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A Study of School Climate and Its Relationship to the Accountability-Focused Work of Principals

Hostiuck, Katherine E.
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438420249

Abstract Details

2015, Doctor of Education (EdD), Ohio University, Educational Administration (Education).
A study has been conducted in order to pursue an enhanced understanding of the accountability-focused work of high school principals in a large Ohio school district. This study examines the use by the principals of climate data for the purpose of school improvement planning. This study also identifies the data sets used by principals when creating annual School Improvement Plans (SIPs), especially when engaging in the Data-Driven Decision Making (DDDM) process. Interviews were conducted with seven principals in the district, which annually provides its principals with formal climate data. These data have been collected by the district and the teachers’ association (union) from parents, students, and teachers. Principals, in this particular district, are required to create annual SIPs, but are not mandated to use any particular forms of data when creating such plans. This investigation sought to understand if the principals used the formally collected school climate data when creating SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Furthermore, the study sought to understand the manner in which and the extent to which the principals use climate data when creating their SIPs. The qualitative data from the interviews have been analyzed by the researcher through an emergent coding system. The study revealed that while the principals indicated that they value school climate data, they typically did not focus on the available formal school climate data when creating their SIPs and engaging in the DDDM process. Instead, the principals focused on using data sets related to state and federal school improvement mandates measured by Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) standards. Furthermore, the principals in this study described having little or no training on the use of school climate data as part of the DDDM process for school improvement. This study suggests that principals may need to focus on understanding and improving school climate, in order to make plans for continuous improvement as it relates to mandated data sets.
William Larson (Committee Chair)
Gordon Brooks (Committee Co-Chair)
Jerry Johnson (Committee Member)
Amy Taylor-Bianco (Committee Member)
326 p.
Education; Educational Leadership; Organization Theory; School Administration
school climate; data-driven decision making; DDDM; school accountability; school improvement; school improvement planning; SIP

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Hostiuck, K. E. (2015). A Study of School Climate and Its Relationship to the Accountability-Focused Work of Principals [Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438420249

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Hostiuck, Katherine. A Study of School Climate and Its Relationship to the Accountability-Focused Work of Principals . 2015. Ohio University, Doctoral dissertation. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438420249.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Hostiuck, Katherine. "A Study of School Climate and Its Relationship to the Accountability-Focused Work of Principals ." Doctoral dissertation, Ohio University, 2015. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ohiou1438420249

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ohiou1438420249
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This open access ETD is published by Ohio University and OhioLINK.