School Administrators' Efficacy: A Model and Measure

Module by: National Council of Professors of Educational Administration

Summary: The efficacy construct refers to peoples’ beliefs about and confidence in their abilities to attain success in their actions. The purpose of this research is to advance the study of school administrators’ efficacy through a unique model and measure designed to target the confidence of school administrators in performing a variety of leadership/management tasks. An instrument was created to measure school administrators’ efficacy levels, based on the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards. A sample of 367 early career principals and principal trainees was surveyed. Through factor analysis, eight dimensions of school administrator efficacy were derived. Based on Cronbach’s Alpha, the instrument has high reliability; thus, this instrument can serve as a consistent tool in evaluating school administrators’ efficacy levels.

Introduction

Self-efficacy has long been a key construct in education. The self-efficacy construct refers to “peoples’ judgments of their capabilities to organize and execute courses of action required to attain designated types of performances” and peoples’ confidence to attain success in their actions (Bandura, 1986, p. 391). Essentially, self-efficacy is the belief and confidence an individual has in performing a specific task. Self-efficacy is known to be an important construct in predicting the success of an individual on multiple types of tasks. In education, self-efficacy has been studied relative to students, teachers, and less often school administrators, e.g., principals and superintendents.

Background

The value of the self-efficacy construct is supported by research (Bandura, 1982, 1986; Covington, 1984; Dimmock & Hattie, 1996; Gibson & Dembo, 1984). It is related to individuals’ persistence, effort, and success on tasks they perform (Bandura, 1986). If a person believes that he/she has the ability to determine successful outcomes through effort and persistence, then this increases his/her performance and self-efficacy level (Bandura, 1986). In circular fashion, Bandura (1982) and Covington (1984) assert that the success of self-efficacious individuals tends to lead to greater efforts to achieve and persist through difficult tasks. Moreover, observing successful actions of others can raise a person’s self-efficacy level through vicarious experiences (Bandura, 1986). “Seeing or visualizing other similar people perform successfully can raise self-percepts of efficacy in observers that they too possess the capabilities to master comparable activities…” (Bandura, 1986, p. 399). Consequently, mentoring experiences in which protégés observe their mentors’ successful actions can serve to positively develop protégés’ self-efficacy.

Self-efficacy research has primarily focused on teachers, with little information on the construct’s use to understand behaviors of school administrators, e.g., principals and superintendents. Teacher efficacy began being addressed in the 1970s focusing on the belief that a teacher has the capacity to affect student performance (Berman, McLaughlin, Bass, Pauly, & Zellman, 1977). Early studies of teacher efficacy indicate that the construct is strongly related to student achievement (Armor et al., 1976). In addition, teachers with greater efficacy experience less stress, tend to support teaching innovations, are more likely to stay in their field, and are more apt to experience better relationships with administrators (Parkay, Greenwood, Olejnik, & Proller, 1988; Smylie, 1988).

Robin Henson, Kogan, and Vacha-Haase (2001) indicate that many positive teacher behaviors and student outcomes are associated with teacher efficacy, including positive job-related behaviors of teachers. Efficacious teachers tend to deal better with failing students, and engage in such actions as avoiding criticism and persisting through difficulties (Gibson & Dembo, 1984). Also, efficacious teachers are more apt to seek outside help in dealing with disciplinary problems, when assistance is needed (Emmer & Hickman, 1990).

The usefulness of the self-efficacy construct in projecting teachers’ inclinations raises the question, could not this same construct serve in the same capacity for school administrators? What if self-efficacious school administrators, e.g., principals, are better able to cope with stress, experience better relationships with teachers, are more successful in student interactions, and are more likely to seek help when needed? Subsequently, the self-efficacy construct could serve as useful indicator to identify potentially effective school leaders or to serve as a tool for self-assessment among school administrators to determine professional development needs.

The research on school administrators’ efficacy is scarce. One study by Dimmock and Hattie (1996) is the creation of a principal’s self-efficacy scale in the context of school restructuring. In that study, the authors found that their highly specific self-efficacy measure (geared only toward actions necessary when a school is restructuring) was positively related to principals’ ability to effectively deal with changes in their schools and changes in their role as principals. Because of the benefits of self-efficacy studies among teachers, it is critical that self-efficacy investigation is extended among school administrators, especially since research has shown that principal leadership is vital to the improvement of schools in effectively preparing students (Barth, 2001; Lunenburg & Ornstein, 2004).

School Administrator Efficacy Scale (SAES)

The purpose of this study is to advance the research of school administrators’ self-efficacy through the creation of a unique measurement instrument designed to specifically target the efficacy of school administrators in performing a variety of administrative tasks. Unlike Dimmock and Hattie’s (1996) instrument, the measure in the present study was created to address a large number of every day tasks performed by many school administrators. The tasks were derived from the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) Standards. The items based in these standards help support the content and face validity of the scale and help ensure that the many facets of a school administrator’s job are addressed.