Matter of principal: Proposed and perceived components of school leadership

The purpose of this study was to assess if there was any statistically significant difference between subject matter experts' (SME) proposed leadership components and principals' perceptions of these components needed to lead a school operated by an educational management organization (EMO). There is a limited amount of literature reporting and supporting the components of school leadership specific to the unique nature of charter schools, especially those operated by an EMO. Therefore, this research study contributes to the existing literature where there is now a void. This was a quantitative research study using survey method to examine EMO principals' perceptions of the components of successful school leadership. A deductive approach was used to move from the larger context of theory to generate a specific research question regarding principals' perceptions of the knowledge, skills, abilities, and characteristics needed to lead a school. The questionnaire was designed to gather data in order to understand these perceptions. One major research question guided this study: to what extent does congruency exist between SMEs' proposed leadership components and principals' perceptions of these components needed to lead a school operated by an EMO? On the questionnaire, there were 22 individual dimensions that were grouped into four components of knowledge, skills, abilities, or characteristics. All of the principals were asked to indicate the "extent" they believe each dimension contributes to being a highly competent school principal. For each of the 22 dimensions, the means of the SMEs were compared to the principals in one-sample t tests to indicate any statistically significant difference. After analyzing the data, it was discovered that there was a statistically significant difference in all but 4 of the 22 dimensions. The results of this study indicate varying degrees of principals' perceptions of the components of school leadership in charter schools operated by an EMO. The study concludes with implications for practice and recommendations for future quantitative and qualitative research.