Contexts of Accountability Under Systemic Reform: Implications for Principal Influence on Instruction and Supervision

Abstract

How various accountability contexts -- including states, local boards, districts, school site councils, parent associations, and teachers -- affect the ability of principals to influence instructional and supervisory decisions in their schools is the subject of this inquiry. Data for the analysis come from the survey responses of 8,524 elementary, middle, and high school principals in low-, moderate-, and high-control states. Principals responded to queries in the 1999-2000 School and Staffing Survey regarding their personal influence and the influence of various other policy actors on decisions in the instructional and supervisory domains in the principals’ schools. Examining variation in principal influence within and between states, the study uses hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) as its primary analytic technique. Results indicate that the various accountability contexts differentially affect principals’ influence, and they also vary by domain, extent of state control, and region.

Keywords: educational administration, accountability contexts, school reform, policy systems, principal influence, school decision making