Awareness About the Impact of Leadership on Graduation Rate - Dissertation Example

? High Rate of Graduation Drop Out In West Virginia, USA, and Possible Impact of School Principal's Leadership Style [School] Number] May 30, 2015 [Instructor Name] High Rate Of Graduation Drop Out In West Virginia, USA, And Possible Impact Of School Principal's Leadership Style Role of the principal is perhaps one of the most important ones in shaping up the society. As leader of his school, he influences the teachers and students alike to bring out the best in them. As a visionary, he introduces new policies to improve the student performance. He empowers teachers to practice new techniques to enhance students’ achievements. Principals with good leadership practices focus on the welfare of their students. Leadership is an important component of a school’s performance. It is the set of behavioral patterns exhibited by the principal in attainment of the school’s goals. Good leadership can bring about a positive response from teachers as well as students. Many scholars have established the relationship between principal’s effective leadership and its impact on the student’s performance. The trends in educational leadership have changed. In the past the principal had an administrative role whereas these days he is more involved in improving learning of students. A principal with a good leadership style will encourage teachers to employ different techniques to make students learn rather than let students drop out thereby increasing the graduation rate. Graduation Rate in West Virginia Graduation rate is defined by “the percentage of students who graduate from high school each year with a regular high school diploma” (Gulbin, 2008. pp.84). The graduation rates are a means to measure how a school is performing. The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act passed in 2002 aims at achieving 100% results in reading and mathematics on a national level by the year 2014. According to the Alliance for Excellent Education (2009), 1.3 million High school students in the US drop out of school each year. This has dire consequences on the society in the long run. High dropout rate means that lesser number of people will be qualified to do good jobs and this will reduce the number of Americans in key political as well as professional positions. It also has a lasting impact on economy as High school dropouts eventually become a burden on the society. The average income of a family headed by a dropout has decreased by one third from 1974 to 2004 (Postsecondary Education Opportunity, 2010). In the long run more people will live below poverty line if the current trends continue. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) (2010) published the Digest of education statistics: 2009 according to which the 8% of teenagers across the US were dropping out of school. The results in terms of races paint a shocking picture as about 15% of Native American Indians are either dropping out of schools or not enrolled in schools at all. The dropout rates have a correlation with family income, locality of the school, negative school climate and the leadership of the school. Graduation rate has implications on overall society as students who drop out find it harder to make a living and become a burden n the society. In West Virginia, 72% students graduated with a regular high school diploma in the year 2010-2011 as reported by Alliance for Excellent Education (Understanding High School Graduation Rates in West Virginia, n.d). The America’s Health Rankings, 2011 edition describes the high school graduation rate for the period 1990-2011 (see Figure 1). Figure 1: West Virginia High School Graduation Rate (1990-2011) (America’s Health Rankings, 2011) As pointed out by the Institute for Educational Leadership (2000), learning is dependent upon leadership. Effective leadership in schools can bring down the dropout rates by improving the performance of students. The principal plays a mediating role between the teachers and students and has a direct as well as indirect effect on their achievements. The leadership practices of the principal have a significant role in improving the graduation rate of a school (Johnson, Livingston, Schwartz and Slate, 2000). School Principals and Types of Leadership Styles Bolman and Deal (2003) have suggested a four framework approach for leadership. Their frameworks are: structural, human resource, political and symbolic. A leader or supervisor should employee a mix of these frameworks to deal with the challenging scenarios that arise within an organization. Structural Frame This frame is essential for the effective operation of any organization. Such leader focuses on enforcement of rules. He lets his subordinated know of the rules and regulations and decision making process and they are expected to learn and perform accordingly. The leader has to be thorough and precise when chalking out the rules and policies (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Human Resource Frame Leaders who follow this framework focus on empowerment of the employees. They welcome employee input and are always accessible. Such leadership style focuses more on employee needs and makes them feel cared for. In this framework, decision making power moves down to the grass roots rather than staying with the leader (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Political Frame Leaders in this framework use persuasion and negotiation to meet their goals. Such a leader knows how to reach his goal with scarce resources. The political frame has negativity associated with it as politicians are thought to be dishonest people who harbor hidden agendas (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Symbolic Frame In this framework, the leader inspires his employees to bring the best out of them. He thinks of himself as an actor and the organization as a theater and relies on storytelling to share his experiences to motivate others (Bolman & Deal, 2003). According to OECD (2009), there are two kinds of leadership style for principals: Instructional and administrative. The instructional style focuses on setting goals for curriculum development, taking actions to improve teachers’ instructional ability and direct supervision of teachers’ and students’ outcome. On the other