Abstract
Purpose. The first purpose was to determine demonstrated creative principal and teacher behaviors that help teachers: (a) exhibit receptivity; (b) develop; and (c) put into practice creative ideas that increase student achievement in English/language arts. The second purpose was to determine creative behaviors that principals and their teachers confirm as more influential. Methodology. The sample included six schools in Orange County, California, with sustained student achievement growth between 1999–2003 on Academic Performance Index scores and the California Standards Test scores in English/language arts. Seventy-six teachers and six principals rated twenty-four creative principal and teacher behaviors in surveys. All principals and six of their teachers were interviewed. Quantitative data from scaled items were analyzed using descriptive statistics including frequency distribution and mean scores. Qualitative data from one open-ended question on the survey and during interviews were presented in frequency tables. Findings. Principals who helped teachers use creative ideas to increase student achievement in English/language arts: (1) encouraged teachers to spend time exploring and pursuing creative ideas, and share these ideas with them and other teachers; (2) provided teachers with access to funds, facilities, people, and time needed to innovate; (3) gave teachers access to important information from district, state, and other agencies that affects instruction; (4) helped teachers take risks with ideas that have a greater probability, based on research, to increase student achievement; and (5) helped teachers to share creative and innovative projects with teachers who did not initiate these changes. Conclusions. Principals of schools with four years of sustained student achievement growth in English/language arts intentionally modeled creative behaviors that teachers adopted to initiate new instructional practices in their classrooms. Principals focused on five specific creative behaviors that supported teachers and encouraged them to explore creative instructional ideas, expand them through testing and experimentation, and execute those based on both research and practice that increased student achievement. Implications for action. Principals should establish an environment where teachers feel encouraged, supported, and have access to resources needed to take risks with new ideas. Recommendations for future research. Replicate this study with a larger sample of California elementary school principals to confirm the findings and conclusions of this study.