Assessing knowledge, understandings, skills, and traits a discrepency analysis of those who prepare and hire secondary principals in Ohio /

by Goodney, Thomas L.

ASSESSING KNOWLEDGE, UNDERSTANDINGS, SKILLS, AND TRAITS: A DISCREPENCY ANALYSIS OF THOSE WHO PREPARE AND HIRE SECONDARY PRINCIPALS IN OHIO By Thomas L. Goodney A purported discrepancy exists in Ohio between what knowledge, understandings, skills, and traits are most important for preparing secondary principals compared to those valued in selecting and hiring secondary administrators. The purpose of this study was to determine the areas and the degree of discrepancy, if any, in perceptions among educational leadership faculty and superintendents in the value and utility of Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Standards (ISLLC) and Ohio Standards for Principals (OSP) as well as the specific knowledge, understandings, skills, and traits contained in them. The design of this primarily quantitative study used simple descriptive statistics and basic tests to identify significant statistical variances between educational leadership faculty and superintendents and assistant superintendents. Additionally, this study uses limited qualitative data gathered from a one-time facilitated discussion that further illustrate and support the findings. As expected, some statistical analyses of knowledge, understandings, traits, and/or skills revealed distinct differences in the perceptions of superintendents and educational leadership professors. However, comparison of means of the two groups generally showed more agreement than variation, a finding that surprised participants in a facilitated discussion among a small group of superintendents, assistant superintendents, and educational leadership faculty. Other findings yielded statistically significant correlations between rankings of certain ISLLC and OSP standards and specific demographics of educational faculty. In effect, adjunct professors and full professors seem to differ on the importance of preparing secondary principals in relationship to developing, articulating, and implementing a shared vision, in addition to engaging parents and community members in the educational process. Clearly this new line of inquiry exposes the inherent discrepancies among the realities of standards, accountability, and structures that define the parameters of the secondary principalship as seen by superintendents and assistant superintendents and by theories of leadership, teaching, and learning that frame the scope of principal preparation programs. Further, this study raises new and important questions for future investigation that could serve to bridge the gap and better prepare secondary principals for what is expected of them in the field.