The Connection Between Principal Leadership Practices and Teacher Morale Across Building Levels

Abstract

The quantitative study examined the connection between principal leadership practices and the morale of elementary, middle, and high school teachers in rural Southern Illinois. These rural districts serve students in grades Pre-K through twelve. This cross-sectional survey design identifies the most prevalent practices in the study’s population from the teachers’ perceptions of principals’ leadership behaviors and principals’ self-assessment using transformational leadership behavior statements on the Leadership Practices Inventory survey (LPI) and from the behavioral statements on the abbreviated Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire survey (PTO) related to teacher morale. The leadership practice Model the Way had the highest value and is the most prevalent with teachers and principals in the research study. The results showed the most prevalent leadership practices for LPI Observers: Model the Way and Encourage the Heart, for LPI Self: Model the Way and Challenge the Process, and the Purdue Instrument reveals Rapport among Teachers. Rapport with Principals. The study suggested no statistically significant connection between principal leadership practices and teacher morale across grade levels. However, the connection between shared perceptions of teachers and principals on principal leadership and teacher morale showed a connection between leadership practices and morale with the most substantial response rates Model the Way at 95% and teacher morale Rapport with Teacher at 84%. These strong response rates are similar between the two groups, indicating a connection between principal leadership practices and teacher morale. This research is to inspire principals to examine leadership practices through self-assessment and build awareness of the importance of positive teacher morale in the school district.