1. Dr. Michael Nelson University of the Cumberlands
A CAUSAL-COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PRINCIPALS’ LEADERSHIP STYLES AND STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT IN ARIZONA’S TRIBAL SCHOOLS
Dr. Michael Nelson
University of the Cumberlands
Causal-comparative research seeks to identify associations among variables, such as leaderships styles and student achievement. Causal-comparative research attempts to determine the cause that already exist between or among groups of individuals.

2. Overview Examine what leadership is and isn’t
Identify several types of leadership used in school leadership
Determine why some Native American schools struggle to find quality leaders
Review contents of my research study and its results for the future
M. S. Nelson 2017

3. Who Am I? - Researcher’s Background
Taught the past thirteen years in the Baboquivari Unified School District located in Sells, Arizona. Currently, teaching third grade.
Served on several AdvancEd Accreditation Review teams
Received four college degrees including a doctorate
Married for eight years and have two wonderful girls.
M. S. Nelson 2017

4. Reasons why I selected this topic for my dissertation
During my time working with Native children on tribal lands, I have had 7 different principals in the past 13 years.
None of my principals were Native.
Search for something greater by uncovering previous research.
M. S. Nelson 2017

5. What is Leadership?

6. First, leadership is not....
A position or title
A rank
Being in charge
Being a bully
M. S. Nelson 2017

7. Leadership is.…
influencing people so that they will strive willingly towards the achievement of group goals 1
creating environments where others are valued and respected.
preparing others to be successful by giving them the necessary tools
M. S. Nelson Image credit: Pedro Ribeiro Simoes

8. This is why it is necessary to focus on principal leadership!!!
Reflection - Think about how your school and/or community prioritizes this statement each day.
M. S. Nelson 2017

9. Types of School Leadership

10. Situational Leadership
Developed by Hersey and Blanchard (1969)
Stated leaders should change the degree to which are directive or supportive to meet the changing needs of followers

11. Transformational Leadership
These are individuals who:
Inspire
Challenge
Engage
Develop
Align
M. S. Nelson 2017

12. Transactional Leadership
Based on rewards and consequences
Structure is clear
Short term goals
Leader controls the rewards
M. S. Nelson 2017

13. Determining why Leaders Struggles

14. Narrowing the focus: Leadership in Native Schools
Previously, some Native American schools had issues identifying and retaining leaders who could implement effective change.
A majority of these schools were located in rural areas which suffered from severe poverty and intense economic loss.
M. S. Nelson 2017

15. Why do some Native American schools continue to struggle to find quality leaders?
Reflection- Discuss with a partner(s) why you think some schools struggle to find quality leaders?

16. Literature Review

17. Literature Review
Limited in terms of studies which discussed principals’ leadership styles and Native American student achievement.
A majority of studies focused on other minorities instead.
In those studies, leaders used one of four leadership styles: situational, instruct- ional, transformational, and trans- actional
M. S. Nelson 2017

18. Purpose of the Study

19. Purpose of the Study
To determine which leadership style produced results when focusing on student achievement in high stakes testing environments.
To focus more attention on native education.
M. S. Nelson 2017

20. Research Questions

21. Research Questions
Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools based on preferred leadership style according to leaders’ perceptions?
Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools based on preferred leadership style according to teachers’ perceptions?
M. S. Nelson 2017

22. Research Questions (cont.)
Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools based on principals’ years of experience in education?
M. S. Nelson 2017

23. Sample and Population Schools—
75 public and private schools with each having 50 percent or greater Native American student populations
Participants –
76 administrators took the leadership survey out of 340 questionnaires.
70 teachers took the teacher survey out of 885 questionnaires.
M. S. Nelson 2017

24. Data Collection

25. Data Collection The survey questionnaire (Multi-Leadership
Questionnaire or MLQ-5) was ed to
educational stakeholders in the state of
Arizona in the fall of 2016.
Data was divided into four groups based on
school performance. (Admin- High; Admin-Low;
Teach- High; Teach -Low)
M. S. Nelson 2017

26. Data Collection (cont.)
The survey was divided into two parts – demographic information and MLQ results. 
Responses were recording using a spreadsheet.
State assessment (AzMerit) data was used to determine high and low performing schools.
M. S. Nelson 2017

27. Limitations
The research study was limited due to the fact the selected population was focused on Native American student achievement and the principals participating in the study had a vested interest in the study’s outcome.
M. S. Nelson 2017

28. Limitations (cont.)
Responses were limited to perceived principal leadership styles and student achievement as reflected by the MLQ5x and Arizona’s Measurement of Educational Readiness to Inform Teaching (AzMerit) assessment scores.
The MLQ5x results reflected only the perception of those participants who took part in the study.
M. S. Nelson 2017

29. Data Analysis

30. Data Analysis The following data was analyzed from the study:
76 percent of leaders were female, while 54 percent of the teachers who participated were also female (Tables 3 & 4).
49 percent of leaders were Caucasian, while 61 percent of the teachers who participated were also Caucasian (Tables 5 & 6).
It is important to keep in mind that these percentages are of the ones when participated in the study which was around 12 percent.
M. S. Nelson 2017

