Who's Leading Our South Georgia Schools? A Profile of Principals

A review of school-reform literature reveals that the school principal is the key player in all successful reforms. The effective-schools movement recognized the importance of quality leadership by consistently identifying strong instructional leadership as instrumental in creating a school climate...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors Grubbs, Scott, Leech, Donald W, Gibbs, Albert, Green, Ronny
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 15.11.2002
Subjects
Administrator Characteristics
Elementary Secondary Education
Georgia
Individual Characteristics
Occupational Information
Principals
Reform Efforts
Rural Schools
School Administration
Georgia
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Summary:A review of school-reform literature reveals that the school principal is the key player in all successful reforms. The effective-schools movement recognized the importance of quality leadership by consistently identifying strong instructional leadership as instrumental in creating a school climate conducive to student success. This descriptive study endeavors to explore the demographics and career paths of rural principals in South Georgia to aid educators in understanding the principalship. A 21-item Career Path Survey and demographic questionnaire were mailed to all elementary, middle, and high school principals in the 41 South Georgia rural school districts served by Valdosta State University. The survey included questions that identified participants' educational and professional background and career goals. Of the 241 principals surveyed, 106 elected to participate, thus representing a 44 percent return rate. The findings of this study will assist in the development of profiles of rural South Georgia principals. Such profiles have the potential to inform decisions relating to the recruitment and training of rural school principals. By identifying the career paths and demographics of school principals, school districts and principal preparation programs can better respond to the needs of both preservice and inservice school leaders. An appendix contains a career-path questionnaire. (Contains 12 references.) (RT)