School board members' perceptions of productive change and the relationship to student achievement: An analysis of Indiana districts

Tracey Ray Shafer, Purdue University

Abstract

This study explored school board members' perceptions of the existence of productive change conditions and their relationship to student achievement. The study analyzed survey responses of Indiana school board members compared to the student achievement in their respective school districts. Productive change conditions identified by Rice et al. (2000) in the Lighthouse Study formed the basis for this analysis. Indiana Statewide Testing for Educational Progress (ISTEP) scores and graduation rates were used as the measure of student achievement. The study also examined the effects of school district and board member demographic variables on the perceptions held by the board members. A survey instrument designed to collect school board members' perceptions on the conditions for productive change was utilized. These conditions were: human organization, starting and sustaining initiatives, supportive context, professional development, use of data and information, community connection, and distributed leadership. The sample population consisted of 226 school board presidents that were members of the Indiana School Board Association (ISBA). 78 surveys were returned. The data were analyzed using Pearson Correlation hypothesis testing followed by multiple linear regression analysis. Statistically significant relationships existed between the perceptions that school board members possessed about the existence of productive change factors and the student achievement in their districts. As board members' confidence grew for the presence of the conditions: human organization, starting and sustaining initiatives, community connection, and distributed leadership; so did ISTEP scores and graduation rates in their districts. The condition of starting and sustaining initiatives was the condition most predictive of graduation rate and ISTEP scores. Analysis revealed that student achievement results correlated positively with change conditions, while district demographic variables correlated negatively with the same statistically significant conditions. Board member perceptions of change were not dependent on demographic variables due to the school board members themselves, indicating that board members' confidence in each condition was due to district characteristics and not his or her own personal demographics.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

McInerney, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Educational leadership|Educational administration|Educational psychology

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