An Examination of Illinois Principals Perceptions of Servant Leadership

Because effective principal leadership is important to the future state of K-12 education, it is of great value that principals adopt leadership practices that contribute to the success of their schools. Servant leadership may be one such vehicle for positive systems change within school organizations, however little research has been conducted on servant leadership within the field of educational leadership in the State of Illinois as it pertains to the role of principal. The purpose of this mixed-method research study was to examine the servant leadership perceptions and practices of active Illinois principals. The initial quantitative phase of the study measured the self-perceptions of Illinois school principals on the construct of servant leadership by administering Page and Wong's (2003) Servant leadership Profile -- Revised (SLPR) and a demographic survey to 310 Illinois school principals. This data was triangulated with qualitative data gathered in a second phase through conducting 10 semi-structured one-on-one interviews and a focus group discussion with Illinois school principals. Interviews and the focus group discussion were based on a series of synthesis questions derived from themes identified in Page and Wong's Seven Factors of Servant leadership (2003) and the Illinois Performance Standards for School Leaders (CCSSO, 2008). Results emerged from both the quantitative survey data and qualitative interviews and focus group discussion to indicate that Illinois principals are likely to perceive themselves as servant leaders, who demonstrate practices that align to the servant leadership construct. The study helped operationalize the construct of servant leadership in an educational setting by identifying 50 servant leadership practices principals use to lead their schools. It is recommended that future researchers use the results from this study to identify new dimensions of servant leadership within the field of education and explore other practical facets of this leadership paradigm as a viable construct for effective leadership practice in schools.;Keywords: Principal, Servant Leader, Mixed-method Study.