School effectiveness: The role of the principal in a leading public secondary school in Santa Fe Province, Argentina.

다국어 초록 (Multilingual Abstract)

The principal's leadership is a key component in the school effectiveness equation. This study attempts to identify the behaviors of the principal that contribute to achieving school effectiveness in a leading public secondary school in Santa Fe province, Argentina. It begins with a literature review that identifies some of the key concepts and issues involved in school effectiveness in developed and developing countries, and the role that principals play. Using a protocol based on the Critical Incident Technique (CIT), 45 participants drawn from a wide range of school stakeholders (the entire school staff, the principal's supervisor, other administrators, members of the parent association, community members, and alumni) were interviewed. From the 495 incidents collected, a taxonomy containing 12 major behavior categories and 96 discrete behaviors was developed. The reliability and validity of the study was checked at different stages with outside sorters. This taxonomy was compared with the behaviors identified through the literature review. A second taxonomy, regarding the characteristics of effectiveness of the school was also developed and compared with the characteristics identified in the literature review. The findings of the study indicate that the most frequent behaviors of the principal contributing to the effectiveness of the school are placed in the category “exhibits administrative leadership/governance.” This category includes incidents relating to the discipline, the use of school resources, the principal's leadership style, and the building of links with stakeholders. The study concludes with implications for the design of administrative training/development programs for teachers and principals, and recommendations for empirical research on principals. It also includes a sample rubric to evaluate the work of principals based on their behaviors.