Perceptions and relationships to school resources and academic achievement: Implications for the principal as instructional leader

Multiple elements help to define school climate and its dimensions. The focus of an effective school climate is often on relationships/quality interactions, parental/community involvement, order and discipline, trust and feelings of safety, and classroom overcrowding. However, there is insufficient research on the elements of school resources and the relationship to student academic achievement. There are even fewer studies on teachers' perceptions of this element and its affect student achievement. The researchers used secondary data to analyze teachers' perceptions related indices of school resources and its direct relationship to student academic achievement. According to the data results, there were no significant differences between elementary and middle school teachers' perceptions about access to resources. However, there was a difference in teachers' perceptions who worked in schools with proficient reading and math scores on standardized test.