hand the administrative style focuses more on making teachers accountable for improving their skills and making sure that all rules are being followed (Hallinger and Murphy, 1986). Most principals employ both styles to some extent. The leadership styles are now changing from administrative to instructional because there is a growing need to improve the standards to meet the needs of the 21st century. In the past the responsibility of the principal was more of a manager of the school but now the principal is more involved with the teaching aspect. He/she needs to keep close contact with the students and assess their performance to know what measures can be taken to improve it. An instructional leader is better suited to meet these needs. Instructional leadership of the principal is vital for the success of the school. An instructional leader analyzes the performance of students and thinks of new ways for increasing their achievements (Fullan, 2002). He/she works towards minimizing the gap between low and high performing students and focuses on student learning by encouraging teachers to share ideas for improving their abilities. Alternatively, Basham (2010) described two leadership styles in education: transformational and transactional. Transformational leaders involve both teachers and students in the attainment of school’s goals. They set high standards and provide encouragement to boost confidence and bring out the best in teachers and students. Such leaders have the ability to master disciplines other than their area of specialization. Transactional leaders, on the other hand, operate on a system based on rewards and punishments. Such principals praise the efforts of their teachers by rewards such as salary increments and promotions. Transactional leadership has a tinge of negativity associated to it because in the pursuit of achieving the school’s goals, sometimes the principal only focuses on the negative performance of the teachers and forgets to appreciate them for their good performance. Also, transactional leaders have a limited scope and excel only in their area of specialization (Bass, Avolio, Jung and Berson, 2003). Researchers believe that a principal should be a transformational leader to meet the challenges of the changing academic environment (Leithwood, 1992 and Silins, 1994). Impact of Leadership Style on Students’ Achievements The principal’s leadership style affects the graduation rate in high schools as shown by Ogbuago (2011). A good principal will allocate resources and make policies that enhance the graduation rate of the school. If his/her relationship with teachers is excellent, then the teachers will not hesitate in adopting the policies recommended for their improvement. They will also help their peers and work harder towards achieving the goals set by the principal. This will have an effect on students in the form of high achievements and better performance (Koh, Steers and Terborg, 1995; Park, 2004)  According to studies conducted by Hallinger and Murphy (1986) and Pont, Nusche and iMoorman (2008), it has been shown that achievements of students are greatly dependant on the leadership style of the school. An effective leader will stimulate an effective teaching environment and also implement good policies. Both these factors will in turn influence student achievements (Davis, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe and Meyerson, 2005). Marks and Printy (2003) have shown that instructional leadership style coupled with transformational leadership has a positive impact on the students’ performance. Although the principal’s leadership style has more of an indirect effect on the students’ achievements, there exists a direct relationship between the teachers’ efficiency and students’ achievements as shown by Goddard (2001) and Goddard, Hoy and Hoy (2000). They show that when teachers employ activity based and student centered learning, the students will perform better. Teachers behave in this manner when the principal encourages them to explore new avenues to teach pupils. Marzano, Walters and McNulty, in their book, School leadership that works: From research to results have discussed in detail about the correlation between school’s leadership and students’ achievements. They studied more than 2000 schools with about 1.4 million pupils to find if the principal’s leadership style had any influence on how a student performed. The results indicated that the correlation was 0.25 validating the authors’ belief that leadership had a considerable impact on student performance. Qualities of an Effective Principal The National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE) suggests that a successful principal exhibits some traits which lead to high achievement of students. These traits are: a Having a clear vision about the students’ achievements and making sure it is communicated to the teachers and students b Taking measures to turn the vision into reality by utilizing recourses and taking keen interest in how the teachers and students are performing. This is achieved by supporting teachers and helping them raise their standards. c Analyzing problems and taking quick action in response to the changing environment d Being goal oriented and displaying tolerance in achieving the goals (NSSE, 1990). In addition, researchers have suggested the following attributes in a principal to stimulate the teachers to work efficiently towards increasing students’ achievements: Trust It has been shown that if there is trust between the principal and the teachers, it increases the effectiveness of a teacher in class thereby increasing the performance of students and making them high achievers (Hoy, Tarter and Hoy (2006); Adams, Forsyth and Mitchell (2009); Daly (2009); and Goddard, Salloum and Berebitsky (2009)). A study conducted by Tschannen-Moran (2004) found the effects of trust between teachers and their principal in the form of improved reading and mathematics scores. Openness If the principal creates an open and frank environment based on positive relationship with the faculty, then it increases the teachers efficacy thereby increasing the performance of the students (Tarter, Bliss, and Hoy,1989). Encouraging two way communication and getting feedback from the teachers motivates them to work harder towards improving students’ performance. It fosters a positive relationship between both the parties. Transparency Transparency is an important characteristic of a successful principal. It helps establish trust of teachers on the principal when they know that the principal will safeguard their interest. It also increases job satisfaction among the faculty (Noonan, Walker, and Kutsyuruba, 2008). This motivates the faculty to work harder which has a positive impact on the students’ performance. Knowledge of the Curriculum Research has shown that principals who have technical knowledge of the curriculum are better leaders. It helps the principal in communicating well with the teachers and discussing alternate ways of teaching. It also increases the likelihood of teachers sharing their ideas for improvement in curriculum (Batsis, 1987). Use of Technology Technology can be used to raise the standards of students. A good principal promotes the use of technology in faculty and integrates technology in classroom teaching. An important leadership practice is the use of technology for improvement in the learning abilities of students. This will improve the students’ performance (ISTE, 2002). Promising Developments in Leadership Style Successful leadership demands a continuous effort on part of the principal. He/she needs to focus on the overall goal set for the school and improve curriculum, use of technology, teaching practice, relationship with faculty and staff as the means to achieve that goal. The principal’s role has changed a lot with the advent of the 21st century. In the past his role was more of an administrative nature and his top priority was to manage the school’s operations. Today the environment has changed and the principal is held accountable for the academic performance of his students (Flanary, 2000). This calls for a change in the leadership style. The West Virginia Law states that the principal’s leadership affects the students’ test scores. It requires all principals to attend the West Virginia Principal’s Academy once in four years (§18a – 3 – 2c, School Laws of West Virginia). Studies have shown that this rule has had a positive impact on students’ performance. The principals who attended the academy introduced reforms at their schools which improved the test scores of students (Curry, 1989). It has been shown that technology plays an important role in student learning; hence the principal should introduce policies to integrate technology in classroom teaching. Studies have shown that students perform better if technology is employed for problem solving and collaboration (Kimble, 1999). A study of about 600 West Virginia teachers revealed that they believe the use of technology increased student’s learning (Kent, 2005). Hence, principals need to employ practices to impart teachers with adequate technological knowledge. According to Billheimer (2007), instructional leadership should be used to meet the technology needs of the new era as the use of computers in schools raises students’ achievements (Wenglinsky, 2005). The West Virginia Educational Technology Plan (2002-2006) acknowledged the role of principal in the integration of technology for the improvement of student performance. It expressed the need for principals to introduce the use of technology in classrooms (West Virginia Educational Technology Plan, 2002-06). More than $24 million were spent on the instructional technology program by the West Virginia government in 2003. In year 2005, the WV government allocated $20 million for the aforesaid purpose (West Virginia Department of Education, 2005). The West Virginia Center for Professional Development organizes programs for the professional development of principals. The Principal’s Leadership Academy (PLA) conducts programs for new as well as experienced principal’s every year. The programs are aimed at inculcating instructional leadership qualities which increase students’ achievements. PLA has been quite successful in professional development having worked with 2,600 principals since 1991 (Principals' Leadership Academy for New Principals). For new principals, the six day training programs are designed for professional development at the end of which, each principal makes an action plan for his/her school. For experienced principals, innovative methods are used for professional development. Principals spend 45 hours over a period of six year attending sessions of their choice. The sessions are carefully designed to meet their needs e.g. dealing with challenging faculty members, coaching skills to increase teacher’s growth. The Education Alliance keeping in view the fact that one out of every four ninth grade students does not graduate in four years has prepared a guide to prevent dropouts in West Virginia (Bumgardner, 2011). It helps principals build comprehensive plans to address the issue and increase the graduation rate of the state. Problems Surfacing in Schools Increasing demands are now being placed on principals to increase the performance of students. The principals in West Virginia are held legally responsible for the academic performance of their students. If the school does not meet the criteria set by West Virginia Board of Education Policy 2320, a sanction is imposed on the principal and he may be removed from service (West Virginia Board Policy 5500.03; School Laws of West Virginia, §18A–3–2c). Leadership Crisis Studies conducted in recent years have shown that there exists a leadership crisis as principals are not fully prepared to take on the challenges that their role demands (Young, 2002; Levine 2005). Crisis in Literacy According to the International Reading Association (IRA), there is a crisis situation in literacy instruction with reading scores being the poorest at the secondary level. The state of affairs is so alarming that 70% of students in grade 8 to 12 could not accomplish basic reading tasks (Campbell, Donahue, Reese, & Phillips, 1996). Carbo (1994) suggested poor reading to be a cause of dropout. Inadequate Use of Technology The use of technology in education is vital to meet the needs of the 21st century. The role of principal in employing technology to aid teaching is often overlooked. To make the use of technology widespread in schools, principal leadership in technology is more important than the actual technology