The relationship between U.S. teachers' attitudes and frequency of principals' walk -through

Peters and Waterman (1982) viewed management by walking around (MBWA) excellence in leadership. Administrators in the education community face many challenges stemming from not spending enough time in classrooms to gain understanding and insight into what goes on in the classroom. The intent of the present descriptive, cross-sectional study was to examine the relationship between frequency of administrative management-by-walking-around practices as logged by administrators (independent variable) and teacher-reported perceptions of efficacy, commitment, attitudes toward professional development, and attitude toward administrator effectiveness (dependent variables) in four U.S. schools located in South Korea. One demographic factor was analyzed to discover if a relationship exists between teachers' experience (independent) and attitudes (dependent). The study finding indicates a weak but probable relationship exists between MBWA practices and teacher attitudes toward professional development at the school and individual teacher level. The data supported trend evidence against the null and suggesting that an inverse relationship existed between experience and several variables. A weak but probable trend to an inverse relationship existed for professional development, efficacy, and administrative effectiveness existed when survey data for 148 teachers was analyzed in relation to experience. The results might indicate that administrators should spend time observing and supporting classroom teachers to improve the school culture.