Researcher: School Administrators Needed to Lead Teachers of Tomorrow

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CONTACT: Michael Cinelli
PHONE: (713) 831-4794

RESEARCHER: SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS NEEDED TO LEAD TEACHERS OF TOMORROW

Public policymakers should invest in
administrators who have the management skills needed to lead
classroom teachers instead of spending more money on new facilities,
new computers and other indirect causes of educational outcomes, a
Rice University professor says.

Investments should be made in school administrators who can
cultivate outstanding performance by teachers because classroom
instructors are the direct cause of student performance, says Steven
C. Currall, assistant professor of administrative science and
psychology at Rice.

“Public policymakers should apply more heat to administrators,”
Currall says. “Good administrators should be rewarded, financially
and non-financially. Poor performing administrators should be held
accountable; they should be replaced or given remedial management
training.”

Currall’s research is the first quantitative study to test the
link between the quality of the administrator-teacher interface and
student educational outcomes. His results showed that public school
districts with relatively higher student test scores and lower drop
out rates were districts with administrators who enhanced teacher
job satisfaction, involved teachers in decision making, and
effectively managed conflict with teachers.

Currall reached his results after eliminating the effects of
student socio-economic status, school financial wealth, the quality
of school physical facilities, and teacher qualifications. His
results are based on analyses of 180 public school districts in
Pennsylvania. He surveyed data from 10,308 teachers within these
districts. His study was funded by the U.S. Department of
Education’s National Center for the Educational Quality of the
Workforce.

Reprints of an article detailing Currall’s research can be
obtained from the Rice University News Office at (713) 831-4795. Currall can be reached at the Jesse H. Jones Graduate School of Administration at Rice at (713) 285-5287 or by E-mail at
scc@rice.edu, or by contacting Michael Cinelli, director of the Rice
University News Office, at (713) 831-4794 or by E-mail at
mcinelli@rice.edu.

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