Explaining the Discrepancy between Teacher and Principal Perception of Principal Leadership Behavior. (c2015)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if there was discrepancy between teacher and principal perception on principal‟s leadership behavior and specifically, which factors contribute to these differences; this was done using a principal leadership behavior perception questionnaire adopted from G. Houseman. Perception is defined given 4 subdomains: Adaptability, communication, creating culture, and consideration. The sample of this study was recruited from 9 private schools in the Greater Beirut area and the suburbs, from two different grade levels, preschool and elementary. Group differences were explored by individual sub-domains, and by all domains combined across school. While group differences were identified in three out of four domains, namely adaptability, creating culture and communication, creating culture resulted in the most significant group differences. This study provides the groundwork on which future research can be conducted to deepen the understanding of how teachers perceive their principals and the reasons that lead to it especially in the domain of creating culture.