This study utilized the descriptive and quantitative approaches to examine elementary school principals' leadership style and school climate in an urban school district. Research supports the relationship of leadership styles, school climate and student achievement does exist and this study identified and explored how it exists between the school principals' leadership style and school climate. Participants consisted of elementary principals and teachers in an urban school district within the southeastern region of the United States. The purpose of this study was to determine the existence of a relationship between elementary school principals' leadership styles and school climate in an urban school district. Survey instruments were the Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (LBDQ) Form XII Self and the Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire for elementary schools (OCDQ-RE). Demographic information was gathered from the principals and teachers that were subjects of this research (Table 3 and Appendix C). The following research question was posed: Does a relationship exist between the elementary school principals' leadership style and school climate in an urban school district? Descriptive statistics summarized the data characteristics of the independent variable (principal leadership style) and dependent variable (school climate). The data was analyzed using the Pearson Correlation Coefficient. A Positive linear relationship in climate was found for three different groups. These three groups had a statistically significant correlations coefficient and p-values between the LBDQ-Form XII Self and OCDQ-RE subscales. The school principals must be able to access and evaluate the impact they may have on the climate of the school. This study proposed strategies school principals from the participating school district can use to create a more open school climate.

This study examined the relationship between principal leadership style and climate as perceived by teachers. Eleven elementary schools and 275 teachers participated in this study. The Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) assessed teachers' perceptions of principals' leadership styles. The Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire - Revised Elementary (OCDQ-RE) obtained climate data, measured as Open, Closed, Disengaged, and Engaged. Demographic data consisted of five categories: (a) Gender, (b) Years teaching, (c) Years with current principal, (d) Level of Education, and (e) SES and Star rating of each school. An analysis, utilizing Pearson's r correlations, indicated relationships existed between the five LPI and the six OCDQ-RE subscales for principal and teacher behavior. When teachers perceived exemplary principal behaviors, their perception of Collegial and Supportive climate indicators were very high and Disengagement low. Conversely, when teachers perceived low principal behaviors, their perceptions of Collegiality were low with high Restrictive climate indicators and high Disengagement. An analysis, utilizing MANOVA, indicated teachers who spent zero to two years with the principal or spent greater than six years with the principal perceived their principals in a similar manner. Teachers who spent three to five years with the principal scored the principal lower. An analysis of the SES and Star rating of the school indicated teachers from high SES schools with satisfactory achievement scored their principals higher than teachers from high SES schools with high achievement on four LPI subscales and one OCDQ-RE subscale. Findings support the proposition for continued research in the area of school climate and principal leadership.

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.