Elementary teacher perceptions of principal leadership, teacher self-efficacy in math and science, and their relationships to student academic achievement

The purpose of this study was to investigate elementary teacher perceptions of elementary principal instructional leadership and elementary teacher evaluation of self-efficacy at low and high performing low socio-economic elementary schools. These variables were examined to determine whether relationships with math and science academic achievement existed. Independent sample t tests revealed no significant differences between teacher descriptions of principal leadership behaviors and teacher descriptions of self-efficacy in either high or low performing schools, although frequency analysis yielded important findings between the two groups. Some of the major findings of this study revealed principals often engaged in various leadership variables: professional practice, collaborative decision making, individualized support, intellectual stimulation, performance expectations, and vision and goals.;Descriptive statistics analysis was conducted and revealed that elementary school teachers reported they engaged quite a bit in the teacher self-efficacy variables of efficacy in student engagement, instructional strategies, and classroom management. All of the respondents were elementary teachers from low socio-economic high and low performing schools in math and science.;Correlations were conducted using school performance, either high or low, as the dependent variable. Correlations determined whether statistically significant relationships existed among teacher descriptions of their principals' instructional leadership variables, teachers' self-efficacy variables, and years of experience. Strong relationships with principals' instructional leadership variables were revealed.