Principal leadership characteristics at high achieving, predominately minority schools

The goal of education policy in the United States is to provide high quality educational experiences to all groups that make up the national population. However, individuals who are members of certain race/ethnic minority groups lag behind their White peers in levels of academic achievement. The theoretical basis for this work was Fullan's Model of Leadership (2002). The key components of this model include moral purpose, understanding change, relationship building, knowledge, and coherence making In addition to these traits, effective leaders must possess enthusiasm, energy, and, hope. This explanatory sequential mixed methods study focused on the characteristics of principal leaders in high achieving predominately minority schools. Several common characteristics of effective leaders in successful schools and organizations were identified from an extensive literature review. The findings from the study indicated that collaborative team building and instructional leadership were important characteristics of principal leaders. This study suggests that African-American and Hispanic students may be more likely to increase their achievement levels at schools where the principal leader demonstrates the two characteristics mentioned above. Additionally, devoting more instructional time to reading and mathematics may increase the overall academic achievement of traditionally disadvantaged groups.