High Schools located in Kentucky's rural Appalachian region have historically performed below average on national and state assessment instruments. These schools are located in a geographically isolated region with high unemployment, almost stagnant population growth and limited economic resources. Principals of these Kentucky Appalachian Schools are charged with raising student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness for all students in this challenging environment.
This correlational research examines principal leadership as determined by teacher responses on Kentucky's 2011 TELL survey and its relationship with student achievement as defined by school level performance on 2011 ACT and gains in student performance between 2010 PLAN and 2011 ACT. Principal leadership is categorized into operational, instructional and cultural dimensions as well as collectively. The study also reviews the relationship between student achievement and school characteristics of total student enrollment, per pupil expenditure, teacher education level, free/reduced lunch eligibility and school leadership.
Kentucky Teacher TELL survey responses regarding Appalachian high school principal behaviors related to school culture received the lowest mean scores while instructional leadership garnered the highest rating. Survey responses also presented strong positive correlations existed among the three leadership dimensions and overall leadership. Additionally, linear regressions of the leadership dimensions and overall leadership did not predict student achievement on the ACT or gains from the PLAN to the ACT. Finally, regressions of the school characteristics indicated that only the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch was a significant predictor of Appalachian student performance on the ACT and PLAN/ACT gain
","abstract_html":"<p>High Schools located in Kentucky's rural Appalachian region have historically performed below average on national and state assessment instruments. These schools are located in a geographically isolated region with high unemployment, almost stagnant population growth and limited economic resources. Principals of these Kentucky Appalachian Schools are charged with raising student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness for all students in this challenging environment. </p> <p>This correlational research examines principal leadership as determined by teacher responses on Kentucky's 2011 TELL survey and its relationship with student achievement as defined by school level performance on 2011 ACT and gains in student performance between 2010 PLAN and 2011 ACT. Principal leadership is categorized into operational, instructional and cultural dimensions as well as collectively. The study also reviews the relationship between student achievement and school characteristics of total student enrollment, per pupil expenditure, teacher education level, free/reduced lunch eligibility and school leadership. </p> <p>Kentucky Teacher TELL survey responses regarding Appalachian high school principal behaviors related to school culture received the lowest mean scores while instructional leadership garnered the highest rating. Survey responses also presented strong positive correlations existed among the three leadership dimensions and overall leadership. Additionally, linear regressions of the leadership dimensions and overall leadership did not predict student achievement on the ACT or gains from the PLAN to the ACT. Finally, regressions of the school characteristics indicated that only the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch was a significant predictor of Appalachian student performance on the ACT and PLAN/ACT gain </p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Dantic, James I"],"institution":"Eastern Kentucky University","degree_name":"Doctor of Education (EdD)","degree_level":"Doctoral's","degree_discipline":"Educational Leadership and Policy Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":[],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2013,"date_issued":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"2013-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z","subjects":["ACT","Appalachian","High School Principal","Kentucky","Student Achievement","TELL Survey","Educational Administration and Supervision"],"languages":[],"rights":["Copyright 2013 James I Dantic"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/159","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Dantic, James I"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:publisher","label":"Institution","values":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Dissertation"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Doctoral's"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"]},{"key":"thesis:institution_name","label":"Thesis Institution Name","values":["Eastern Kentucky University"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["ACT","Appalachian","High School Principal","Kentucky","Student Achievement","TELL Survey","Educational Administration and Supervision"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright 2013 James I Dantic"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/159"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["High Schools located in Kentucky's rural Appalachian region have historically performed below average on national and state assessment instruments. These schools are located in a geographically isolated region with high unemployment, almost stagnant population growth and limited economic resources. Principals of these Kentucky Appalachian Schools are charged with raising student achievement and ensuring college and career readiness for all students in this challenging environment.
This correlational research examines principal leadership as determined by teacher responses on Kentucky's 2011 TELL survey and its relationship with student achievement as defined by school level performance on 2011 ACT and gains in student performance between 2010 PLAN and 2011 ACT. Principal leadership is categorized into operational, instructional and cultural dimensions as well as collectively. The study also reviews the relationship between student achievement and school characteristics of total student enrollment, per pupil expenditure, teacher education level, free/reduced lunch eligibility and school leadership.
Kentucky Teacher TELL survey responses regarding Appalachian high school principal behaviors related to school culture received the lowest mean scores while instructional leadership garnered the highest rating. Survey responses also presented strong positive correlations existed among the three leadership dimensions and overall leadership. Additionally, linear regressions of the leadership dimensions and overall leadership did not predict student achievement on the ACT or gains from the PLAN to the ACT. Finally, regressions of the school characteristics indicated that only the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch was a significant predictor of Appalachian student performance on the ACT and PLAN/ACT gain
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This correlational research examines principal leadership as determined by teacher responses on Kentucky's 2011 TELL survey and its relationship with student achievement as defined by school level performance on 2011 ACT and gains in student performance between 2010 PLAN and 2011 ACT. Principal leadership is categorized into operational, instructional and cultural dimensions as well as collectively. The study also reviews the relationship between student achievement and school characteristics of total student enrollment, per pupil expenditure, teacher education level, free/reduced lunch eligibility and school leadership.
Kentucky Teacher TELL survey responses regarding Appalachian high school principal behaviors related to school culture received the lowest mean scores while instructional leadership garnered the highest rating. Survey responses also presented strong positive correlations existed among the three leadership dimensions and overall leadership. Additionally, linear regressions of the leadership dimensions and overall leadership did not predict student achievement on the ACT or gains from the PLAN to the ACT. Finally, regressions of the school characteristics indicated that only the percentage of students eligible for free and reduced lunch was a significant predictor of Appalachian student performance on the ACT and PLAN/ACT gain
"],"dc:format":["application/pdf"],"dc:identifier":["https://encompass.eku.edu/etd/159"],"dc:publisher":["Encompass Digital Archive, Eastern Kentucky University"],"dc:rights":["Copyright 2013 James I Dantic"],"dc:source":["Encompass Digital Archive: Online Theses and Dissertations"],"dc:subject":["ACT","Appalachian","High School Principal","Kentucky","Student Achievement","TELL Survey","Educational Administration and Supervision"],"dc:title":["Relationships Between Teacher Perceptions Of Principal Leadership And Student Achievement In Kentucky Appalachian High Schools"],"dc:type":["Dissertation"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Leadership and Policy Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Doctoral's"],"thesis:degree_name":["Doctor of Education (EdD)"],"thesis:institution_name":["Eastern Kentucky University"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:15:19Z"}