Book Description

The study examined the impact of principals' leadership traits and behaviors on the development of trust in relationships with teachers. Teacher job satisfaction was also studied as a secondary effect of principal leadership and interactions with teachers. Five secondary public school principals volunteered to participate in this study in order to compare their own perceptions about school leadership to those of their teachers. Seventy-nine teachers from the participant schools also volunteered to be part of the study to provide their perceptions of principals' leadership qualities and an assessment of trust and job satisfaction in their schools. A framework for qualitative research included instruments such as Likert-scale survey items, open-ended survey questions, and interviews. Comparative analysis of the data from each school and population was conducted to identify themes in the data and to infer the connections between the perceptions of principals and teachers. Based on collective data among all participants and comparisons among school, primary factors of teacher trust and job satisfaction included characteristics such as management and leadership behaviors, communication qualities, and values and personal ethics apparent in the approach to leadership by the principals. The findings of this study may prove helpful for school principals in efforts to foster trust with the faculty and increase satisfaction for teachers in their jobs. Principals and teachers tended to agree on the most important leadership traits for trust development as well as the ways that principals can positively influence teacher job satisfaction. Effective principals regularly evaluate teacher trust and job satisfaction within their schools and make considerations for possible improvements.