The Effects of School Administration Self-Efficacy on School Climate and Student Achievement

The purpose of the study was to determine if there are significant relationships between the efficacies of the school principal, the climate of the school, and student achievement. Five schools within a small rural school district participated in this study. The principals completed the Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale, while the teachers at the five respective schools completed the School Climate Index with Organizational Citizenship Scale. To examine the student achievement for the students of the five schools, data from the 2012 Tennessee Department of Education report card were used. Student achievement was assessed by identifying whether or not a school met the state benchmark for all students in the state of Tennessee to achieve proficient and advanced in Math and English on their Tennessee Comprehensive Achievement Program (TCAP) and End of Course (EOC) exams. Along with completing the Likert scale instruments, principals were asked to describe two profound events that shaped their efficacy, and teachers were asked to indicate whether or not a principal can influence the achievement of students and to describe the climate of their respective schools. Due to the small sample population size, correlation analysis was used to answer the research questions from the study. The statistical analysis from the study found that were was no relationship between the efficacy of the principal, the achievement of students, school demographics, and the climate of the school. Only three principals completed the Principal Sense of Efficacy Scale. The principals who completed the study stated that relationships with staff, central office staff, and student achievement had a profound effect on their efficacy. The teachers who participated in the study stated that the principals do have an effect on student achievement. Four of the five schools stated that their schools had positive climates, but teachers at one school stated that their school had a combination of both positive and negative climates.