Comparison of Educational Administrator’s Leadership Style and Previous Teaching Content Area

The purpose of this study was to examine the factors that influence an educational administrators’ leadership style. The study was conducted on educational administrators employed in the upper 26 counties of the Texas Panhandle serviced by the Region 16 Educational Service Center in the school year of 2010-2011. Moreover, this study examined what type of leadership style these educational administrators exhibit in the school setting. The study examined if there was a correlation between an educational administrators’ leadership style and their previous teaching content area, their previous experience with leading an extracurricular activity and having previous experience with managing a budget.
It has been determined that student achievement has been linked with educational administrator’s leadership style. The closer educational leaders get to the core business of teaching and learning, the more likely they are to have a positive impact of students’ outcome. Furthermore, there is little research on the factors contributing to an educational administrator exhibiting transformational leadership qualities. Principal recruitment is hindered by a growing shortage of qualified applicants in conjunction with a growing student population and the reality of the challenging demands, responsibilities, and complexities of the job. While the certification standards are regulated to some degree, entry into the field is self-selected. We need to engage in a selective procedure to choose highly qualified candidates.