The relationship of substitutes for leadership and effective school characteristics

Arthur Henry Nugent, Fordham University

Abstract

The main purpose of this study was to determine and compare perceptions of elementary, middle, and high school teachers in the Valley Central School District, Montgomery, New York, concerning the existence of the seven effective school characteristics and the 13 dimensions of the substitutes for leadership. The study also attempted to determine whether significant relationships existed between the demographic characteristics of the combined teacher groups and their perceptions of the existing effective school characteristics and existing substitutes for leadership. The sample for this study included 60 randomly selected teachers from each of the three school levels: elementary, middle, and high school. Each subject was asked to complete The Connecticut School Effectiveness Questionnaire, the Measurement of Substitutes for Leadership, and a personal information form. Statistical techniques employed in this study included means, standard deviations, one-way classification of the analysis of variance, Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients, and the Scheffe post hoc analysis. Some of the major conclusions of the study were: (a) The combined teacher group agreed to the existence of one effective school characteristic, safe and orderly environment; the elementary teachers, however, agreed to the existence of three effective school characteristics, safe and orderly environment, clear school mission, and frequent monitoring of student progress. (b) The elementary, middle, and high school teacher groups agreed to the existence of the substitutes for leadership, ability, experience, and training, and intrinsic rewards. (c) Substitutes for leadership which were characteristic of the individuals and the tasks were found to be in existence at the elementary level, while the middle and high school teachers indicated the existence of substitutes for leadership which were characteristic of the individuals, the tasks, and the organization. (d) Certain demographic characteristics of the teachers (e.g., age, sex, teaching experience, educational preparation) revealed significant relationships between the responses of the combined teacher group and the characteristics of effective schools and the substitutes for leadership.

Subject Area

School administration

Recommended Citation

Nugent, Arthur Henry, "The relationship of substitutes for leadership and effective school characteristics" (1991). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI9123122.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI9123122

Share

COinS