Differences in Principal Decisions and Actions Impacting School-Wide Student Mathematics Performance

• In Event: Supporting and Understanding the Practice of School Leadership

Abstract

In an era where principals are being held increasingly accountable for student mathematics achievement, this paper serves to inform principals on how the principals’ decisions, and actions can influence student achievement in mathematics at their schools, which are modeled as complex adaptive systems. As part of a larger research study, constant comparative analysis was used to find twelve common categories of decisions and actions were made by participating principals. Distinct patterns of decisions, and actions were found in principals whose schools were performing higher than their demographics would suggest versus principals from schools performing lower than their demographics would suggest.

Author

• Emma P. Bullock, Sam Houston State University