Volume 3 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal for K-12 Educational Research - Page 40

38 are repeated throughout research. Trust, visionary leadership, shared decision-making and autonomy, support of professional development, provision of adequate resources, and rewards and recognition have been shown to increase engagement (Cardus, 2013; El Badaway & Baissouny, 2014; Gordon 2013; McShane & Von Glinow, 2015; Wang & Hseih, 2013). Independent Schools & Head of School The current research study was conducted with faculty working in independent schools. Independent schools serve students in one niche of the private school market. Kane (1992) identified six characteristics that differentiate independent schools from other schooling models. Independent schools are self-governed and self-supported. Independent schools define their own curriculum, select the students attending the schools, may select faculty free from state certification requirements, and are usually small in size. Additionally, independent schools are free from state standards and state accountability. Each independent school is led by a head of school. The head of school shares many of the same responsibilities of public school superintendents. The head of school oversees all aspects of the school’s operation (Bassett, 2000). Due to the small size of independent schools, the head of school tends to interact often with the teaching faculty and operational support staff. Summary of Study The purpose of this study was to analyze and explore the connection between the leadership behaviors of heads of schools and teacher engagement in independent school faculties. Studies show school leaders can drive teacher engagement, but have not identified which leadership behaviors improve teacher engagement. The study surveyed teachers to determine if a correlation existed between trust, visionary leadership, shared decision-making and autonomy, support of professional development, provision of adequate resources, and rewards and recognition and the engagement level of the school faculty. The current study used an explanatory correlational design to investigate how teachers’ perceptions of leadership behaviors impact their engagement level at work. The study utilized the researcher-designed School Leadership Behavior Questionnaire (SLBQ) and the Engaged Teachers Scale (ETS) developed by Klassen et al. (2013) to identify specific leadership behaviors that impact teacher engagement. A purposeful sample of independent school teachers working at Independent Schools Association of the Southwest (ISAS) schools were selected for this study. A Pearson r product-moment correlation coefficient and a Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient were used to measure the relationship between each leadership behavior measured by the SLBQ and the teacher engagement level found using the ETS. Both statistical tests were run because the data was unevenly distributed. The following research questions were addressed:  Research Question 1 (RQ1): Is there a relationship between teachers’ trust in leadership and teacher engagement? Research Question 2 (RQ2): Is there a relationship between teachers’ perception of visionary leadership and teacher engagement? Research Question 3 (RQ3): Is there a relationship between teachers’ perception of shared decision-making and teacher engagement? Research Question 4 (RQ4): Is there a relationship between teachers’ perception of the head of school’s support of professional development and teacher engagement? Research Question 5 (RQ5): Is there a relationship between teachers’ perception of adequate resource provision and teacher engagement? Research Question 6 (RQ6): Is there a relationship between teachers’ perception of rewards and recognition and teacher engagement? Summary of Findings and Interpretation of Results The current research study addressed six research questions. Each question evaluated whether a significant relationship existed between teachers’ perceptions of leadership behaviors and teacher engagement levels. Both the Pearson r product-moment correlation coefficient and the Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient revealed a statistically significant positive relationship between each of the leadership behaviors and teacher engagement. All six of the research questions showed this positive correlation. The six leadership behaviors having a positive impact on teacher engagement are trust, visionary leadership, shared decision-making and Jennifer Wilson, Ed.D.