The Relative Contribution of Transformational Leadership, Socioeconomic Status, and Years of Principal Experience on Overall School Effectiveness

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to understand the relative contribution of transformational leadership, student socioeconomic status, and years of principal experience to overall school effectiveness. An additional aim was to understand the correlation between the predictor variables and school effectiveness. The population for the study was teachers in all schools of a central Alabama school district (N = 51). Data were collected through an internet-based, 43-question survey comprised of five demographic questions, the School Effectiveness Index (Hoy & Ferguson, 1985), and 22 questions about transformational leadership from the Nature of School Leadership Questionnaire (Leithwood & Jantzi, 2006). The survey measured teacher perceptions of school effectiveness and the transformational leadership skills of school principals. Multiple linear regression and correlational techniques were used for analysis. Transformational leadership was found as the best predictor of school effectiveness, the socioeconomic status being the next. The variables accounted for 41% of the variance for school effectiveness as measured by teacher perceptions. Findings indicated that a significant relationship existed between transformational leadership and school effectiveness. A negative significant correlation was found between socioeconomic status and school effectiveness. No significant relationship was found between the years of experience as a principal and school effectiveness. Years of principal experience did not make a significant contribution to the model. Teacher level analysis corroborated with the school level analysis (N = 509).