This study made inquiry into teacher leadership and its relationship with school climate in American public schools by using the data from SASS 2003-04 by National Center for Education Statistics. The study was focused on the statistical assessment of public school teachers' perceptions of teacher leadership in the areas of school operation and classroom operation. Another aspect to be inquired was teachers' perceptions of school climate in the dimensions of school leadership and teacher collaboration. The results of descriptive analyses in the study indicated that the majority of public school teachers did not consider they had much influence over the areas of school operation; however, they felt they had a great deal of control over the areas of classroom operation. With regard to school climate, teachers were satisfied about their school leadership. The results from discriminant function analysis indicated that school teachers' perceptions of school climate and teacher leadership could statistically reflect their school membership (elementary and secondary schools). The results from canonical correlation analysis revealed a statistically significant relationship between teacher leadership and school climate. The dimension of school leadership in the School Climate variable and the areas of school operation in the Teacher Leadership variable were the major components that contributed most to the multivariate relationship. This study has provided support to the existing literature on the factors that affect teacher leadership development. It adds to the knowledge base in the field of teacher leadership and its relationship with school climate with quantifiable evidence at a national level. The findings of this study also pose a challenge to the previous literature regarding the notion that teacher leadership was flourishing in American schools. This study has suggested that there seems to be a latent conceptual gap between what researchers consider to be effective school leadership including substantial support of teacher leadership and what school teachers consider to be supportive principal behaviors excluding the elements of involving teachers in the school decision-making process.

Build a positive school climate to impact students, teachers, and the community! Is improving school climate on your to-do list? Do you think about it as a top-down directive or as a dialogue to build equity within the school? A healthy school environment should never be seen as an option, but instead supported as a must-have. Peter DeWitt offers leaders practical high impact strategies to improve school climate, deepen involvement in student learning, and engage a broader family network. In addition to international vignettes focused on community stakeholders and research-based practices, this book features tools such as · a leadership growth cycle to help leaders build their self-efficacy · a teacher observation cycle centered on building collective efficacy · an early warning system to identify potential at-risk students · action steps following each chapter to apply to your own setting · discussion questions for use in team environments Establishing a supportive and inclusive school climate where professionals can take risks to improve the lives of students is vital to maximize learning in any school community.

Leaders exist at many levels. Within the educational arena, studies have shown the correlation of leadership styles among principals and the school culture (Pepper & Thomas, 2002; Perspective, 2012; Williams, 2009). This study attempted to extend Bass's Transformational Leadership Theory (1985) and Hersey and Blanchard's Situational Leadership Theory (1976) through examining leadership dimensions among teacher team leaders - and their influence on school climate. Using a predictive correlational research design, the current study sought to investigate relationships between leadership dimensions of teacher leaders and elementary school climates. Two different groups of teachers from a school district in the northern metro area in Atlanta participated in two different surveys. Teacher team leaders from ten elementary schools were surveyed using the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire to determine their leadership dimensions, or refined constructs of each leadership style. Subsequently, all other teachers working with the identified team leaders were surveyed using the Organizational Climate Description for Elementary Schools. A multiple regression analysis was used and indicated that there is a significant relationship between the two constructs -- teacher leadership dimensions and elementary school climate -- in the area of Disengaged Teacher Behavior and Teacher Openness Index. There were no significant relationships found between teacher team leaders' leadership dimensions and elementary school climate in the areas of Collegial Teacher Behavior or Intimate Teacher Behavior. Discussion of the results and implications for future research were made.

Improving Schools: Studies in Leadership and Culture is the seventh in a series on research and theory dedicated to advancing our understanding of schools through empirical study and theoretical analysis. This book is organized around two broad concepts—leadership and culture, which have important implications for improving schools. The book begins with an analysis of the saliency of trust in the culture of schools. In the first chapter, Patrick Forsythís review of the consequences of school trust sets the tone for seeking and developing school cultures that enhance high academic performance of students. The investigation of school trust is traced over several decades at four research universities as scholars at each institution conceptualized, refined, and examined the consequences of school trust. It seems fair to conclude that a school culture that is anchored in values and norms of faculty trusting students and parents facilitates high academic achievement and positive outcomes.

The school principal is viewed as one of the most influential individuals on a school campus (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pickeral, 2009; Edmonds, 1979; Leech & Fulton, 2008). With this influence, the principal plays a great role in facilitating the climate of the school; which in turn, can have a significant impact on student achievement (MacNeil, Prater, & Busch, 2009). The purpose of this study was to explore high school teachers' perceptions about leadership practices of their principals, as well as to gain an understanding of the teachers' perceptions of school climate in a large urban district in the Western United States. Data was collected with the use of two survey instruments, the Leadership Practices Inventory, which measures the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership, and the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire revised for secondary schools, which measures five dimensions of high school climate. Participating teachers were asked five demographic questions including: age, gender, number of years teaching, number of years teaching with current principal, and level of education. The schools with participating teachers were categorized by three other variables: total response rates, School Performance Framework scores, and the percentage of students qualifying for free or reduced price lunch. Across nine high schools, 334 usable surveys were collected. Pearson correlations were used to find relationships among variables within the survey instruments, while MANOVA calculations with appropriate ANOVA post hoc were used to find differences in demographic variables. It was found that engaged teacher behavior coupled with principals who model expectations and give authentic, goal aligned encouragement related to high levels of positive school climate. Additionally, data suggested schools whose teachers perceived their principal in a negative manner related to low levels of school climate regardless of the socioeconomic make-up of the student body.

This study examined the relationship between leadership characteristics and school climate. Through the online administration of two instruments, The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) and The School-Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ), teacher and principal perceptions of leadership characteristics in five categories and school climate in eight categories, were collected and analyzed. The SLEQ included two forms, actual environment and preferred environment. Leadership skills, characteristics, and styles define the leader in a school building. The role of the school leader has become more complex, and expectations for leaders to create environments that support students, provide continuous learning for teachers, foster innovation, and meet achievement goals has become standard practice. School climate encompasses all of these expectations. Although the research on leadership and its characteristics is extensive, this study examined the research in the context of the needs of schools' today, identified how leadership influences school climate, and predicted the discrete leadership characteristics that support the growth of positive school climate.

Wilmore integrates school reform research with strategies for increasing classroom leadership capacity and offers a global perspective on classroom teachers' participation as leaders of students and schools.