Principals’ Transformational Leadership and School Climate in a Rural Community
Abstract
School improvement and accountability pressures heightened at the turn of the 21st century, with the enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act in 2002 and with the Every Student Succeeds Act in 2015. These actions spurred research to facilitate school improvement and meet state standards. Researchers identified a strong correlation between a positive school climate and improved student outcomes, prompting inquiries into leadership styles conducive to fostering such climates. Numerous studies explored the relationship between principal leadership and school climate, focusing on transformational leadership as a potential driver of positive change.This study explored how five transformational leadership components relate to six school climate dimensions in rural elementary schools. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ-5x) gauged faculty and staff perceptions of principal transformational leadership characteristics, including idealized attributes, idealized behaviors, intellectual stimulation, individualized consideration, and inspirational motivation. Additionally, the Organizational Climate Description for Elementary Schools (OCDQ-RE) assessed faculty and staff perceptions of the school climate. Data were collected from elementary school faculty in a rural school district in Central New York, where multiple schools are on the state’s accountability watch list. The study used regression analysis to explore the relationship between transformational leadership components and school climate dimensions in this less-studied rural setting.
Subject Area
Educational leadership|Educational administration|Education Policy|Behavioral psychology
Recommended Citation
Daino, James A, "Principals’ Transformational Leadership and School Climate in a Rural Community" (2024). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI31238324.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI31238324
