Chapter 14: Leadership Self-Efficacy: Beginning an Inquiry into the Development and Impact of Middle School Principal Leadership

This chapter reports some preliminary findings from the first two phases of a three-phase study of the development and impact of principal leadership in 74 principals in a state network of middle schools. The study is set within Bandura’s framework of self-efficacy and the seven recommendation areas of Turning Points 2000. Preliminary findings indicate that there is a lack of overall and consistent relationships among school characteristics, principal demographics, principal self-ratings of leadership efficacy, and the implementation of Turning Points 2000 recommendations in schools. These findings are being used to shape the final phase of the study in which a sample of the participating principals will be interviewed in order to determine how they have reflected upon their academic, career, and professional development experiences in order to develop middle level-specific leadership efficacy that engenders implementation of the recommendations from Turning Points 2000.