A COMPARISON OF LEADERSHIP STYLES OF MALE AND FEMALE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ADMINISTRATORS IN PRINCE GEORGE'S COUNTY, MARYLAND

Why are there fewer women school administrators than men when so many teachers are women? Is there a difference in leadership style that would suggest that women are less effective as administrators?; In an attempt to answer these questions thirty-seven volunteer administrators (twenty males and seventeen females) and sixty-nine volunteer teachers (twenty males and forty-nine females) in Prince George's County, Maryland completed a leadership test and companion form to determine if there was a difference in leadership style that would suggest that women are less effective as administrators. This study focused on the following research questions: (1) Do male and female elementary school administrators differ in relationship orientation, task orientation, and effectiveness? (2) Do male and female administrators differ in a dominant administrative style? (3) Do elementary school administrators and their teachers differ in perceived relationship orientation, task orientation, and effectiveness? (4) Do administrators differ from their teachers in their perceptions of these administrators' dominant administrative styles? (5) Are educational levels related to the leadership style of male and female administrators?; First, the biggest significant difference that this study brought out was the discrepancy in the perceptions between administrators and teachers. Administrators (male and female) felt they were using effective leadership styles oriented to tasks and relationships. Teachers viewed administrators as using leadership styles ineffectively and superficially. Teachers also saw their administrators as less effective and task oriented than administrators saw themselves. Second, there is an inconsistency between teachers' perceptions of male administrators and male administrators' perceptions of themselves. Male administrators perceived themselves as using an ineffective leadership style that has a low orientation to tasks and relationships; yet teachers significantly rated their male administrators as more task oriented than female administrators. Third, male administrators showed a tendency to perceive themselves as using a less effective leadership style oriented to low task orientation and low relationship orientation while female administrators tended to perceive themselves as using more effective leadership style oriented to high task orientation and low relationship orientation. This would be an important difference if perception of style, based on sex, can be confirmed further.