infrastructure (Anderson and Dexter, 2005). Allen (2003), in his study showed that principals displayed a need to improve their standards to match those set by the National Educational Technology Standards for Administrators (NETS-A) (International Society for Technology in Education, 2002). The US department of education reports that technology is not being adequately used in teaching because of lack of training of teachers (US department of Education, 2004). Billheimer (2007) studied the technology leadership capacity of principals in West Virginia and found out that 50% of principals did not have adequate training. Awareness about the Impact of Leadership on Graduation Rate The leadership style of a school has a wide impact. One of the major outcomes related to leadership style have been found to be the school graduation (Chou Lin, 1999), the academic performance (Haymon, 1990), and teachers motivation (Eyal & Roth, 2011). It is therefore important to study the graduation rates in a state and try and find how the principal leadership may be affecting these. Researchers have divided opinion when it comes to the effect of principal’s leadership style on students’ performance. Some say that it has a direct effect while others say that the leadership style indirectly effects students’ achievements. The following section elaborates on this issue. Ross and Gray (2006) found an indirect impact of the principal’s leadership style on the graduation rate. The leadership style, they argued affected the teachers belief on their instructional abilities and that in turn had an impact on the students’ performance. The transformational leadership style adopted by principals made teachers more committed to their school and to take responsibility of the students’ performance. Hence the principal indirectly impacts student’s performance and should be held accountable if graduation rate falls down. Research conducted by Haymon (1990) suggested that elementary school principals’ leadership style has a positive impact on the students’ achievements. The principal is a visionary who sets clear goals for the school and keeps a close eye on how well the teachers and students are performing to meet those goals. He/she evaluates the students’ performance and introduces new teaching methodologies which have been shown to generate a positive response from the students. Waters, Marzano & McNulty (2003) described a framework comprising of 21 leadership responsibilities which were shown to have a positive influence on student achievements. These attributes include organizational, professional and personal attributes of leadership which are discussed below: Affirmation Recognizes whenever a teacher or student shows good performance and when they display poor performance he acknowledges it as his own failure Change Agent Is willing to stand up against the status quo Communication Is easily accessible and encourages communication with his faculty and students Contingent Reward Acknowledges an achievement and rewards the high performer Culture Promotes collaboration and cooperation and treats his faculty as extended family Discipline Exercises his authority to keep the teachers away from issues that waste their time and energy Flexibility Is flexible and understanding to the needs of his faculty and is not rigid in implementing the rules and regulations Focus Defines clear goals and directs the attention of his faculty and students towards achieving those goals Ideals and Beliefs Follows a set of strong ideas and belief as to how the school should be run and shares them with his staff Input Discusses important issues with the faculty and involves them in decision making Intellectual Stimulation Motivates the teachers to be conversant with the current theories and practices to enhance student learning Involvement with Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment (CIA) Is directly involved in designing curriculum and implementing the CIA processes Knowledge of CIA Has a knowhow of the current CIA trends and practices. Monitor/ Evaluate Keeps a keen eye on school practices and assesses them for their effectiveness. Optimizer Instigates the faculty to venture into new teaching methodologies and leads them by example. Order Sets up a set of rules and regulations to be followed by the staff and the students Outreach Supports the school policies and decisions in front of all the stakeholders like parents, teachers and students Relationships Maintains cordial relationships with the faculty and staff Resources Makes sure that the teachers have the latest teaching material as well as training to do their job to the best of their abilities Situational Awareness Is aware of the state of affairs of the school and any potential problems that might be arising and uses this knowledge to effectively address the issue Visibility Is visible and spends quality time interacting with the faculty and students The Learning from Leadership project funded by the Wallace Foundation carried out extensive research to find the correlation between leadership and learning and found that good leadership had a significant impact on learning. Principal, as leader of the school, sets goals and has high expectations from teachers as well as students. Problem Statement The high graduation dropout rates for public high schools in West Virginia are a cause of concern both for the academic and the social environment of the State. It is therefore essential to explore factors that can lead to alleviation of the problem and help prevent the high dropout rates in West Virginia. The current research is therefore aimed at assessing if adequate leadership at the principal’s level and good and if effective leadership skills employed by the school principals can result in positive outcomes for the students, both in the form of academic achievement and graduation rates. The above problem statement is therefore used for guidance in this current research. In this paper, the effects of leadership upon the graduation rate are investigated, owing to the possible implications that principal leadership style has on student outcomes. Some researchers link the leadership directly to student achievement (Hallinger and Murphy, 1986; Pont, Nusche and Moorman, 2008; Goddard, 2001; and Goddard, Hoy and Hoy, 2000) while others say that it