Administrative evaluations and their impact on school leadership in public and private secondary schools: A comparison study of governance structure

The purpose of the present study was to better understand the link between governance and practice. This study was a comparison between a secondary public school and a school operating under a distinct alternative governance structure. The study compared administrative evaluation practices and administrators' perception of the evaluation system. The study asked participants to review professional standards for educational leaders. The purpose was to ascertain the influence (if any) that governance structure had on school leadership evaluation practices. Six research questions were developed to guide the study: Questions one and three asked; How are administrative evaluations undertaken in public and private education? Question two and four asked; What are the principle forces that shape administrative evaluations in public and private education? Question five asked; How, if at all, do administrative evaluations practiced in public education differ from the practices in private educational institutions? Question six asked; How, if at all, do the forces differ with administrative evaluations between public and private educational institutions?;Qualitative, descriptive case study research methods were used to analyze both practice sectors. The study focused on two schools with varying degrees of socio-economic status and enrollment size.;Data analysis reported that professional standards for educational leaders have not made an impact on administrators in either schooling sector.;The major findings of this study indicate: (1) a two-tier system exists in the public sector for administrators, (2) the overall structure of administrative evaluations in the private sector may be more "bureaucratic" than the public sector, (3) the administrator evaluation system in the parochial school included a greater number of participants in the process than the public sector.;The study recommends orientation to professional standards for successful administrative evaluation systems, and developing an in-service program to ensure that stakeholders are well informed. Suggestions for further study include a study on administrator evaluations based on implementation of leadership standards into the evaluation system, as well as examining the ways evaluation systems support and transform schools.