Abstract
Purpose. The study's purpose was to identify the leadership styles for principals of elementary schools that exited Program Improvement between 2006 and 2012. A secondary purpose was to determine the number of years each principal served at the school and how many years of administrative experience the principals had when their schools exited Program Improvement. Methodology. The research design for this study was both descriptive and quantitative. An online survey was used to determine the predominant leadership practices of the principals included in the study. The participants were also interviewed to determine their years of service as principal when the school exited Program Improvement and the years of administrative experience they possessed when the school exited Program Improvement. Findings. The principals in the study demonstrated a high degree of behaviors associated with transformational leadership. The principals also demonstrated a high degree of practice of contingent reward, which is a transactional behavior. Additionally, the average number of years of service as principal when the school exited Program Improvement was 4.88. The average number of years of administrative experience was 9.85. Conclusions. It was concluded that the principals in the study practiced transformational attributes and behaviors, which contributed to their effective leadership. It was also concluded that the principals practiced situational leadership, using different leadership styles as needed. Another conclusion was that it takes time for leaders to positively affect a school to the extent that student achievement is increased and that the length of administrative experience may impact the leaders' mastery of the skills and attributes associated with transformational leadership. Recommendations. It is recommended that state and federal legislators and educational leaders practice transformational leadership when implementing the new accountability system, rather than developing another system of corrective action and punitive sanctions. Another recommendation is to consider providing support for the development of principals to become transformational leaders, rather than punitive remedies, and that districts consider leadership style and experience level when hiring and training leaders.