Principal Self-Efficacy and the Use of Power.

The fundamental issue driving educational reform is the redistribution of power. School principals not only use their power to influence the behavior of teachers and students, but they are also affected by using power. This paper presents findings of a study that examined the relationship between principal self-efficacy and the principal's use of various power bases. Phase 1 involved a survey of 121 elementary, middle, and secondary principals in a large metropolitan school district in a western state. In phase 2, 25 principals from the first phase completed a self-efficacy questionnaire, and a random sample of their teachers completed a survey that described their principals' use of power. Findings confirmed the research hypothesis that efficacy was positively related to expert and referent power and negatively related to legitimate, coercive, and reward power. Specifically: (1) principals with higher self-efficacy are more likely to use internally-based power when carrying out their instructional leadership role; (2) as principal experience increases, so too does the likelihood that principals will use externally-based power; and (3) the longer principals spend in one assignment, the more likely they are to use externally-based power. Five tables are included. Contains 34 references. (LMI)