The relationship between leadership style and student achievement in high poverty, low funded schools

Abstract

[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT REQUEST OF AUTHOR.] School administrators face several challenges ranging from opposing stakeholders, to frequent deadlines, to the pressures of No Child Left Behind. The principals of high poverty, low-funded schools have additional obstacles hindering them from student achievement. The purpose of this study was to determine predictive relationships between leadership style and student achievement in high poverty, low-funded schools. Data on leadership style was collected from 103 elementary principals located in high poverty, low-funded schools in Missouri during the spring of 2007. The data analysis for the study included Pearson product movement correlations, backward multiple linear regression analysis, and open-coding. The results of the study found that out of all leadership styles, active management-by-exception had a significant negative correlation with overall, communication arts, and math student achievement. It was also a predictive variable in low student performance. Open-coding identified goal setting, personal attention, and accountability as supporting themes.