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Access Type
WSU Access
Date of Award
1-1-2003
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ed.D.
Department
Educational Leadership and Policy
First Advisor
Roger DeMont
Abstract
Studies of leadership style and its influence on teacher motivation have shown that leader behavior is an important factor in group effectiveness. Research showed that it is one factor among many. A review of the literature supported the concept that teachers' motivation and performance in schools were affected by the principal's leadership style, but no leadership style has been shown to be most effective. Different teachers in the same school seem to evaluate their principal differently, responding to his/her leadership differently. This research examined the extent to which a relationship exists between charter school teachers' motivation to work and their perceptions of the leadership styles of their principals. Perceptions of 425 teachers working in 16 charter schools that were affiliated with Charter Schools Administrative Services (CSAS; an educational management company and authorized by Central Michigan University) were examined regarding their views on their motivational levels and the principals' leadership style. The charter school districts used in this study were located in urban/suburban areas surrounding Detroit, Pontiac and Flint. A total of 240 teachers participated in the study for a response rate of 56.5%. A nonexperimental, descriptive study was used in this study. Three instruments, Profile of a School (POS; Likert, 1986), the Motivation Work Inventory (MWI; Hall & Williams, 2000) and a short demographic survey were used as the primary data collection tools for this current study. Mixed results were found regarding the extent to which a relationship existed between charter school teachers' motivation to work and their perceptions of the leadership styles of their principals. Statistically significant, negative correlations were obtained between basic needs, school climate (decision-making, communication, goal commitment, and coordination influence and end results (educational excellence, job satisfaction), indicating that teachers who had higher scores for basic needs were more likely to have lower scores for school climate and end results. A statically significant positive correlation was obtained for the relationship between self-actualization and end results, indicating that teacher who had higher scores for self-actualization tended to have more positive perceptions regarding school climate and the end results in their schools.
Recommended Citation
Mason-Bush, Cheryl L., "Perceptions of school climate in charter schools and teacher motivation levels" (2003). Wayne State University Dissertations. 3340.
https://digitalcommons.wayne.edu/oa_dissertations/3340