Leadership Studies Ed.D. Dissertations

Exploring the Impact of Focus 3 R Factor Training on Principal Self Efficacy

Date of Award

2021

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Leadership Studies

First Advisor

Paul A. Johnson (Advisor)

Second Advisor

I-Fen Lin (Other)

Third Advisor

John Marschhausen (Committee Member)

Fourth Advisor

Rachel A. Vannatta (Committee Member)

Fifth Advisor

Chris Willis (Committee Member)

Abstract

School leadership matters. Specifically, principals play a major role in the success of their schools (Bartoletti and Connelly, 2013). Research indicated that after quality of instruction the most important variable for student achievement was the effectiveness of the school principal (Wallace Foundation, 2011; Branch, Hanushek and Rivikin, 2013). Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2004) argued that a strong sense of self-efficacy was a critical characteristic of an effective school leader. Tim Kight R Factor training offered an actionable system that could be employed by principals to improve themselves and thereby their schools. This framework uniquely combined elements of organizational culture improvement as well as improving the individual leaders behavior and decision making skills. Currently, a gap in knowledge exists regarding whether the system actually improves school leaders performance. Simply put, the system had not been empirically tested. In addition, self-efficacy researchers revealed a gap in the research and a recommendation for future study; how to educate, train and develop principals to improve their sense of self-efficacy? (Federici, 2013; Federici and Skaalvik, 2011; Federici and Skaalvik, 2012; Tschannen-Moran and Gareis, 2005; Osterman and Sullivan, 1996; Licklider and Niska, 1993; Versland and Erickson, 2017; Hallinger, Hosseingholizadeh, Hashemi and Kouhsari, 2018) Therefore, this study adds to the developing literature. The purpose of this quasi-experimental retrospective study was to examine principals perceptions in regards to the impact R Factor training had on their sense of efficacy in their professional responsibilities as measured by the PSE Scale (Tschannen-Moran and Gareis, 2004). The target population included all principals in the state of Ohio trained in R Factor spread across over 60 school districts. Principals (n = 104) completed the Principal response to R Factor Training Survey (PRRFTS).

The PRRFTS contains 28 close-form items, 3 subscales, including instructional leadership, moral leadership and management, and an overall PSE score. Data was analyzed using a T-test of related samples, forward multiple regression and analysis of variance. Self-efficacy served as the foundation of the theoretical framework for the study (Bandura, 1977). Data analysis revealed the following broad conclusions as a result of R Factor training. 1) Significant increases occurred in overall PSE, all 3 PSE subscales and on all 18 individual PSE items. 2) Principals perceived the greatest gain on the Instructional Leadership Subscale. 3.) As principal years of experience increases the likelihood of growth as a result of R Factor Training decreases.

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