A Case Study of Attitudes and Perceptions of Leadership Characteristics as Perceived by Middle School Teachers and the Principals

This dissertation determined the congruence with the order of importance concerning what middle school teachers and middle school principals value regarding the behavioral characteristics of effective middle school principals and if a relationship exists between those characteristics and the 2006/2008 North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Surveys.;The indications and suggestions of this research were based on the data collected from many different middle schools representing different geographical areas within a large school system located within the piedmont-triad central region of North Carolina. Information was obtained from different multi-question surveys from middle school teachers and principals, open-ended questions, and focus group interviews. This component of the study identified any common behavioral characteristics that the teachers and principals, at the same school, have of themselves with an order of importance. This information was compared to the 2006 and 2008 results of the North Carolina Teacher Working Conditions Surveys information from the same middle schools to determine if a correlation existed between the total data collected.;The results of this research indicated that the younger teachers with less teaching experiences wanted their principal to have the traits of a manager and an instructional leader. The older teachers with more teaching experiences wanted their principal to have the traits of one who uses people skills and one who has a vision. The principals see themselves primarily as instructional leaders.