Chapte 1

Overview

Since the publication of the Reagan e a education epo t, A Nation at Risk, the United

States has focused attention on education efo m (United States, 1983). This epo t used

compelling language to desc ibe Ame ica’s schools as la gely inadequate and unable to meet

global demands on education, the eby leaving Ame ica’s futu e in jeopa dy. Since that time

school leade s have emb aced va ious education efo m movements such as No Child Left Behind

and Eve y Student Succeeds Act (No Child Left Behind [NCLB], 2002, Eve y Student Succeeds

Act [ESSA], 2008). Each with thei own measu es of standa dized testing, academic achievement,

and school pe fo mance. Pe haps ove looked is the impo tance of school climate in the ove all

school imp ovement p ocess. Cleveland and Sink (2018) p omote the notion that student

pe spectives on school climate should be included in school imp ovement plans. Othe esea ches

such as Zahid (2014), suggest school climate to be the numbe one conside ation fo student

academic achievement.

Dutta & Sahney (2016) esea ched the elationship between school climate and student

achievement and suggested a positive co elation. School p incipals a e the leade s of thei

building, shaping a compelling vision fo the futu e while p omoting safety, academic

achievement, and a positive climate. Depending on the schools' size, the p incipal's job desc iption

may include cu iculum, discipline, community elations, and fiscal esponsibilities. P incipals a e

equi ed to balance the expectations of state, community, and dist ict leade s to p oduce the highest

possible standa dized testing, pe sonnel, and school climate esults. These esponsibilities make

them one of the most influential school imp ovement figu es.

Background and problem statement

Approaches Expectations

Leade ship p actices utilized by p incipals a e vital to the quality of thei job pe fo mance.

The influence of a p incipal extends to the pe ception of all inte nal and exte nal stakeholde s.

With inc easing esea ch to suggest positive school climates could be an influential component of

school imp ovement, p incipals should conside the extent to which inte nal stakeholde s such as

the teaching faculty pe ceive thei influence ove school climate. The extent to which p incipals

can influence school climate in A kansas’ schools is unknown.

Purpose of the study

The pu pose of this quantitative co elational esea ch was to investigate if and to what

extent p incipal leade ship p actices co elate with school climate as pe ceived by teache s in the in

u al and subu ban schools in A kansas. This study investigated the biva iate co elation between

the teache s' pe ception of the school p incipal's leade ship p actices and the co esponding

school's climate sco es. Twenty-fou schools a e included in the sample size f om six geog aphic

egions of A kansas. In all, 626 teache s pa ticipated, answe ing su veys ega ding thei

pe spective of 24 school p incipals and the co esponding school climates in A kansas. The

leade ship p actices of the p incipal and the school climate we e the va iables fo this study.

Significance of the study

The extant esea ch on school climate in cultu e is limited. P incipals seeking to imp ove

thei schools need guidance on how to p omote the best possible envi onment fo positive student

outcomes. P omoting a positive school climate may p ove beneficial to inc easing student

academic achievement. Unde standing the leade ship p actices as pe ceived that p omote a

positive school climate will benefit p incipals seeking to imp ove thei schools. This study will

ecommend leade ship p actices that may p omote a positive school climate fo ove all school

imp ovement in u al and subu ban schools in A kansas.