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Perceptions of supportive leadership behaviors of school site
administrators for secondary special education teachers
Erin Roderick, Ed.D
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Topic Background: History
• Historically, site-based instructional leaders were not responsible for special education programs
• Policies have driven the change in site administrator’s role
• Special education teachers leave the field due to the lack of perceived administrative support from their principal
• Type of support plays an important role in job satisfaction and effectiveness
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Purpose for this research
• Special education teachers are leaving the field at a much higher rate than general educators and the main contributing factor is a lack of administrative support.
• The purpose of this research was to identify and compare specific leadership behaviors perceived as supportive by special education teachers and school site administrators.
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Importance of the research
• Obtaining specific leadership behaviors that are perceived as supportive to special education teachers will lead to how much support to provide, what support to provide, and how to retain them
• A principal’s leadership behaviors are critical to successful implementation of programs for students with disabilities, which directly affect student achievement.
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Review of the LiteratureConceptual Framework
Topic References
Role of Instructional Leaders and Special Education
Boscardin, 2005; Cole-Henderson, 2000; Collins & White, 2001; DiPaola & Tschannen-Moran, 2003; Farkas, Johnson, and Duffett, 2003; Hallinger, Bickman, & Davis, 1996; Hallinger & Heck, 1998; Monteith, 2000; Smith & Colon, 1998; Wakeman, Browder, Flowers, & Ahlgrim-Delzell, 2006; Witzers, Bosker, & Kruger, 2003; Valesky & Hirth, 1992
Policies That Drive the Roles of Instructional Leaders
Bays and Crockett, 2007; Boscardin, 2005; Crockett, 2002; DiPaola & Walther-Thomas, 2003; Lashley, 2007; Lashley & Boscardin, 2003; Leithwood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004; McLaughlin & Nolet, 2004
Accountability in Special Education Billingsley & Cross, 1991; Cook, Semmel, Gerber, 1999; Fore, Martin, & Bender, 2002; Garnes, Menlove, & Salzberg, 2004; Gehrke & McCoy, 2007; Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001; Guzman, 1997; Idol, 2006; Kaff, 2004; Katsiyannis, Zhang, & Conroy, 2003; Leithwood and Mascall , 2008; Miller, Brownell, & Smith, 1999; Praisner, 2003)
Leadership Behaviors Perceived as Supportive
Balfour, 2002; Barnett and Monda-Amaya, 1998; Cruzeiro & Morgan, 2006; Ewy, 2007; House, 1981; Littrell & Billingsley, 1994; Lowe & Brigham, 2000; Otto & Arnold, 2005; Patterson, Marshall, & Bowling, 2000
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Concepts
Role of Instructional Leaders and Special Education
• Redefine roles of instructional leaders (Boscardin, 2005)
• Affect achievement through expectations, school climate, and other leadership behaviors (Cole-Henderson, 2000; Hallinger, Bickman, & Davis, 1996; Hallinger & Heck, 1998; Witzers, Bosker, & Kruger, 2003)
• Professional development (DiPaola & Tschannen-Moran, 2003)
• Enhance knowledge (Valesky & Hirth, 1992)
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Concepts (cont.)
Policies That Drive Roles of Instructional Leaders
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
• No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB)• Ensure the accessibility of the
curriculum to all students (Boscardin, 2005)
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Concepts (cont.)
Accountability in Special Education• Leadership influences student achievement
– Principal’s attitude and the achievement of students with disabilities (Idol, 2006)
– Influence on student achievement» indirectly through influences» leaders use clues » understand what leaders do (Leithwood, Louis,
Anderson, and Wahlstrom, 2004) • Special Education Teacher Attrition
– Leave at a much higher rate (Katsiyannis, Zhang, & Conroy, 2003)
– Due to lack of support
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Concepts (cont.)
Leadership Behaviors Perceived as Supportive
• Types of Support– Four Dimensions: emotional, instrumental,
informational, and appraisal (House, 1981; Littrell & Billingsley, 1994)
• Perceptions– Support is felt through overall school culture – Built through values and actions of the
principal. (Gersten, Keating, Yovanoff, & Harniss, 2001)
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Research Questions
• What leadership behaviors do special education teachers perceive as valuable administrative support?
