0.19 Watts, l., kolsun, c., cline, v., & Williams, l. (october 20  (Page 6/11)

Khattri, Riley, Kane (1997) wrote:

Ethnographic and sociological research suggest that the cultural milieu, social structure, and social capital of poor, rural areas is quite distinct from that of other areas. Researchers argue that the assets of rural communities include the presence of strong community connections, a sense of localism and value of place, and informal community decision-making mechanisms (e.g, Deyoung, 1994; Howley and Howley, 1995; Pelavin Research Institute, 1996). Rural researchers suggest that schools in these communities are tightly linked to the communities they serve (e.g., Theobald&Nachtigal, 1995), a theme notably absent in the literature on urban schools and communities” (p. 86).

Bizzell (2009) indicated that principals in rural Appalachia need to be aware of the uniqueness of their students’ culture in order to provide culturally-responsible leadership. Thus, the question arises as to the importance of the cultural factors of the school community as they affect student achievement and school leadership. Taking it one step further, can the culture of the school, which is created in large degree by the greater culture of the community, have an impact on what leaders believe to be attainable for their students? If a school is considered to be in a community or region where educational expectations are low and achievement results have traditionally not been high, will the principal be affected negatively in his or her sense of efficacy?

Measuring principal self-efficacy

Tschannen-Moran and Gareis (2007) conducted a study that sought to identify important antecedents of the self-efficacy beliefs of 558 principals in Virginia schools. Several different sources of possible influence were included in their study including demographic factors (gender and race of the principal), school level, school setting (urban, suburban, rural), and percentage of students on free and reduced meals (poverty level). The results did not show any significant relationship between self-efficacy and school setting, school level, or the poverty level of the school:

We were surprised to find that the context of the school that a principal leads was unrelated to his or her self-efficacy beliefs. Although schools with a larger proportion of low socioeconomic students are often thought to be more challenging to lead, the principals from those contexts in this study did not differ systematically in their beliefs about their capabilities to lead than did principals in contexts that, on the surface, might be considered more conducive to eliciting self-efficacy (Tschannen-Moran&Gareis, 2007, p. 104).

The Virginia study did not specifically address unique cultural features of rural Appalachia, though parts of western Virginia are considered to be in the Appalachian region. If the sense of efficacy does influence principal leadership in creating an effective learning environment, is it possible to determine if principals who serve in that setting are affected by their perceptions of Appalachian culture? Is there any relationship between cultural factors or perceptions of those factors and a principal’s sense of efficacy in influencing student achievement? This paper will consider those issues.