Relationships among teachers’ perceptions of principal leadership and teachers’ perceptions of school climate in the high school setting

The purpose of this study was to explore high school teachers’ perceptions about principal leadership practices, as well as to gain an understanding of the teachers’ perceptions of school climate in a large urban district in the Western United States. Data were collected with two surveys, the Leadership Practices Inventory and the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire Revised for Secondary Schools, along with five demographic questions including age, gender, number of years teaching, number of years teaching with current principal, and level of education. Across nine high schools, 334 completed surveys were used to examine relationships among variables within the instruments, as well as to explore possible differences by demographic variables. Teachers who were older within the school setting perceived themselves as being less engaged and intimate, as related to the school climate, while those with principals for a shorter amount of time and only a bachelor’s degree (perhaps more novice) perceived the principals’ practices more positively. Results also suggested that, in schools where teachers perceived their principal as carrying out the given leadership practices, higher levels of a positive school climate were also perceived among higher-performing schools and within schools higher levels of federal free and/or reduced lunch rates.