Date of Award
1995
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Education
Abstract
Building principals develop and maintain anEducational philosophy. That philosophy guides their actions and their decisions. This study was designed to investigate the philosophical orientations of progressivism and essentialism among Indiana elementary school principals. Variables of this study included elementary schools with a restructuring Indiana 2000 designation and non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools. Other variables included the gender (male, female) of the principals and the size (small, medium, large) of school. Principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools were more strongly aligned with the philosophical orientation of progressivism than were principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools. A difference of the philosophical orientations was found between principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools. The size of elementary school did not contribute to a difference of the philosophical orientations among the elementary principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools. A comparison of female principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and female principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools did not reveal any differences in their philosophical orientations. A comparison of male principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and male principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools did reveal a difference in their philosophical orientations. It also revealed that the male principals statistically differed when the size of the elementary schools were compared. A comparison of female elementary principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and male principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools did reveal a difference in their philosophical orientations. Additionally, female principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and male principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools differed when the size of elementary schools were compared. A comparison of male principals of Indiana 2000 elementary schools and female principals of non-Indiana 2000 elementary schools did not reveal any significant differences in their philosophical orientations.
Recommended Citation
Wilson, Gregory Dean, "The Philosophical Orientation Of Indiana Elementary School Principals" (1995). All-Inclusive List of Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 901.
https://scholars.indianastate.edu/etds/901