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Examining the Impact of a Leadership Team’s Cognitive and Behavioral Agility on Student Achievement in Broward County Middle Schools

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Date Issued:
2018
Abstract/Description:
The extant literature on school leadership is bifurcated around the question: Are leaders important, or, is leadership important? Many who think leaders are important, do so because they believe the school’s tone, values, and aspirations start with “a” leader, the principal. However, there are those who believe leadership is not really about a single leader, but about a collective practice among people who work together, with a focus on accomplishing a shared goal. While leadership teams have been studied in a variety of contexts, little research is available on the cumulative effect of a school team’s ability to think collectively to raise student performance. Noteworthy however, is that this study makes the assumption that the sum total of individual agility as measure by instruments designed to assess individual agility equates to an accurate measure of team agility. This study was designed to better understand the relationship between a school leadership team’s cognitive and behavioral agility, school climate, and student achievement in a population of middle schools in Broward County, Florida. Theoretically, the study provides a model in support of the collective leadership approach in moving schools toward improved student achievement. A non-experimental, quantitative research design was utilized and The Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQ) and Strategic Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) were used to assess cognitive and behavioral agility, respectively. Climate data, analyzed as a mediator, was extracted from the schools’ Annual Customer Survey. Student achievement was measured as overall school performance on standardized assessments as part of the State of Florida school accountability system. The STQ and SLQ were administered by way of a survey and descriptive statistics, correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data. The research did not point to any statistically significant correlations between school leadership teams’ cognitive and behavior agility as they relate to predicting student achievement; even with school climate acting as a mediator. This may be due in part to the assumption that agility data captured is an accurate reflection of team functioning. The study provides opportunities for additional research on the efficacy of leadership teams in K-12 education.
Title: Examining the Impact of a Leadership Team’s Cognitive and Behavioral Agility on Student Achievement in Broward County Middle Schools.
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Name(s): Grant, Shernette D., author
Reyes-Guerra, Daniel, Thesis advisor
Pisapia, John, Thesis advisor
Florida Atlantic University, Degree grantor
College of Education
Department of Educational Leadership and Research Methodology
Type of Resource: text
Genre: Electronic Thesis Or Dissertation
Date Created: 2018
Date Issued: 2018
Publisher: Florida Atlantic University
Place of Publication: Boca Raton, Fla.
Physical Form: application/pdf
Extent: 133 p.
Language(s): English
Abstract/Description: The extant literature on school leadership is bifurcated around the question: Are leaders important, or, is leadership important? Many who think leaders are important, do so because they believe the school’s tone, values, and aspirations start with “a” leader, the principal. However, there are those who believe leadership is not really about a single leader, but about a collective practice among people who work together, with a focus on accomplishing a shared goal. While leadership teams have been studied in a variety of contexts, little research is available on the cumulative effect of a school team’s ability to think collectively to raise student performance. Noteworthy however, is that this study makes the assumption that the sum total of individual agility as measure by instruments designed to assess individual agility equates to an accurate measure of team agility. This study was designed to better understand the relationship between a school leadership team’s cognitive and behavioral agility, school climate, and student achievement in a population of middle schools in Broward County, Florida. Theoretically, the study provides a model in support of the collective leadership approach in moving schools toward improved student achievement. A non-experimental, quantitative research design was utilized and The Strategic Thinking Questionnaire (STQ) and Strategic Leadership Questionnaire (SLQ) were used to assess cognitive and behavioral agility, respectively. Climate data, analyzed as a mediator, was extracted from the schools’ Annual Customer Survey. Student achievement was measured as overall school performance on standardized assessments as part of the State of Florida school accountability system. The STQ and SLQ were administered by way of a survey and descriptive statistics, correlation and mediation analysis were used to analyze data. The research did not point to any statistically significant correlations between school leadership teams’ cognitive and behavior agility as they relate to predicting student achievement; even with school climate acting as a mediator. This may be due in part to the assumption that agility data captured is an accurate reflection of team functioning. The study provides opportunities for additional research on the efficacy of leadership teams in K-12 education.
Identifier: FA00013126 (IID)
Degree granted: Dissertation (Ph.D.)--Florida Atlantic University, 2018.
Collection: FAU Electronic Theses and Dissertations Collection
Note(s): Includes bibliography.
Subject(s): Middle schools--Florida
Educational leadership--Florida
Leadership -- Psychological aspects
Student achievement
Held by: Florida Atlantic University Libraries
Sublocation: Digital Library
Persistent Link to This Record: http://purl.flvc.org/fau/fd/FA00013126
Use and Reproduction: Copyright © is held by the author with permission granted to Florida Atlantic University to digitize, archive and distribute this item for non-profit research and educational purposes. Any reuse of this item in excess of fair use or other copyright exemptions requires permission of the copyright holder.
Use and Reproduction: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/
Host Institution: FAU
Is Part of Series: Florida Atlantic University Digital Library Collections.