has an indirect impact on student achievements (Ross and Gray, 2006; Koh, Steers and Terborg, 1995; and Park, 2004). In both cases it is presumed that leadership demonstrated by the principal does affect the performance of students. Hence if graduation rate is to be increased, there is strong evidence that backs that focus must be placed on imparting principals with effective leadership skills. The current research therefore has the following problem statement that guides the study. Research questions 1. Does the principal leadership in public high schools in West Virginia affect the graduation rates of the students? And 2. If there is a particular leadership style that has a direct positive impact on the graduation rates? The first research question is aimed at establishing if there is a relationship between the leadership style and graduation rates in public high schools in West Virginia. This question therefore endeavors to direct the research towards an exploration and confirmation of the fact that principals may be playing a crucial role in the students’ drop-outs, in West Virginia. While several scholars and researchers have already followed this reasoning and indeed found a linkage as discussed in the previous sections, such a study has not been as yet undertaken in the case of West Virginia. Once this research question is answered, the next step is to delve further into how the principal’s leadership styles may be impacting on the students outcomes. It is possible that a particular style of leadership is more inspiring and effective in encouraging the students to complete their graduation. As such, the second research question aims to explore the specific leadership qualities that may have a positive impact on college graduation rates. The ultimate objective is to explore and develop any possible solution, by enabling the school principals to adopt a more effective leadership style that can help the students in remaining in their schools and completing their studies. The following research hypotheses are therefore proposed by the current research. Research hypotheses Research hypothesis 1: There is a direct relationship between principal leadership style and graduation rates in public High Schools in West Virginia Research Hypothesis 2: The administrative style of leadership is more effective in encouraging students’ academic achievement and improving graduation rates in West Virginia public high schools. Professional significance of the study Significance and Scope of the Study The above research questions are essential to ask owing to the fact that there have been over 1 million students dropped out of school in West Virginia (Bumgardner and Kusimo, 2011). The implications of such vast numbers of drop-outs are immense – both at the individual level and at the society level. Several researchers have linked school drop-out rates with increased chances of higher unemployment rates (Haymon, 1990) increased risk of substance abuse and suicide (Bumgardner and Kusimo, 2011), and a greater likelihood of becoming a teenage parent (Davis et al, 2005). There has also been found a direct link between education and the income level or the earning capacity of people (Hallinger and Murphy, 1986) as such, it is more likely that high school graduates suffer from low economic power which can set in a cycle of poverty and illiteracy. Further, it is also found that there is an enhanced risk for school drop outs toward teenage delinquency and associated imprisonment and social and monetary costs (Goddard, Salloum, Berebitsky, 2009). The high dropout rates in the context of West Virginia are also alarming especially as the government has committed substantial resources for the development of education in the State (National Center for Education Statistics, 2010). It is therefore essential that all possible factors that may be causing or affecting the high dropout rates be explored. While some research has been undertaken in assessing the socio and economic factors (Ogbuagu and Christy, 2011), and ethnic or cultural factors (Hallinger and Murphy, 1986) that may be leading to high drop put rates, there is little focus on studying how factors internal to the schools may be affecting the situation. One such factor is the leadership style of the school principals. While a lot of research has been undertaken in the subject of leadership styles and its impacts on followers, employees, teachers and students outcomes, there is little research available in the context of West Virginia. The current research therefore aims to fill the gap in literature and also endeavors to provide a practical application of the research findings. Professional Value Added This research expects to provide insights and assistance to the high school principals that are involved in the study, and enable them in better understanding the influence of their leadership styles on graduation rates. This is expected in turn to help the principals modify their behaviour and then adopt a leadership style that is most suitable for the development of a positive environment for the students that encourages them to complete their graduation. Further, the research findings can be used by the educationists and school administrators to focus on the value of principal leadership style. Such a focus may result in developing workshops or programs for the high school principals where they can train in best practices in leadership. It has been rigorously established via research that schools whose students are high achievers have skilled leadership. A principal is at the heart of the school as his vision and commitment will translate into the success of the students and the school. The organizational commitment of teachers and their views about the school are also shaped by leadership demonstrated by the principal. An effective principal would make smart decisions about resource utilization, instructional climate, teaching skills and keep a close eye on students’ performance. As an instructional leader, the principal would focus on improvement of the learning capacity of students. References Adams, C., Forsyth, P., & Mitchell, R. (2009). The formation of parent-school trust: A multilevel analysis. Educational Administration Quarterly, 45(1), 4-33. Allen, J. (2003). 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