The effects of sex of teacher, sex of scenario principal, and leadership style on the performance ratings of scenario principals by teachers

This study was designed to address questions regarding the effects of sex and leadership style on teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness. On a researcher-designed instrument, middle school teachers rated the effectiveness of a scenario principal's response in several situations. The responses reflected varying levels of Task and Relationship Behavior.^ The design incorporated two between subjects factors (Teacher Sex and Principal Sex) and one within subjects factor (Leadership Style) which was treated as a repeated measure. An analysis of variance revealed no significant effects except for Leadership Style. Overall, High Task/High Relationship behavior rated significantly higher and Low Task/Low Relationship rated significantly lower than the others. The null hypothesis concerning differences could not be rejected and the stated research hypotheses were not supported.^ Additional analyses of variance were conducted substituting subject demographic variables for Teacher Sex in the research design. No significant interactions or main effects other than Leadership Style were noted when either Age or Ethnicity were substituted.^ A significant two-way interaction was noted for Teacher Experience and Leadership Style (p =.0316). Less experienced teachers rated principal's performance lower when exhibiting High Task/Low Relationship style than did more experienced teachers. A significant three-way interaction was noted for Administrative Aspiration x Principal Sex x Leadership Style (p =.0294). Teachers who indicated an intent to enter administration differed more on their ratings between male and female principals exhibiting mixed styles of High Task/Low Relationship and Low Task/High Relationship than did teachers who indicated no or undecided.^ Sex of the teacher appears less important than sex of the principal on performance ratings. Results suggest further study of the effects of teacher experience and teacher administrative aspiration on perceptions of principal effectiveness. ^

Nutrient cycling in Alaskan tundra in response to experimental manipulation of growing season length and soil temperature : a climate change scenario

Climate change in the Arctic is predicted to increase plant productivity through decomposition-related enhanced nutrient availability. However, the extent of the increase will depend on whether the increased nutrient availability can be sustained. To address this uncertainty, I assessed the response of plant tissue nutrients, litter decomposition rates, and soil nutrient availability to experimental climate warming manipulations, extended growing season and soil warming, over a 7 year period. Overall, the most consistent effect was the year-to-year variability in measured parameters, probably a result of large differences in weather and time of snowmelt. The results of this study emphasize that although plants of arctic environments are specifically adapted to low nutrient availability, they also posses a suite of traits that help to reduce nutrient losses such as slow growth, low tissue concentrations, and low tissue turnover that result in subtle responses to environmental changes.

The effects of sex of teacher, sex of scenario principal and leadership style on the performance ratings of scenario principals by teachers

This study was designed to address questions regarding the effects of sex and leadership style on teacher perceptions of principal effectiveness. On a researcher-designed instrument, middle school teachers rated the effectiveness of a scenario principal's response in several situations. The responses reflected varying levels of Task and Relationship Behavior. The design incorporated two between subjects factors (Teacher Sex and Principal Sex) and one within subjects factor (Leadership Style) which was treated as a repeated measure. An analysis of variance revealed no significant effects except for Leadership Style. Overall, High Task/High Relationship behavior rated significantly higher and Low Task/Low Relationship rated significantly lower than the others. The null hypothesis concerning differences could not be rejected and the stated research hypotheses were not supported. Additional analyses of variance were conducted substituting subject demographic variables for Teacher Sex in the research design. No significant interactions or main effects other than Leadership Style were noted when either Age or Ethnicity were substituted. A significant two-way interaction was noted for Teacher Experience and Leadership Style (p = .0316). Less experienced teachers rated principal's performance lower when exhibiting High Task/Low Relationship style than did more experienced teachers. A significant three-way interaction was noted for Administrative Aspiration x Principal Sex x Leadership Style (p = .0294). Teachers who indicated an intent to enter administration differed more on their ratings between male and female principals exhibiting mixed styles of High Task/Low Relationship and Low Task/High Relationship than did teachers who indicated no or undecided. Sex of the teacher appears less important than sex of the principal on performance ratings. Results suggest further study of the effects of teacher experience and teacher administrative aspiration on perceptions of principal effectiveness.