LEADERSHIP STYLES, EFFECTIVENESS, AND COGNITIVE MORAL DEVELOPMENT
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to investigate relationships between the level of cognitive moral development of leaders and their leadership styles and effectiveness. It was intended that the study take the first steps toward establishing this general relationship. From among numerous leadership theories Reddin's 3-Dimensions of Leadership was chosen since it attempts to combine some of the major aspects advanced by theorists and researchers on leadership. In a similar fashion Rest's model of cognitive moral development, related as it is to the developmental theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, Fowler, Selman, and others, provided the framework within which to investigate the developmental levels of leaders. High school principals from Jesuit schools and from public schools around the United States, completed the Reddin Educational Adminstrative Style Diagnosis Test, the Rest Defining Issues Test, and an information sheet for obtaining personal, educational, and school data. The general hypothesis that the level of cognitive moral development is related to the leadership styles of the principals was only weakly supported. Significant, yet weak, biserial correlations were found betwen the Reddin relations orientation dimension and the Rest-P and Rest-D cognitive moral development scores for the public school principals and for the combined scores for both the Jesuit and public high school principals. Partial correlation methods revealed that controlling for age, administrative experience, highest degree earned, and school enrollment yielded slightly improved correlations. Since there was weak support for the study's general hypothesis, it was suggested that similar studies be conducted with a larger, more varied group of principals and/or other leaders. These studies could use the same or different measures of leadership styles and developmental growth.
Subject Area
School administration
Recommended Citation
BRADLEY, JAMES PATTERSON, "LEADERSHIP STYLES, EFFECTIVENESS, AND COGNITIVE MORAL DEVELOPMENT" (1984). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI8423116.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI8423116
