Perceptions of school principals toward the use of Model-Netics, a corporate management training program in a large urban school district in the Southern United States

Due to the movement in school reform toward site-based management and campus decision making, the role of the urban principal has significantly changed in the last decade (Hallinger & Bridges, 1997). Principals now have the dual role of providing leadership and exhibiting managerial skills. Current thought is that it would be advantageous to train principals to run their schools like Chief Executive Officers (CEO's). A large urban school district in the Southern United States has provided Model-Netics, corporate management training, to principals district wide.; The purpose of this proposed study was to describe the perceptions of school principals toward the use of Model-Netics. There were no empirical data to show the principal's perceptions after he or she received the training.; The population of the study included the elementary, middle, and high school principals of the school district. A cross-sectional survey was used to examine the perceptions of school principals regarding Model-Netics.; This study was conducted in the spring semester of 2003. Approval was obtained from the Committee for the Protection of Human Subjects at the University of Houston and the school district. A total of 194 surveys were distributed in principal meetings, and 137 usable surveys were returned. The response rate was seventy-one percent, which according to Babbie (1998), is an excellent rate of return.; The data collected for this proposed dissertation study were analyzed using a SYSTAT statistical software package. Appropriate descriptive data were reported.; According to the subscale means, the principal perceptions in the five different reported subscales of relative advantage, compatibility, image, visibility, and trialability were mainly undecided. It was concluded that adoption of the training was not occurring at a desired rate. The implication for practice was that the principals will continue to be uncertain of the training's value and the rate of adoption will be slow. Rogers (1995) states that innovations, which are perceived by individuals as having these five characteristics, will be adopted more rapidly than other innovations.; The implication for district policy was that changes will have to be made by the administration in each of the five subscale areas. The suggested altercations included both extrinsic and intrinsic incentives, a principal needs assessment, and strong change agent advocacy (Rogers, 1995).; Future implementations must consider that principal perceptions are one of the most critical links to the success of educational trainings. Further research is needed to examine the perceptions of principals in other school districts.