in pursuing innovative challenges in curriculum, bell scheduling, and master planning for student
success; and (d) build and use leadership teams and give those teams autonomy to serve for
student success.
Instructional leadership. The findings related to instructional leadership indicate that
effective instructional leaders (a) have structures in place that allow for teacher effectiveness to
be assessed during the hiring process so that hiring is marking by effectiveness and quality; (b)
protect instructional time from disruptions; (c) hold people accountable but model, coach, and
provide positive feedback so that necessary negative feedback can be taken in good faith; and (d)
understand the implication of data and use data to make decisions that will spur college and
career aspirations in students.
Positive School Climate and Culture The findings related to positive school climate
and culture indicate that successful principals (a) build and protect relationships every day that
are based on trust with all stakeholders and use positive communication rather than criticism; (b)
look for excellence and improvement and celebrate them; (c) are ambitious to move the school
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 106

forward, without seek to draw attention to themselves and their successes; and (d) focus on the
success of everyone else, realize that the leader’s success is tied to the success of the staff and
school community.
Humility. The findings related to humility indicate that successful principals (a)
maintain a positive relationship with the district office and work collaboratively with the
superintendent; (b) remain humble, taking advantage of monitoring as needed. While this study
was focused on the principal, some implications for practice emerged that might help
superintendents in their dealings with principals. Superintendents must realize that principals
desire to work collaboratively and maintain a positive relationship with their superintendent and
the district office and should be supported by a form of mentoring program beyond formal
meetings. It is recommended that districts and state offices consider a support and assessment
program for beginning principals (BPSA) similar to the BTSA.
Recommendations for Future Research
The following recommendations are made for future research in identifying the skills,
practices, and approaches that inform principals to be successful and spur student success.
According to Northouse (2010), the skills that are the focus of this study are acquired, not
inherent. Future research could explore how the skills that successful principals use are
acquired. This is different from the focus on in this study on what skills principals use to achieve
success. Future research could investigate whether there is a relationship between demographic
characteristics such as gender, ethnicity, and level of education, and the skills that
superintendents and successful principals espouse as necessary for the effectiveness of the
principal and ultimately for student success.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 107

Conclusion
Principals who are successful have skills and use strategies and approaches that make
them effective leaders, indirectly influencing student success by directly designing and building
structures that pave the way for teachers, parents, and the community to work together for
student success. They are innovative leaders in general, instructional leaders, and creators of a
culture and climate for learning through healthy relationships with all stakeholders. These
effective principals are humble enough to ask for and receive support from their district and
superintendent and are likely to attribute their success to the district leaders, teachers, parents,
and students, even as they themselves have paved the way for all of these stakeholders to be
successful.
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 108

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Appendix A:
Letter to Participants

Dear Superintendent or Principal:

I am a doctoral candidate working on my dissertation at the University of Southern California. I
am pursuing an Ed.D. degree in K-12 leadership, under the guidance of Dr. Pedro Garcia and Dr.
Rudy Castruita. I am conducting a research study as part of my dissertation. The focus of the
study is to discover the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches of successful principals from
the perspective of the principals and their respective superintendents. Based on the criteria of
selection, you have been identified as a successful leader in education. I therefore humbly
request that you assist me with my research by accepting my invitation to participate in the
study. Collecting data from effective and efficient leaders such as you will be vital to the success
of the study.

I am very conscious of your time constraints, and will not take too much of your time. If you can
help me with my research, please click the link below and complete the survey. It should not
take more than 10 minutes. The survey asks leadership questions. I may want to conduct a
follow up interview which will not take more than 30 minutes.

Participation in this study is voluntary. Your identity will be and remain completely
confidential. This research study has been reviewed and approved by the University of Southern
California Institutional Review Board (IRB) for Human Subjects Research. The IRB believes
that the research procedures safeguard your privacy, welfare, civil liberties, anonymity, and
rights. If you have any questions please call me at: xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Please click the following link to take the survey.

Thank you for your participation.

Sincerely,

Agnes Asiedu-Kumi
Ed.D Candidate
University of Southern California
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 117

Appendix B:
Superintendents Survey Questions

1. What is your gender?

Male Female

2. What is your age range?

Under 30 3039 4049 50-59 60-69 70+

3. What is your ethnicity?

African American American Indian Asian

Hispanic White Other

4. What is your highest educational level?

Bachelor’s Degree Master’s Degree Doctorate Degree

5. How many years have you been an educator?

< 5 years 510 years 1115 years 1620 years 21 plus years

6. What positions have you held or currently hold as an educator? (Check all that apply)
Instructional Aide Teacher
Instructional Coach, Instructional Specialist,
Lead Teacher, Department Chair/CoChair
Assistant Principal Principal
Assistant Superintendent Superintendent

7. How many years have you been in your current position?
< 3 years 35 years 610 years 1115 years 1620 years
2125 years 2630 years 31+ years

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 118

As one who supervises principals, to what extent do you agree that the following indicators
represent an effective principal? Please rate based on a scale 14 (1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 =
Disagree, 3 = Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree).

