A Study of the Relationship between Teacher Empowerment and Principal Effectiveness

The purpose of this study was to determine if a relationship exists between teachers' perceptions of empowerment and teachers' perceptions of principal effectiveness. The research design included the collection of quantitative data to obtain greater understanding and detail about the relationships between teacher empowerment and principal effectiveness as perceived by teachers. The population for this study was taken from a large Kansas City, Missouri, suburban school district. The sample consisted of 101 teachers in three district high schools. Two independent survey instruments were used to collect information on the study's two variables. One research question and one hypothesis were developed for testing. Pearson product moment correlations provided the statistical data for this study. The findings of this study showed 18 significant relationships between the scores on the three domains of the Audit of Principal Effectiveness and the scores on six subscales of the School Participant Empowerment Scale. The data showed correlations between the domains of organizational development, organizational environment, educational program, and the subscale of professional growth as the most statistically significant variables in the study. Correlations between the domains of organizational development, organizational environment, educational program, and the subscale of autonomy showed the least or no statistical significance in this study. Based upon the data, it appears that specific principal skills related to the domains have an influence on teacher empowerment. ii Acknowledgments