0.1 Babo, g.(february 2009) principal evaluation and leadership  (Page 3/9)

The original research question addressed was: Are certain ISLLC “functions” deemed more important than others by New Jersey Chief School Administrators when developing a summative evaluation for their building principals?

Methodology

The survey and data collection

The research design for this study was descriptive in nature utilizing survey research as the primary data collection tool. The survey was developed using the Educational Leadership Policy Standards: ISLLC 2008 (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2007) as the content model; specifically the “functions” for each standard. The ISLLC 2008 standards provide an operative content and language associated with what building principals need to know and do to be successful leaders (Latham&Pearlman, 1999). Survey content validity was obtained through expert review.

The on-line survey consisted of two parts. Part A was a 66-item “forced response” multiple choice questionnaire that attempted to gauge New Jersey CSAs attitudes and perceptions to what is important to consider when developing a summative evaluation for his school district’s building principals.

Each of the corresponding ISLLC 2008 Standards’ functions was used as the basis for item construction. When an ISLLC function identified several variables within the text, a separate item was constructed for each variable in an attempt to gauge the importance of each specific variable. ISLLC Standard I, Function A states, “Collaboratively develop and implement a shared vision and mission” (Council of Chief State School Officers, 2007, p.1); this function then served as the basis for two survey items - 1) Collaboratively develop a shared vision and/or mission; and 2) Collaboratively implement a shared vision and/or mission. The survey items themselves were preceded by the general statement, “A principal should be able to...”

The 66-item multiple choice questionnaire was a series of “forced response” questions that reflected a range from 4 – essential to 1 – insignificant, concerning the level of importance a particular ISLLC function serves when developing a summative evaluation for building principals. The range of total response scores could then be scaled from 66 (implying that all of the ISLLC 2008 functions are insignificant when developing a summative evaluation for building principals ) to 264 (implying that all of the ISLLC 2008 functions are essential when developing a summative evaluation for building principals). Part B of the on-line survey consisted of a series of basic demographic informational questions related to the participant’s particular working environment.

Population surveyed

The subjects for this research design came from a convenience sample of New Jersey School Superintendents, also identified as Chief School Administrators and henceforth referred to as CSAs, from the current population of approximately 612 CSAs in the State of New Jersey. Since an on-line survey tool was used to collect data, an e-mail list was developed from the New Jersey Association of School Administrators 2008 Membership Directory and Buying Guide (NJASA, 2008) for all currently registered NJASA members, of which there are approximately 525. An initial correspondence eliciting participation in the research was blanket e-mailed to this list of electronic addresses on June 2, 2008. Contained in the soliciting e-mail memo was an explanation of the research along with a link to the survey site. Upon the initial mailing, approximately 50 responses were returned indicating a “failure to deliver” message. This resulted in the initial e-mail being received by approximately 475 NJASA member e-mail addresses. A second e-mail correspondence containing a shorter message was forwarded two weeks later. On July 18, 2008, the on-line survey site was deactivated and all completed surveys tallied. Fifty-two participants completed the survey for a response rate of approximately 11%.