8. Promotes a sense of cooperation, collaboration, and sharing of ideas among teaching staff.

1 2 3 4

9. Provides and enforces clear structures, rules, and procedures for staff.

1 2 3 4

10. Uses a leadership team in decision-making.

1 2 3 4

11. Involved with teachers to address instructional issues in their classrooms.

1 2 3 4

21. Upholds personal relationships with teachers, and is cognizant of their personal needs.

1 2 3 4

22. Monitors and assesses the effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

1 2 3 4

23. Holds people accountable.

1 2 3 4

24. Creates and shapes a climate and culture for learning.

1 2 3 4

25. Works collaboratively with the superintendent of the school district.

1 2 3 4

Please comment on the following:

26. What skills of a principal have the greatest impact on student success?

27. What skills are absolutely essential for a principal to have, lack of which will disqualify a
candidate for the position?

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 119

Appendix C:
Principals Survey Questions

1. What is your gender?

Male Female

2. What is your age range?

Under 30 3039 4049 50-59 60-69 70+

3. What is your ethnicity?

African American American Indian Asian

Hispanic White Other

4. What is your highest educational level?

Bachelor’s Degree Master’s Degree Doctorate Degree

5. How many years have you been an educator?

< 5 years 510 years 1115 years 1620 years 21 plus years

6. What positions have you held or currently hold as an educator? (Check all that apply)
Instructional Aide Teacher
Instructional Coach, Instructional Specialist,
Lead Teacher, Department Chair/CoChair
Assistant Principal Principal
Assistant Superintendent Superintendent

7. How many years have you been in your current position?
< 3 years 35 years 610 years 1115 years 1620 years
2125 years 2630 years 31+ years

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 120

Please indicate the extent to which you agree that the following indicators represent an effective
principal? (1 = Strongly Disagree, 2 = Disagree, 3 = Agree, 4 = Strongly Agree).

8. Promoting a sense of cooperation, collaboration, and sharing of ideas among teaching staff.

1 2 3 4

9. Providing and enforcing clear structures, rules and procedures for staff.

1 2 3 4

10. Uses leadership team in decision-making.

1 2 3 4

11. Involved with teachers to address instructional issues in their classroom.

1 2 3 4

12. Protecting instructional time from interruption.

1 2 3 4

13. Ensuring that teachers have necessary staff development opportunities that directly enhance
their teaching.

1 2 3 4

14. Ensuring that teachers use assessment data festively to guide instruction.

1 2 3 4

15. Celebrates the success of teachers, students, and school.

1 2 3 4

16. Makes available to teachers research on effective instructional practices.

1 2 3 4

17. Motivating teachers and creating "professional communities."

1 2 3 4

18. Leading in the pursuit of innovative challenges.

1 2 3 4

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 121

19. Models and coaches staff in the effective use of data to make decisions.

1 2 3 4

20. Upholds personal relationships with teachers, and is cognizant of their personal needs.

1 2 3 4

21. Monitors and assesses the effectiveness of curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

1 2 3 4

22. Maintains a positive relationship with the district office leadership.

1 2 3 4

Please comment on the following:

23. What innovative challenges or pursuits have you undertaken as a principal?

24. How do you handle an infective teacher?

25. What skills of a principal have the greatest impact on student success?

26. Are there any additional comments you will want to add to this survey?

MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 122

Appendix D:
Interview Questions (Qualitative) for Principals
1. What are the skills, strategies, and innovative approaches school principals rely on for
student success? (Research Question)
1.1 If I shadowed you throughout the day, what will I observe?
1.2 What experiences will I observe you having as the instructional leader of the school?
1.3 What instructional skills, knowledge, experience and behaviors did you bring to this
job?
1.4 How were they acquired? What are the sources of acquisition? Textbook? Professional
trainings? Conferences? Etc. ( Skills brought to the job)
1.5 In hind sight, what other skills, knowledge, experience and behaviors do you think is
needed before one is appointed a school principal?
1.6 What skills, knowledge, experience and behaviors have you acquired since becoming a
school principal?
1.7 How were they acquired? What are the sources of acquisition? Textbook? Professional
trainings? Conferences? Etc. (Skills acquired whiles on the job)
1.8 How has your skills, knowledge, experience and behaviors impacted student success in
this school?
2. To what degree does principal leadership influence classroom instruction for student
success? (Research Question)
2.1 Describe how you supervise the instructional program for student success? (Behavior)
2.2 How do you identify the weaknesses and strengths of teaching staff?
2.3 What do you do with knowledge of teacher weaknesses and strengths?
2.4 How do you provide feedback to your teaching staff?
5.5 What does your teaching staff do with feedback information?
3. How do principals coach and lead teaching staff in the use of data to guide instruction for
student success? (Research Question)
3.1 What categories of statistics (data) do you collect?
3.2 How do you use the data with the teaching staff?
3.3 What does your teaching staff do with data information?
3.4 How do you use the data with students?
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 123

