Abstract
Purpose. The purpose of the study was to determine to what extent, if any, specified behaviors of Christian school principals related to faculty cohesiveness when the influences of faculty size and governing base were considered.Procedures. (1) Data sources were 254 teachers and fifteen principals from Christian schools belonging to the Association of Christian Schools, International. (2) Through pilot work, two instruments were developed: (a) A leader behavior checklist (29 specific behaviors) for measuring frequency of behaviors as demonstrated by principals; and (b) A faculty descriptions questionnaire for measuring faculty cohesiveness. (3) Data were gathered during on-site visits by the investigator through administration of the instruments and interviews with the principal and three teachers at each school. (4) Statistical analyses included: (a) factor analysis of leader behaviors to discover groupings of behaviors; and (b) path analysis, to permit study of direct and indirect effects of faculty size, governing base, and leader behaviors on faculty cohesion.Major Findings. (1) Faculty size and governing base showed no significant relationships with either leader behavior or faculty cohesiveness. (2) "Treating teachers as mature, concerned professionals" by principals demonstrated sixteen per cent shared variance with faculty cohesion. (3) "Fostering of social interaction" by principals showed eight per cent shared variance with faculty cohesion. (4) Two other leader behavior groups, "personal attention of principal" and "planning of religious and spiritual activities," demonstrated insignificant relationships with cohesion.Major Conclusions. (1) Behavior differences between principals of Christian schools are not likely to relate to differences in faculty size or governing base between those schools. (2) "Treating of teachers as mature, concerned professionals" by Christian school principals is likely to have some positive effect on faculty cohesion. (3) "Fostering of social interaction" and "personal attention of principal" behaviors by principals are likely to have only minor impact on faculty cohesion. (4) The frequency of "planning of religious and spiritual activities" by Christian school principals is not likely to influence faculty cohesion as much as the quality of those activities.