International Journal of Education and Human Developments (IJEHD)

This study examined the relationship between the (dependent) set of variables measuring principals’ leadership practices (general principal leadership, orientation for school renewal, and school renewal principles and practices) and the (independent) set of variables measuring schools’ contextual characteristics (school size, proportion of female students, proportion of low SES students, proportion of minority students, proportion of special education students, and proportion of students with English as a second language). We employed canonical analysis based on a sample of 109 principals from a federal intervention project to identify a practically meaningful canonical correlation of 0.41, indicating that principals did make contextualized leadership decisions. General principal leadership was found to be the key variable representing the dependent side of the relationship, while the linear and quadratic effects of both proportion of female students and proportion of minority students were found to be the key variables representing the independent side of the relationship. A Canonical Analysis Model Exploring Contextualized Principal Leadership Principals make leadership decisions often based on their school environment (characterized as school context and school climate). In this study, we attempted to gain some insight into how leadership decisions based on school contextual characteristics are made. We took a multivariate approach for data analysis because principals often make different leadership decisions simultaneously based on their school environment. This multivariate approach allowed us to look into the decision making priorities in relation to school contextual characteristics. Review of Literature Principal Leadership Decisions A school system (i.e., a school district) is made up of a myriad of different networks. A superintendent leads all schools within the district, and each school is headed by a principal. Principals are often seen as the leadership entity within each school, tasked with making decisions that best serve their schools. Principals make leadership decisions often based on their school environment for maximum impact on students, teachers, parents, and communities (e.g., Brauckmann & Pashiardis, 2012; Dou et al., 2017; Green, 2018; Khalifa, 2012). ______________ Author Note Authors are grateful for funding from the U.S. Department of Education (Grant ID Number: S215N210034).