3.5 In what ways have you provided professional development to teaching staff on the use
of data?
3.6 What leadership skills/strategies are necessary for effective data use?
4. How do principals create a positive school climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success? (Research Question)
4.1 How will you describe the culture of this school?
4.2 What are some practices that you think are engrained as part of this school?
4.3 If I were to spend a day in the school, at a faculty meeting, what will I observe?
4.3.1 What will I observe among teachers?
4.3.2 What will I observe among students?
4.4. What two things do you cherish among your staff?
4.5 What two things will you want to change if you had the opportunity to do so?
4.6 What skills have you depended on to shape the culture of this school?
5. What support do you receive from the district office to facilitate your work as principal?
5.1 How has the district supported you in creating a culture of learning for student success?
5.2 How have the district supported you in the use of data to inform student learning?
6. Is there anything more you will want to add?
MODEL LEADERSHIP: SUCCESSFUL PRINCIPALS’ SKILLS 124

Appendix E:
Interview Questions (Qualitative) for Superintendents
1. What are the skills, strategies and innovative approaches school principals rely on for student
success? (Research Question)
1.1 What skills do you look for in hiring a principal?
1.2 What do you expect the principal to give much attention to in a typical day?
1.3 What mentoring structures are in place for new principals once they are hired?
2. To what degree does principal leadership influence classroom instruction for student
success? (Research Question)
2.1 What skills do you expect principals to have in influencing classroom instruction?
3. How do principals coach and lead teaching staff in the use of data? ( Research Question)
3.1 What skills do you expect principals to have in coaching teachers to use data?
3.2 How does the district office support principals to know how to create a culture of data
use in their schools?
4. How do principals create a positive school climate and culture of learning that ensures
student success? (Research Question)
4.1 What skills are the principals expected to possess to build a climate and culture of
learning at the school site?
4.2 How does the district support the principal to be effective in this endeavor?
5. What is the expected relationship between a superintendent and a principal? How can the
relationship be maintained or improved with time?
6. If I were to spend a day in the district leadership meeting, what will I see?

Abstract (if available)

Abstract Urban schools are traditionally linked with low student performance perpetuated and sustained by ineffective leadership. However, some urban school principals have been overcoming mediocrity, low expectations, and other hindrances and their schools are ranking well. Middle and high school principals from these schools in Southern California were identified as successful and were invited to participate in this study. The focus of the study was to identify the skills, strategies, and approaches that make principals of these schools successful. The perspectives of selected superintendents and principals were sought through surveys and interviews. Surveys were quantitatively analyzed and interviews were qualitatively analyzed. The study found that the skills, strategies, and approaches that successful principals use are manifold, interrelated, interconnected, and that they are acquired rather than inherent. All of the skills are needed and each must be used according to the context, environment, and situation existing in the individual schools. The study found that successful principals have skills, strategies, and approaches that make them effective leaders. They influence student success by designing and building structures for teachers, students, parents, and the community to work together for student success. They are innovative leaders who create a culture and climate for learning by building healthy relationships with all stakeholders. They are humble enough to ask for and receive support from the district and superintendent and often credit their success to others, thereby actually enabling others to be successful.

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Asset Metadata

Creator Asiedu-Kumi, Agnes Oteng (author)

Core Title Model leadership: discovering successful principals' skills, strategies and approaches for student success

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 01/23/2013

Defense Date 12/11/2012

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag approaches,culture and climate,data use,instruction,leadership,OAI-PMH Harvest,Principal,skills,strategies

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor García, Pedro Enrique (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy Max (committee member), Hocevar, Dennis (committee member)

Creator Email agsam2@yahoo.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-127977

Unique identifier UC11290541

Identifier usctheses-c3-127977 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-AsieduKumi-1403.pdf

Dmrecord 127977

Document Type Dissertation

Rights Asiedu-Kumi, Agnes Oteng

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA