Leadership Behavior, Teacher Morale, and Unexpected Teacher Absenteeism in Selected Elementary Schools in an Urban School District.

A survey of 423 teachers in 15 Orange County (Florida) elementary schools sought to determine the extent to which unexpected teacer absenteeism could be explained by teacher morale, selected teacher and school characteristics, and teacher perceptions of the leadership behavior of principals. The Leader Behavior Description Questionnaire (Form XII) and the Purdue Teacher Opinionnaire were used to gather the data. One-way analysis of variance was used to determine relationships between the schools' degree of teacher absenteeism, teacher morale, and perceptions of the leadership behavior of the principal. Stepwise multiple regression techniques were also used to analyze the contributions of teacher- and school-related demographic variables and of scores on the leader behavior and morale instruments to teacher absenteeism. Standard descriptive statistics and a correlation matrix completed the analysis. The research found that teacher perceptions of principal leadership were significantly different in schools with high absenteeism than in schools with average or low absenteeism; teacher morale differed significantly in schools with high, average, and low absenteeism; significant differences existed in teacher perceptions of principal leadership in high and low morale schools; and independent demographic variables accounted for 18 percent of the variance in teacher absenteeism. (Author/PGD)