Perceived Effectiveness of Principals of Seventh-day Adventist Boarding Schools

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of principals in Seventh-day Adventist boarding high schools in North America as perceived by school staff, superintendents, and the principals themselves. Responses to the standardized assessment instrument were received from 201 staff, 23 principals, and 17 superintendents. The instrument assessed effectiveness in terms of four constructs related to the principal's work: maintenance, adaptation, goal attainment, and integration. Results indicated that principals were perceived to be highly effective in maintenance and integration and moderately effective in adaptation and goal attainment. When compared to national norms, respondent's perceptions of the effectiveness of principals in Adventist boarding high schools were equal to or higher than those for their public-school counterparts.