• What leadership behaviors do site administrators perceive as valued support for their special education teachers?
• What is the relationship between what teachers perceive as supportive and what administrators perceive as supportive?
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Methodology
• Quantitative study utilizing a survey for data collection
• Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) in a suburban area in Southern California
• Made up of two unified school districts • 15 secondary schools• 95 survey respondents• 35 site administrators• 59 special education teachers
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Specifics on Methodology
Data Collection/Analysis
• Online survey emailed to participants
• One-way ANOVA
• Descriptive statistics
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Findings: Special EducatorsLeadership Behaviors M Domain
Supports teacher decisions in front of other teachers 3.49 Emotional
Supports teacher decisions in front of parents 3.46 Emotional
Shows confidence in teachers actions and decisions 3.41 Emotional
Communicates to the school staff that special education students and teachers are an important part of the school 3.37 Instrumental
Permits teacher to use their own judgment to solve problems 3.36 Emotional
Makes sure the teacher has the equipment they need for their classrooms 3.33 Instrumental
Assigns teacher to work with students for whom they are trained and certified to teach 3.32 Instrumental
Listens and gives teacher undivided attention when they talk 3.31 Emotional
Makes teacher feel that they are making a difference 3.29 Emotional
Makes sure the teacher has the space they need to teach and plan 3.25 Instrumental
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Findings: AdministratorsLeadership Behaviors M Domain
Is interested in what teachers do in the classroom 3.69 Emotional
Listens and gives teacher undivided attention when they talk 3.63 Emotional
Communicates to the school staff that special education students and teachers are an important part of the school
3.61 Instrumental
Makes teacher feel that they are making a difference 3.60 Emotional
Gives genuine and specific feedback about their work 3.60 Emotional
Supports teacher’s decisions in front of parents 3.54 Emotional
Gives teacher recognition for a job well done 3.53 Emotional
Helps teacher follow the federal and state special education regulations 3.49 Technical
Helps teacher ensure that they meet confidentiality requirements 3.49 Technical
Is available to discuss teacher’s professional problems and concerns 3.47 Emotional
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Findings: Mean differences of four domains
0
0.5
1
1.5
2
2.5
3
3.5
4
Emotional InstrumentalInstructional
Technical
Domains
Mean score
Sp Ed Teachers
Administrators
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Findings: Emotional Domain
Leadership Behaviors F p
Makes teacher feel that they are making a difference 4.41 .04
Is interested in what teachers do in the classroom 19.65 .00
Gives teacher genuine and specific feedback about their work 11.45 .00
Tells teacher when they are on the right track with their work 6.16 .02
Observes frequently in teacher’s classroom 25.32 .00
Listens and gives teacher undivided attention when they talk 4.73 .03
Gives teacher recognition for a job well done 4.02 .05
Recognizes special projects or programs in teacher’s classroom 6.99 .01
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Findings: Instructional Domain
Leadership Behaviors F pGives teacher information about modifying instruction 16.84 .00
Gives teacher information about instructional techniques that will help improve teaching 7.49 .01
Helps teacher decide when and how to teach certain subjects 13.65 .00
Suggests alternative instructional methods for students who are struggling 7.64 .01
Helps teacher write lesson plans 9.72 .00
Gives teacher information on ways to make instruction meaningful 20.73 .00
Helps teacher pick the right instructional programs for their students 5.18 .03
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Findings: Technical Domain
Leadership Behaviors F pProvides teacher with reliable feedback about IEPs 8.04 .01
Provides teacher with reliable input about the progress reports they write for students 13.95 .00
Helps teacher follow the federal and state special education regulations 7.28 .01
Helps teacher ensure that they meet confidentiality requirements 23.90 .00
Helps teacher get information from the central office special education department in the school district 4.65 .03
Gives teacher reliable information about due dates for special education paperwork 10.63 .00
Helps teacher coordinate related services for their students 12.15 .00
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Findings: Instrumental DomainLeadership Behaviors F p
Ensures that teachers has enough planning time .13 .72
Keeps teacher informed of school and district events 1.50 .22
Makes sure that teacher does not have to switch between too many grade levels and subjects
1.03 .31
Arranges teachers schedule in a way to reduce the time spent on paperwork and in meetings
.48 .50
Provides teacher with the funds they need to get supplies 3.52 .06
Assigns teacher to work with students for whom they are trained and certified to teach
.04 .85
Makes sure the teacher has the space they need to teach and plan .20 .65
Makes sure the teacher has the equipment they need for their classroom 1.08 .30
Does not assign teacher the most challenging student in school all at one time 1.18 .28
Provides teacher with clerical assistance to schedule meeting and complete paperwork
1.77 .19
Keeps the student diversity in teachers classroom to a minimum 1.82 .18
Communicates to the school staff that special education students and teachers are an important part of the school
1.68 .20
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Open-ended question:What is the best thing your current administrator has
done to support you this year?
