Date of Award

Spring 5-2009

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership and Research

Committee Chair

David Lee

Committee Chair Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 2

Ronald Styron

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 3

Wanda Maulding

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Leadership and School Counseling

Committee Member 4

James T. Johnson

Abstract

The purpose of this research was to determine how leadership behaviors of principals relate to school climate, teachers' job satisfaction, and student achievement. The relationship of leadership to student achievement was measured by the school levels based on the administration of the 2006-2007 Mississippi Curriculum Test (MCT). Leadership and teacher job satisfaction was determined by Paul Specter's Job Satisfaction Survey, and school climate was indicated by use of the School Climate Inventory (SCI).

Eleven schools in an east Mississippi school district were selected to participate in the research during the spring of 2008. Of the 129 randomly selected participants, 71% responded to yield data to show how leadership relates to achievement, job satisfaction, and school climate. Participants in this research were teachers, teacher assistants, school counselors, and administrators. Some of the 11 themes, relative to principal leadership, were found to be related to one or more of the variables. A test of regression within the regression was used to ascertain the relationship of leadership to school climate and teacher job satisfaction. A test of correlation was used to determine the relationship of leadership to student achievement.

Based on participants' responses, nine factors of leadership relate to school climate; only one factor relates to student achievement, and eight factors relate to teacher job satisfaction.

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