Principal Leadership and Beginning Elementary Teachers’ Self-Efficacy and Valuing of Ambitious Instructional Practices

This chapter focuses on a survey data from 175 first-year elementary teachers to examine how beginning teachers' self-efficacy with regard to teaching mathematics and English language arts and the degree to which they value ambitious practices are associated with principal leadership behaviors. It provides relevant context by describing the importance of principal leadership, teacher self-efficacy, and ambitious instruction. Several studies have found that effective principal leadership can promote high levels of beginning teacher satisfaction, commitment, and retention even in school contexts where student and teacher characteristics predict that teacher turnover is likely. As instructional leaders, principals can also promote quality instruction in their schools by defining the school's mission to focus on ambitious goals for teaching and student learning, managing the instructional program, monitoring and observing instruction, modeling instructional practices, analyzing student work, and promoting a positive learning climate. In terms of self-efficacy, there is evidence that teachers with higher levels of self-efficacy are more effective.