Principal Perceptions of Students with Disabilities: A Q-Sort Investigation of Mindset and Leadership Practices
Year: 2019
Type: article
Abstract: This study examined Ohio public school principal perceptions of students with disabilities and leadership practices.Q methodology provided insight into how mindset orientations manifest in leadership and decision-making in the face of accountability for improved outcomes for students with disabilities.Despite general orientation toward a growth-mindset, analysis of Q-sorts completed by 20 public school principals resulted in three factor groups.Shared viewpoints emerged representative of Empowering, Constrained, or Pragmatic leadership practices.Empowering Principals reflected a high sense of efficacy in the ability of staff and students to learn and develop, collaborative problem-solving, shared leadership decision-making, and minimized the existence of staff resistance or operational barriers.Constrained Principals highlighted the difficulties of operational barriers, staff resistance, and difficulties in differentiating to meet student needs.Constrained perspective expressed frustration, limited ability to meet expectations and less collaborative planning for student learning.The final group discussed the struggle of the school experience for students with disabilities.Pragmatic Principals prioritized dealing with day to day emergencies, attendance and discipline issues and expressed limited site-based input in leadership decisions.Implications support the critical role of the principal and suggest that orientation and leadership practice may be just as important, if not more so, than the skills and behaviors outlined in professional standards or acquired through experience.Empowering Principals' perspective could be leveraged to set vision, create culture and establish the collaborative leadership necessary to contribute to narrowing the gap that has existed between students with disabilities and nondisabled peers despite legal and accountability mandates.v Acknowledgement The undertaking of a dissertation necessarily involves the collaborative efforts, direct and indirect, of many people.I am sincerely appreciative of everyone who contributed to completion of my dissertation, especially those involved with the Renee Shue Alley Scholarship.Thank you for the very generous award and research support.I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Karen Larwin for her scholarly expertise, leadership, and generosity of time and service as my advisor through this process.My acknowledgement is then extended to
Author: Morgan, Stephanie L
Institution: Youngstown State University
Language: English
Subfield: Education
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
Funder: Ohio Department of Education
OpenAlex ID: W7005286573