A qualitative multi-site case study: Examining principals' leadership styles and school performance

Abstract

The purpose of this qualitative multi-site case study was to explore the impact of principals’ leadership styles on student academic achievement in a high-poverty low-performing school district in Louisiana. A total of 17 participants, principals and teachers, from this school district were used in this study. Data source triangulation of interviews, questionnaires, and archival data were used for the analysis. The central research question that guided this study was: What is the perceived impact, if at all, that the leadership style of a principal in a high-poverty low-performing school district in Louisiana has on a school performance score in those same schools? Four main themes, some of which included additional subthemes, emerged from the study. These included: (a) Theme 1: principal leadership, with subthemes: passive behavior, motivation, and collaboration; (b) Theme 2: leadership implication on student achievement, with subthemes: dual leadership, teacher shortages and quality, and disruptive student behavior; (c) Theme 3: professional development; and; (d) Theme 4: initiatives to improve student achievement. The findings of this multi-site case study offered insight into factors other than principal leadership styles, which influences student academic achievement. This study provides recommendations for further research to be conducted in high-poverty low-performing schools in Louisiana targeted in the areas of teacher shortages, collaboration, dual leadership, passive behavior and teacher quality.