Date of Award

2006

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

PhD Higher Education Leadership, Management, Policy

Department

Education Leadership, Management and Policy

Advisor

Mary F. Ruzicka

Committee Member

James C. Caulfield

Committee Member

Margaret A. Dames

Keywords

Education, Secondary, School administrators, United States, Statistics

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to create an original instrument, the Administrator Data Use Survey (ADUS), to assess practicing school administrators' perceptions of the importance of data to school improvement, the importance of data to their position, and the degree to which they feel their graduate preparation in educational administration adequately prepared them for the data use demands of their position. Validation panels were used to assess construct, content, criterion, and face validity of the ADUS. In addition, factor analysis was utilized for construct validation. The ADUS was sent to a random sampling of practicing administrators from New York State. Spearman Brown split-half reliability coefficients and Cronbach's alpha were estimated from the responses of this sample. The final instrument was found to have construct validity, with four distinct factors extracted through the factor analysis. Furthermore, the researcher-hypothesized framework was congruent to the extracted factor structure. In addition, the responses of the panels indicated that the instrument was content, criterion, and face valid. The ADUS was found to be reliable with split-half and internal reliabilities at a > .80 for all reliability statistics. Recommendations for replication of the study as well as expansion to other administrative positions were made. In addition, the value of the ADUS as a post-job­ placement assessment of preparation programs by universities as well as pre-placement screening instrument was suggested. Further study in the context of the theory of planned behavior was recommended. Finally, a large scale administration of the ADUS may yield valuable data to drive state licensing agencies and bodies to revise certification requirements for practicing administrators.

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