31. Data Analysis (cont.)
The following additional data was analyzed from the study:
All the leaders had a master’s or doctoral level degree (Table 8), while only 50 percent of teachers had a masters degree (Table 9).
The response rate for the survey was about 12 percent, with 146 participants out of 1,225 educational stakeholders completing the MLQ.
The data suggests in bullet one as teachers grow with experience they tend to continue their educational journeys.
The rate was 12 percent which is pretty typical of most surveys conducted across various fields of expertise.
M. S. Nelson 2017

32. Data Analysis (cont.)
Leaders’ perceptions of their own style was similar for high and low achieving schools with both determining a transformational style was used most often (Table 10). Transformational had the highest mean with 2.58 and 2.42.
Teachers’ perceptions of their leaders’ style was also similar for high and low achieving schools with both determining a transform-ational style was used most often (Table 11). Transformational had the highest mean with 2.65 and 2.46.
M. S. Nelson 2017

33. Findings

34. Findings – Research Questions
Question One. Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools regarding preferred leadership style based on leaders’ perceptions?
The difference between leaders’ leadership style and school performance from the leaders’ surveys was not significant. Data in Table 14 indicated no difference among the different leadership styles, (X2 [2, N = 72] = 4.511, p > 0.05).
M. S. Nelson 2017

35. Table 14 : Difference among high and low achieving Native American schools regarding preferred leadership styles based on leaders’ perceptions.
Style
High Achieving
Low Achieving
Total
Transformational
25 (20.58) [0.95]
14 (18.42) [1.06] 39
Transactional
8 (10.03) [0.41]
11 (8.97) [0.46] 19
Passive
5 (7.39) [0.77]
9 (6.61) [0.86] 14 38 34 72
M. S. Nelson 2017

36. Question Two. Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools regarding preferred leadership style of leaders based on teachers’ perceptions?
The difference between the leaders’ leadership style and school performance from the teachers’ surveys was not significant. Data in Table 15 indicated no difference among the different leadership styles at the .05 level, (X2 [1, N = 69] = 0.048, p > 0.05).
M. S. Nelson 2017

37. Table 15 : Difference among high and low achieving Native American schools regarding preferred leadership styles based on teachers’ perceptions.
Style
High Achieving
Low Achieving
Total
Transformational
21 (21.45) [0.01]
19 (18.55) [0.01] 40
Transactional
16 (15.55) [0.01]
13 (13.45) [0.02] 29
Passive 37 32 69
M. S. Nelson 2017

38. Question Three. Was there a difference among high and low achieving Native American schools based on principals’ years of experience in education?
The relationship among high and low achieving Native American schools based on principals’ years of educational experience was not significant. Data in Table 16 indicated there was no difference among the different years of experience at the .05 level, (X2 [1, N = 76] = .148, p > 0.05).
M. S. Nelson 2017

39. Table 16 : Difference among high and low achieving Native American based on principals’ years of experience in education (not at current school)
Years of Exp.
High Achieving
Low Achieving
Total
Zero to Ten
18 (16.18) [0.04]
13 (13.82) [0.05] 30
Eleven or more
24 (24.82) [0.03]
22 (21.18) [0.03] 46 41 35 76
M. S. Nelson 2017

40. Recommendations for Future Studies
Compare veteran principals’ leadership styles with new principals’ styles.
Explore how cultural components affect principals’ styles (fish out of world?)
2. Veteran principals’ leadership styles might be compared to new principals’ styles to gain understanding of each how relate to student achievement.
M. S. Nelson 2017

41. Recommendations for Future Study (cont.)
Use other research approaches besides a causal comparative one.
Other approaches, such as a mixed methodology, could be conducted. For example, the use of MLQ data and teacher interview questions
might provide greater insight into principal behaviors instead.
M. S. Nelson 2017

42. Implications for Practice
Future studies need larger sample sizes.
Further research should be conducted in other regions of the country, also studying Native American communities.
Principals should reflect regularly and seek feedback from their staff to improve their practices.
1. The responding sample was rather small compared to other research studies previously conducted.
3. Principals’ leadership styles were perceived by teachers. Therefore, principals should seek feedback to reflect how they are perceived and
make changes if necessary.
M. S. Nelson 2017

43. What we learned This session we learned the following:
Examined what leadership is and isn’t
Identified the types of leadership used in school leadership
Determined why some Native American schools struggle to find quality leaders
Reviewed contents of the research study and its results for the future.
M. S. Nelson 2017

44. Questions & Answers
What questions might you have regarding today’s presentation?
Feel free to contact me using the following methods if you would like a copy of today’s presentation:
Twitter: DrMikeAZ
Linkedin: DrMikeAZ
Once again, thank you for allowing me the opportunity to present my study to you today. Have a great rest of your afternoon!
M. S. Nelson 2017

45. Thank you
I would like to extend my deepest appreciation to Northern Arizona University (NAU) and Dr. Reyhner for allowing me the opportunity to present my dissertation paper to all of you.
Finally, thank you for your time today, as it is my hope you can take something back to your communities.
Thank the members of the committee.
M. S. Nelson 2017

46. “Human history becomes more and more a race between education and catastrophe.”
H.G. Wells