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analysis of the on-going professional development needs of principals indentified in the initial year of a longitudinal study
priority needs principals have for their careers, and
to identify and describe the growth and adaptation
levels of principals as revealed from the data in the
initial year of the longitudinal study. Survey
research methodology was used for gathering and
reporting the data in this inquiry. The survey
population was the set of randomly selected 600
public elementary, middle, and high schools in
Missouri, South Carolina, and Texas. The instrument
employed in this study was the third modified format
after a series of pilot studies on the professional
needs of principals sponsored by the Texas A&M
University Principals' Center. The questionnaire has
three parts: (1) background information; (2)
principals' priority needs (Educational Program,
Personal Relations, and Program Support) with four
dimensions (or priority area) in each category. Each
dimension was represented by two possible choices:
Choice 1 (performance mode), and Choice 2 (learning or
development mode) as identified by Boyatzis & Kolb
(1992). An open-ended question sought additional
priorities. Data from the questionnaire were obtained
using the methods outlined in Educational Research..
An Introduction (Gall, Borg, & Gall, 1996) and
analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social
Studies (SPSS). Percentage and frequency distributions
were developed to address the research questions. The
open-ended question responses related to professional
needs not included in Sets A, B, and C were
classified, modified, and added to the 1998 survey
questionnaire. The results indicated that Staff
Development, Campus Role Relationships, Parent
Relationships, Organizational Control, and External
Support are the highest priority needs identified by
principals across the three states. The open-ended
question has been proven as a critical means for
making appropriate changes in the existing
questionnaire. In regard to the responses to
principals' professional growth and adpation levels,
the overwhelming majority of respondents selected
"Major Subject: Educational Administration".
Issued also on microfiche from University Microfilm Inc.
Includes bibliographical references (leaves 105-113).