Date of Award

Fall 11-15-2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Organizational Leadership

First Advisor

Dr. Douglas DeVore

Second Advisor

Dr. Alan Enomoto

Third Advisor

Dr. Dena Fiori

Abstract

Purpose: The purpose of this explanatory mixed-methods study was to determine the degree of importance for the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) to create a K–12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals. A secondary purpose was to explore and describe the leadership strategies for implementing the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. to create a K–12 school environment that fosters high student achievement as perceived by public school elementary principals.

Methodology: An explanatory mixed-methods study was completed to examine the degree of importance each of the 12 leadership principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014) had toward developing a highly effective school environment focused on increased student achievement through an online survey of 5 elementary principals. This study also explored and described the leadership strategies 5 elementary principals used to implement the 12-step principles proposed by Harvey et al. to create a school environment that fosters high student achievement through interviews.

Findings: Based on quantitative research findings, the behaviors related to the 4 principles of leadership perceived to be the most critical by leaders are as follows: flexibility and resilience, strong leadership, vision and values, and communication. Based on qualitative research findings, the researcher found that codes related to the following principles were reported by leaders at the highest percentage: academic achievement and assessment for the 21st century (17%), collaboration and shared decision-making (12%), love and passion (10%) and embedded professional development (10%).

Conclusions: Conclusions reached through research include a strong interplay of all 12 of the leadership principles proposed by Harvey et al. (2014), ensuring student achievement is a central focus of site leaders, ensuring data drives decisions, recognizing relationships matter, developing a vision and using it to inform decisions, and ensuring leaders remain flexible and resilient are all crucial to creating a high-achieving school environment.

Recommendations: Recommendations for future research could include completing a replication study, a correlational study, a case study, a longitudinal study, or a phenomenological study.

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