A Comparison of the Leadership Styles of Principals and Factors of Organizational Climates of Selected Open Space Suburban Elementary Schools
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Loyola University Chicago Loyola eCommons Dissertations Theses and Dissertations 1980 A Comparison of the Leadership Styles of Principals and Factors of Organizational Climates of Selected Open Space Suburban Elementary Schools Theodore E. Hagensee Loyola University Chicago Follow this and additional works at: https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss Part of the Education Commons Recommended Citation Hagensee, Theodore E., "A Comparison of the Leadership Styles of Principals and Factors of Organizational Climates of Selected Open Space Suburban Elementary Schools" (1980). Dissertations. 1933. https://ecommons.luc.edu/luc_diss/1933 This Dissertation is brought to you for free and open access by the Theses and Dissertations at Loyola eCommons. It has been accepted for inclusion in Dissertations by an authorized administrator of Loyola eCommons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License. Copyright © 1980 Theodore E. Hagensee A COMPARISON OF THE LEADERSHIP STYLES OF PRINCIPALS AND FACTORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMA'I'ES OF SELECTED OPEN SPACE SUBURBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS by Theodore E. Hagensee •\ A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Loyola University of Chicago in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education A p r i 1 1 9 8 0 ABS~RACT PURPOSE The purpose of this study was to compare leadership styles of principals with the behavioral characteristics of teachers in suburban elementary schools that featured the open space type of environment. Sample schools had to satisfy the following open space dimensions: 1. An abundance of open space existed with its inherent flexibility of movement; 2. Flexibility in grouping permitted student mobility; J. Communication between open space occupants was easy and frequent; and 4. Teacher planning was a cooperative venture. The following questions were investigated: 1. If principals in open space s~hools favored relationships orientation (RO) more than task orientation. 2. ~mether leadership styles of open space prin cipals were equally distributed among eight categories: executive, benevolent autocrat, bureaucrat, developer, compromiser, autocrat, missionary, and deserter. J. If as many principals favored more effective leadership styles as often as less effective styles. Lr. Did staff satisfaction correlate with principal concern for relationships orientation. 5. Whether principals concern for task orientation was related to staff direction and control. 6. How did principal managerial effectiveness compare vd th staff job satisfaction. PROCEDURE The sample of the study consisted of twelve schools in the Chicago metropolitan area which satisfied the open space dimensions. Leadership style was identified by the Reddin :Management Style Diagnosis Test (MSDT). Factors of school climate and characteristics of teacher-principal behavior were established through the Halpin and Croft Organizational Climate Description Questionnaire (OCDQ). The hypotheses of the study were tested by the means oft-tests, chi-square, and Spearman's rank-difference coefficient of correlation. RESULTS The hypotheses were posed with the intention of proving the existence of a link between the leadership style of principals and the behavioral characteristics of the teachers in open space schools. The data showed that 83% of the sample principals favored high RO. Leadership style was not equally distributed since 75% of the principals were identified with the same style: developer. Among the sample principals 83% rated a more effective leadership style. Correlations calculated for data to prove the last three hypotheses were too low to show significance. CONCLUSIONS 1. In the sample schools the extent to which a principal directed his own efforts and those of his subordinates was characterized less often by initiating, organizing, and directing (task orientation), than by listening, trusting, and encouraging (RO). 2. Principals generally displayed the leadership style of a developer, accepting others as they are, using conversation for communication, showing a good example by getting along with others, and correcting mistakes of others by pleasantly offering suggestions. 3. Open space principals were rated as more effective leaders rather than as less effective leaders. 4. Teacher attitudes of satisfaction toward their school as an organization could not be predicted from the leadership style of the principal. 5. Principals showed little inclination toward task orientation. Teachers did not recognize any social control exercised by their principals. Teachers favored direction and control less than they favored intimacy and consideration. 