Leading toward the letter of the law: A study of the impact of principals' perceived leadership styles on special education placements
by Hannigan-McMullen, Dorothy J., Ph.D., CAPELLA UNIVERSITY, 2011, 96 pages; 3489937

Abstract:

The role of the principal is to lead his or her staff into the 21st century through best practices without isolating staff. The principal's role has grown increasingly more difficult over the years with new mandates and legislation. Current legislation—the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act—mandates that all children are to be educated in the least restrictive environment. The least restrictive environment, for most children with disabilities, is the general education classroom with nondisabled peers. Inclusion is the act of educating children with disabilities side-by-side with nondisabled peers and providing modifications and supplementary services when needed. This study examined the relationship between self-perceived leadership styles—transformational, transactional, and laissez-faire—in public schools compared to the principals' self-perceived attitudes toward inclusion. Fifty public school principals were surveyed via U.S. mail in New Jersey. The Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), developed by Bass and Avolio, was utilized to determine each principal's self-perceived leadership style. The Opinions Relative to the Integration of Students with Disabilities (ORI), developed by Antonak and Larrivee, determined whether a positive attitude toward inclusion existed as reported by the principals. A multiple regression analysis was utilized to assist in determining the perceived leadership styles and attitudes of principals toward inclusion. An analysis of the ORI and MLQ surveys was completed by comparing the dependent and independent variables. Transformational leadership was determined to be the predominant leadership style. Due to this result, the data were recoded for high and low leadership style and a new analysis was run to examine the hypotheses. The results of this study support that transformational leaders have a positive attitude toward inclusion.

 
AdviserMelissa McIntyre-Brandly
SchoolCAPELLA UNIVERSITY
SourceDAI/A 73-04, p. , Jan 2012
Source TypeDissertation
SubjectsEducational leadership; Educational administration; Special education
Publication Number3489937
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