Examining the Relationship Between Academic Optimism and Successful School Leadership in Title I Public Schools in Rural South Alabama

This research investigates the relationship between successful school leadership and academic optimism, a top predictor of student achievement, in rural Title I public schools in South Alabama. Researchers analyze the construct of academic optimism which includes academic emphasis, collective efficacy and faculty trust. The research uses an ex-post facto correlational design with quantitative methods to gather survey responses from teachers at seven public schools. The School Academic Optimism Scale (SAOS) along with the Successful School Leadership Survey (SSLS) function as main measurement tools while teacher demographic information from SSLS about experience and education levels aid in examining moderating influences. The study analyzes individual teachers as units while standardizing results to enable comparisons. The research data demonstrates that successful school leadership positively influences academic optimism. Experienced teachers who possess high levels of education serve to enhance this positive relationship even further. The research emphasizes successful school leadership as essential for developing academic optimism. Leaders who build trust and set high expectations while developing collective efficacy serve as fundamental elements that lead to better school results. School leaders working in rural high-poverty areas can improve their student learning outcome through strategic development of academic optimism in school.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of Alabama Libraries

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• Childers, Anna Laura

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sun, Jingping

Contributors dc:contributor

• Johnson, Bob
• Bergeron, Bill
• Givens, Mary
• Lawson, Michael

• academic optimism
• collective efficacy
• successful school leadership

Statement dc:rights

• All rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.

Language dc:language.iso

en_US, English

Dc Identifier Other

1208483

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:ir.ua.edu:123456789/17669