0 10 20 30 40 50
Emotional
Instrumental
Instructional
Technical
Other
No response
Domain
Percent
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Open-ended question:What is the one thing you wish your current
administrator would do to support you?
0 10 20 30 40 50
Emotional
Instrumental
Instructional
Technical
Other
No response
Domain
Percent
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Conclusions
• Behaviors from emotional domain perceived as most supportive
(Balfour, 2002; Littrell & Billingsley, 1994; McFarland, 2009)
• Difference in perceptions for three domains:
– Emotional, Instructional, Technical
– 22 leadership behaviors
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Conclusions
Special Education Teachers:• highest value was placed on having their
decisions supported in front of other teachers and parents
• Teachers want their administrator to listen to them, and give them their undivided attention
• They also want to feel like what they are doing is making a difference in the organization
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Conclusions
Special Education Teachers:• The leadership behaviors reflect an
importance of:– building relationships– expressing confidence– talking to and listening to each other
• The emotional domain is most valued because the need for trust, reflection, and relationships are how special educators feel they are valued and supported on a school campus
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Conclusions
Open-ended questions• Responses that fell within the emotional
domain had to do with:– communication between teacher and
principal– the feeling of appreciation– showing an interest in what the teacher
was doing in their assignment. “My administrator does a great job at making me feel that I’m doing an exceptional job of preparing my students for success”
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Two Emerging Themes
• Student accountability and the need for behavioral assistance with students.
• One participant responded to the first question by stating that their administrator supports them by making students accountable for their actions.
“My administrator helped me to the best of his ability through
structural and behavioral crisis this year”
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Conclusions
Administrators:• Having interest in what teachers do in
their classroom would be most valuable to special education teachers
• Empowering special education teachers by showing interest in what they are doing and giving undivided attention when they talk were ranked the highest by administrators
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Conclusions
Administrators:• They feel that the empowering of their
teachers will be more effective in showing them support because this is what they are comfortable with and have the knowledge and training to provide. Administrators are providing the type of support that they are comfortable giving.
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Conclusions
• Administrators had the higher mean scores• Teachers focus is in the classroom• Administrators must focus on all aspects of
education due to the high levels of accountability for student achievement
• Administrators may have ranked each of the leadership behaviors on the survey with a higher score because they feel pressure to support all programs equally, and thus have the concept of support on their mind all the time.
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Implications
• Building relationships
• Expressing confidence
• Talking to and listening to each other
• Taking an interest into what teachers do in the classroom
• Communication of confidence and respect to all staff members
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Recommendations
• Develop and practice the leadership behaviors identified as most valuable in this study
• Communication• Show confidence in the decisions and actions • Listen and give teachers their undivided attention• Professional development for site administrators to
enhance knowledge and beliefs• Provide the type of support that is perceived as
valuable• Provide an emotionally supportive environment
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Future Research• Include perceptions from both elementary and
secondary level special education teachers and administrators
• Explore the level of support site administrators receive from district level administrators
• Utilize qualitative methodologies for a more detailed description of the perceptions of special education teachers and administrators
• Examine perceptions of supportive leadership behaviors across multiple SELPAs and school districts
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