A case study of the structures and conditions of public high school administrations as teams

There is an abundance of literature regarding leadership and teams in schools and business, but there is a gap in the analysis of public high school administrative teams within the context of conditions and structures of effective teams. Specifically, it is not known what, if any, specific enabling conditions of high performance teams (HPT) exist within the participant public high school administrative team whose school succeeded on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores. Research indicates that specific structures and conditions increase the likelihood of team effectiveness. Therefore, this case study explored team structures and conditions in order to enhance knowledge about team leadership within a public high school administrative team that has demonstrated success with a heterogeneous population on a state administered standardized exam -- AIMS. This case study investigated the administrative team of a heterogeneous public high school ranked in the top 25 (the top 5%) of AIMS scoring Arizona public high schools using the team diagnostic survey (TDS). The TDS, subsequent administrator interviews, and observations were used to demonstrate how and to what extent specific enabling conditions of HPT exist within the participant public high school administrative team whose school succeeded on the Arizona Instrument to Measure Standards (AIMS) scores. The data from the TDS was descriptively analyzed, the interviews were transcribed and coded, and observations were coded. The study also produced two emergent themes---the significance of culture and vision within the administration and school---and a leadership corollary---the efficacy of the path-goal theory in contemporary transformative leadership.