Date of Award

2019

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

Department

Educational Administration and Leadership

First Advisor

Ronald Hallett

First Committee Member

Rod Githens

Second Committee Member

Crescentia Thomas

Third Committee Member

Delores McNair

Abstract

Over the past two decades, research has shown links between collective teacher efficacy and student achievement. While the benefits of high levels of collective teacher efficacy have been documented, research focused on how it is developed in school serving socio-economically disadvantaged students and the role of principal leadership in that development is lacking, specifically from a qualitative case-study approach This qualitative case-study explored how collective teacher efficacy was developed in an urban neighborhood elementary school serving socio-economically disadvantaged students and how the principal’s leadership influenced that development. This was accomplished through in-depth individual interviews with teachers, support staff, and the principal. This research revealed the principal’s leadership positively influenced the development of collective teacher efficacy through effective communication, support, and the empowerment of teachers. Teacher dispositions were also found as influencing collective teacher efficacy. Implications of this research and suggestions for future research are also discussed.

Pages

113

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