6. There was no direct relationship in the sample schools between leadership effectiveness as measured by the MSDT and staff job satisfaction as measured by the OCDQ. A COMPARISON OF THE LEADERSHIP STYLES OF PRINCIPALS AND FACTORS OF ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATES OF SELECTED OPEN SPACE SUBURBAN ELEMENTARY SCHOOLS by Theodore E. Hagensee A Dissertation Submitted to the Faculty of the Graduate School of Loyola University of Chicago in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Education A p r i 1 1 9 8 0 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I wish to thank my major advisor, Dr. Jasper J. Valenti, and the members of my committee, Dr. Robert L. Monks. and Dr. Philip M. Carlin, for their assistance and encouragement in the preparation of this project. My gratitude extends to the many principals and teachers who responded to the questionnaires providing data for this study. Earnest appreciation is expressed to Dr. Joan Ferris. who read through the manuscript. and to Zadell Burton and Marjorie Slattery, who assisted in its preparation. A special thanks to my children: Susan, Thomas, Michael, and Kathryn, who benignly accepted less attention while their father was at his books. Finally, this volume is dedicated to my wife, Eugenia, whose patience has surely outlasted Job, whose connubial bliss has been much maligned, but whose loving care has continued throughout. ii VITA Theodore E. Hagensee was born to Bronislaw Hagensee and Martha (Bielawa) Hagensee on April 21, 1923, in Chicago, Illinois. He was graduated from St. Hedwig Elementary School in 1938, and Lane Technical High School in 1942. After serving three years in the Army Air Force, including a year at Denison University, Granville, Ohio, he returned to Chicago Teachers College receiving a degree as Bachelor of Education in January, 1948. A year later, he received the degree of Master of Science of Mathematics from DePaul University, Chicago. He did graduate work at the University of Chicago and Loyola University of Chicago. He taught mathematics at St. Xavier College and the Chicago Jewish Academy before joining the Chicago Board of Education. From 1953 through 1962, he was a teacher of mathematics at Crane High School. Since 1962, the author has been principal of the Jacob A. Riis Elementary School on Chicago's Near West Side. He was awarded the degree of Doctor of Education in May, 1980. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . ii VITA · • • · · iii LIST OF TABLES v LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS . vii Chapter I • INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY . 1 Purpose of the Study . • . 13 Method and Procedure . • . 14 Limitations and Delimitations 16 II. REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE 17 Introduction . 17 Open Space Schools . 17 Leadership Styles . 29 Organizational Climate . 57 Dissertation Research . 71 III. PARTICIPANTS AND PROCEDURE . 88 IV. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA .. 98 v. DISCUSSION . 135 Conclusions . • . • . 135 Application to the Training of Principals 144 Implications . 168 Recommendations for Further Study 171 BIBLIOGRAPHY . 174 APPENDIX . 182 iv LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Dimension Scores for Sample Principals in Task Orientation, Relationships Orientation, and Effectiveness with High/Low Designation • • • • • • • • • • • 99 2. Frequencies and Percents of High/Low Designation of TO, RO, and E for Sample Principals • • • • • • • • • • . 102 J. Eight Leadership Styles Established According to High/Low Designation for TO, RO, and E ••••••••• . 104 4. Managerial Styles of Principals from the Twelve Sample Open Space Schools . 105 5· Managerial Style Synthesis with Frequencies and Percent Distribution . 106 6. School Means Normatively Standardized for Eight Behavior Characteristics: Disengagement, Hindrance, Esprit, Intimacy, Aloofness, Production Emphasis, Thrust, and Consideration •••• 109 7. Relationships Orientation Compared with Factor I or (SOCIAL NEEDS= (INT + CON) / 2) by Means of Spearman's Rank-Difference Coefficient of Correlation • • • • • • • • 111 8. Task Orientation Compared with Factor III or SOCIAL CONTROL = (ALO + PRO) / 2 by Means of Spearman's Rank-Difference Coefficient of Correlation • • • • • I 0 0 113 9. Effectiveness Compared with Factor II or ESPRIT = ESP + THR - DIS - HIN by Means of Spearman's Rank-Difference Coefficient of Correlation • • • • • . 115 v Table Page 10. Tabulation o£ Leadership Dimensions: TO, RO, and E £or the Diverse Group o£ Sample Principals -- Those Not Rated as Developers . • . • . 118 11. Principal's Personal Inventory Questionnaire . • • . • . 120 12. Data Tabulated £or the Sample Principals £rom Their Answers to the Principal's Personal Inventory . 121 lJ. Comparative Details o£ Demographic Data for Diverse Group and Developer Group of Principals . • . 125 14. Ranking of Sample Principals in Each o£ the Eight Behavior