What Expert Teachers Think - A Look at Principal Leadership Behaviors that Facilitate Exemplary Classroom Instructional Practice

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag

What Expert Teachers Think examines how principal leadership behaviors facilitate exemplary classroom instructional practice, using questionnaire responses from past National Teacher of the Year recipients at the state level (n=178). The study ranks 21 leadership behaviors drawn from Waters, Marzano & McNulty (2003) and evaluates their impact on teacher instructional practice. Statistically significant rank order differences emerge by gender, school grade level, and SES, advancing the evidence base for principal leadership behaviors that improve instruction and student outcomes.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Problem

What Expert Teachers Think: A Look at Principal Leadership Behaviors that Facilitate Exemplary Classroom Instructional Practice This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of school administration and K-12 education. Janet Goodwin Gerard Babo Seton Hall University The purpose of this study was to rank order 21 leadership behaviors originally identified by the work of Waters, Marzano & McNulty (2003) and the impact they have on teacher instructional practice using questionnaire responses provided by past recipients of the National Teacher of the Year award at the state level (n=178) in order to expand the research base on principal leadership behaviors that improve instructional practice. Statistically significant rank order differences were found based on gender, school grade level and SES. Introduction In the last 15 years, research consistently supports the premise that school leadership is essential to a successful academic program. Findings by Leithwood, Seashore-Louis, Anderson and Wahlstrom (2005) support the premise that school leadership is an essential factor for improving student achievement. Cotton (2003) asserts that the school principal is critical to a school’s success. Strong instructional leadership on the part of the school principal is among the essential characteristics of a successful school (Tschannen-Moran, 2013; Waters, Marzano & McNulty, 2003) . The research base continuously confirms that school improvement is rare without instructional leadership delivered by principals and teachers who are effective and dynamic (Cray & Weiler, 2011; Hallinger, 2011; Hallinger & Heck, 2010; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008) . NCPEA Education Leadership Review of Doctoral Research, Vol. 1, No. 2 – October 2014 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2014 National Council of Professors of Educational Administration This manuscript may not be used commercially or edited. When quoting portions of this text, attribution to the author/s is required. Others, including Hallinger & Heck (1996), suggest that the academic life of everyone in the educational community is primarily the responsibility of the school principal. Consequently, the increased need for finding expert and quality principals experienced in creating a culture of increased student achievement is difficult to do and very much in demand (Cray & Weiler, 2011) . Accordingly, in the past ten years, principals have been held to higher standards and are much more accountable for the overall success of the school building, specifically when it comes to student academic performance. Their role has evolved more from simply being a manager of operations for the school plant to assuming the role of an overall instructional leader who is responsible for meeting all aspects of the mandates outlined by federal and state legislation that focuses on student performance (Bottom & O’Neill, 2001) . Added into the mix are both teacher evaluation and principal evaluation national initiatives that have changed the educational landscape for both the everyday practice of teachers in the classroom and the daily leadership capacity of school principals. This increasing level of state and federal scrutiny has resulted in a new generation of school administrators that grapple with the question of how to meet state and federal mandates yet find formative and effective evaluation models that improve classroom instructional practice, which will result in overall school growth. We posit that if current principals are held more accountable for overall student academic achievement then it is imperative for them to identify the most effective leadership behaviors that will facilitate exemplary teaching practices in order to improve student academic achievement and overall student efficacy. Problem As previously mentioned, teachers

FAQs

What is the study’s main purpose?

The study ranks 21 principal leadership behaviors and examines their impact on teacher instructional practice using state-level questionnaire responses from past National Teacher of the Year recipients.

How were the leadership behaviors selected?

The behaviors were originally identified by Waters, Marzano & McNulty (2003) and measured against teacher-reported instructional practice.

What factors showed statistically significant differences in ranked behaviors?

Gender, school grade level, and SES produced statistically significant rank order differences.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by ahduag