In the 2012-2013 school year, public school districts in New York State simultaneously implemented two critical policies that had a significant influence on teacher practice in the classroom; the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and the Annual Professional Performance Review of teachers (APPR). After three years of implementation the researcher felt it was both timely and important to examine what if any impact these recent policy changes have had on teachers with regard to their perceptions' of system level leadership, morale, and motivation to attend work. This quantitative study examined the relationship between teachers' perceptions of system level leadership, teacher morale and teacher attendance rates in the Capital Region area of New York State. The researcher designed a survey instrument to collect teachers' self-reported absence information; teachers' perceived feelings of morale and teachers' perceptions of the effectiveness of the system leader. In total, 960 respondents were included in the sample; a 16.05% response rate. The results of this study indicate teachers' perceptions of effective system leadership have a statistically significant relationship with teacher attendance, however there is not a practical significance that should be examined by education policy makers and individual school districts. The results of this research highlight the frequency of days some teachers in the population were absent from school for reasons other than school business. The New York State Education Department and individual school districts should examine this information carefully and work to implement policies and procedures that keep teachers in the classroom. The results of this study also indicate there is a statistically significant, but not practically significant relationship between iv teachers' perceived sense of morale and the number of days a teacher is absent from work for reasons other than school business. Finally, the data collected indicates teachers' perceptions of effective system leadership have a statistically significant and practically significant relationship with teachers' perceived sense of morale. The results of this research suggest that system leaders would benefit from examining their own practices and the practices within the school district in order to improve or keep teacher morale high.

This study examined the degree of principal leadership style's effect on teacher morale in 14 public schools in northern New Jersey with a total of 138 participants. Of the 14 participating schools, 10 schools were categorized as elementary level, serving students in kindergarten through eighth grade. Four schools were categorized as high school level, serving students in ninth through twelfth grade. Factors guiding research included teachers' consecutive years of educational service, high-stakes testing subject areas, and a school's socioeconomic status to determine if they contribute to the relationship of principal leadership and teacher morale. Morale levels of teachers were calibrated using the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (PTO) and the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI). The PTO measured factors affecting teacher morale. The LPI measured staff perceptions of principal effectiveness in relation to the Five Practices of Exemplary Leadership (Kouzes & Posner, 2012). The study was quantitative in nature and employed a correlational research study design technique. Survey responses were analyzed using an Independent Sample t Test to measure relationship strength. Outcomes identified from this research will contribute positively to the greater educational setting, whether through contributing to leadership training for future principals, informing professional development for seasoned vesteds, or aiding in the creation of future teaching tools. Study results indicate that teachers involved in high-stakes testing and teachers working in the lowest socioeconomic educational environments felt significantly different than teachers not exposed to these factors. This research exposes pertinent leadership characteristics that may prove vital to the development of current and future school leaders and aid the development of specific professional development opportunities. (ProQuest abstract).

Industry, business, military and other government agencies are increasingly recognizing the significance of human factors in the productivity of complex organizations. Educational institutions are no exception to this fact. It is assumed that morale and productivity are related to the managerial style of the supervisor. Leaders are faced with the challenge of directing the work group toward the target of increased productivity while at the same time maximizing member satisfaction. The basic research problem of this study was to investigate the relationship between leadership style of high school principals (in terms of their Concern for Production and Concern for People) and certain dimensions of teacher morale. The null hypothesis which guided this study was that there was no significant relationship between teacher perceptions of administrative behavior and teacher morale. A stratified random sampling technique was used to select 132 teachers from ten high schools in the state of Oregon. The results are based on 126 returns, 90 male and 36 female respondents. Principal Leadership Style Questionnaire was used to measure two dimensions (Concern for People and Concern for Production) of administrative behavior. Purdue Teacher Opinionaire was used to measure ten factors of teacher morale. All hypotheses were tested at .05 level of confidence. The first primary hypothesis asserting that there would be no partial correlation between administrative dimensions and Teacher Rapport with Principal was rejected. The second primary hypothesis that there would be no partial correlation between administrative dimensions and Satisfaction with Teaching was accepted. Partial correlation was 4ppliedto analyze the primary hypotheses by eliminating the effects of secondary hypotheses (Rapport Among Teachers, Teacher Salary, Teacher Load, Curriculum Issues, Teacher Status, Community Support of Education, School Facilities, Community Pressures, Age and Sex). T-test based on regression coefficients was applied to analyze the secondary hypotheses. Out of 20 secondary hypotheses tested, five of them were rejected. Analysis of the primary and secondary hypotheses concluded that Curriculum Issues, Rapport with Principal and Teacher Salary are positively related to both the dimensions of administrative behavior. Rapport Among Teachers was positively related to Concern for People but not Production. Satisfaction with Teaching, Teacher Load, Teacher Status, Community Support of Education, School Facilities and Services, Community Pressures, Age and Sex of the teachers are not related to the perceived leadership style of the principal. Teachers Satisfaction with Teaching is probably related mostly to those things that happen directly with pupils inside the classroom over which principals have little influence. Results of the two administrative dimensions indicated that a principal's leadership behavior is perceived by his faculty in various ways. However, on the average, administrators were rated high on both the "Production" and "People" dimensions of administrative behavior and perceived as having a "6,7" or "7,8" leadership style as described by Blake and Mouton (1964). Analysis of this research further suggest that educational administrators investigated in this study seem to have above average skills in the eyes of their faculty in promoting both goal achievement and member satisfaction. It is recommended that the design of this study be replicated on a larger teacher population and sample size in different geographical areas.

Abstracts of dissertations available on microfilm or as xerographic reproductions.