Teacher Perceptions of the Relationship between Teacher Morale and Leadership Practices in Elementary Schools

OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between teacher morale and the leadership practices of their principals in four elementary schools in Metro Atlanta.

METHODOLOGY
The population consisted of 168 teachers at four elementary schools in Metro Atlanta. Seventy-one (42% response rate) completed the Purdue Teacher Opinionaire (Bentley & Rempel, 1972) and Observer form of the Leadership Practice Inventory about their principal. Internal reliability coefficients for the LPI in this study were .908 Model, .877 Inspire, .894 Challenge, .918 Enable, and .956 Encourage.

KEY FINDINGS
Regression analysis did not find a significant relationship between leadership practices and teacher morale; nor did ANOVA find any significant differences in morale between the four schools.

The author opines:

One of the most critical responsibilities that principals have in today’s school is to find ways to improve teacher morale. School systems should continue to have ongoing leadership training programs to train and prepare administrators for their role. The training programs should continue to use research based practices to implement strategies that will promote the best outcome for school leaders on ways to improve teacher morale in their schools. School districts should also allow teachers and administrators the opportunity to voice their opinion on ways they feel will improve leadership practices and teacher morale. When teachers feel their voice is heard, the outcome can be positive in the school environment. The research from this study can help school districts to look at their current status in leadership practices and how they are affecting teacher morale and determine if it is positive or negative and to determine ways for improvement (pp. 63-64).