Principal support of student psychological needs and a functional instructional core
| Published date | 13 May 2019 |
| Date | 13 May 2019 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-04-2018-0076 |
| Pages | 243-260 |
| Author | Curt M. Adams,Jentre J. Olsen |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
Principal support of student
psychological needs and a
functional instructional core
Curt M. Adams
Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies,
University of Oklahoma, Norman, Oklahoma, USA, and
Jentre J. Olsen
Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA
Abstract
Purpose –Limited attention to messages transmitted between principals and teachers led to the general
questionfor this study: is principalsupport of studentpsychologicalneeds related to functionalsocial conditions
within the instructional core? Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to define principal support of student
psychologicalneeds and explain its leadership functionthrough the lens of conversationtheory. Without much
empirical evidence to draw from, a theoretical argument for how principal support of student psychological
needsmight influence the featuresof the teachingand learning environmentis advanced thentested empirically.
Design/methodology/approach –Hypotheses were tested using a non-experimental, correlational
research design based on ex-post facto data collected from teachers and students in 93 schools in a
metropolitan city of the USA. Data were collected in the spring of 2017 from randomly sampled teachers and
students in the 93 schools. Usable responses were received from 1,168 teachers, yielding a response rate of
66 percent. A total of 4,523 students received surveys and usable responses were received from 3,301, yielding
a response rate of 73 percent. Multi-level modeling was used to analyze the data.
Findings –Principal support of student psychological needs was related to school-leveldifferences in faculty
trust in students, collective teacher efficacy and student perceived autonomy support. Leadership practices
surrounding professional development and instructional coherence had moderately strong, positive
relationships with the outcome variables; however, the strength of these relationships diminished when
principal support was included in the analysis.
Originality/value –The argument in this study proposes that principal–teacher conversations enhance
leadership practices and support a vibrant and engaging instructional core when intentional messages build
mental representations that enable teachers to understand sources of optimal student growth. Such use of
conversation extends the functionality of principal–teacher interactions beyond that of teacher control and
toward an ongoing sense-making and learning process.
Keywords Leadership conversation, Principal support, Conversation theory, Teacher trust in students,
Collective teacher efficacy
Paper type Research paper
Relationships have always been fundamental to principal work and a focal element of effective
leadership. As school leadership moves toward distributed and collaborative practices
(Hallinger, 2011; Harris, 2011; Spillane, 2012), messages transmitted through relationships
seemingly take on greater significance for research and practice. Research, though, has not
adequately peeled back the relational layers involved in social exchanges to explain how
messages embedded within interactions shape teaching and learning environments.
Principal support of student psychological needs makes a modest turn in this direction. Prior
research established the construct and demonstrated its association with student learning
capacity, teacher–student trust and student self-regulated learning (Adams and Olsen, 2017).
This study extends earlier work by situating the practice in the context of conversation theory
and considering its influence on features of the instructional core relative to formal organizational
structures. The general question guiding the inquiry was: is principal support of student
psychological needs related to a functional instructional core?
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 57 No. 3, 2019
pp. 243-260
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-04-2018-0076
Received 16 April 2018
Revised 28 September 2018
6 December 2018
12 March 2019
15 March 2019
Accepted 19 March 2019
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
243
Student
psychological
needs
Principal support of student psychological needs
Principal support of student psychological needs derives from self-determination theory and
its explanation for how factors in the social environment at times contribute to, or at other
times inhibit, human motivation, flourishing and adaptive functioning(Ryan and Deci, 2002).
As explained,our innate, basic psychological needsof autonomy, competence and relatedness
fuel autonomous motivation, healthy adaptation, optimal development and overall wellbeing
(Deci and Ryan, 2016). Activation of these needs in students is linked to better achievement,
interest in academic work, meaningful engagement and academic accomplishments (Neimic
and Ryan, 2009a, b; Reeve, 2002).
Principals reach student psychological needs primarily through teachers and other
school members whose daily interactions with students can either be facilitative of,
indifferent to, or determinantal to self-determined action (Deci et al., 1994; Jang et al., 2010;
Reeve and Jang, 2006). Given the indirect path between principals and students, the purpose
of need-supportive conversation is to stimulate sense-making and learning by talking
intentionally with teachers about social, psychological and cognitive processes contributing
to student development (Adams and Olsen, 2017). Importantly, principal support of student
psychological needs does not involve telling teachers how to teach or controlling their
practices; instead, it functions as an external reference to encourage teachers to think about
the social and psychological factors behind student engagement in the learning process.
Principal–teacher interactions oriented toward autonomy support stress the importance
of de-emphasizing evaluating and controlling practices while emphasizing the relevance and
meaningfulness of learning tasks, affording voice and choice in activities, and framing goals
that have intrinsic value and purpose (Assor et al., 2002; Niemiec and Ryan, 2009a, b).
Teacher understanding about autonomy support can emerge from conversations in which
principals ask teachers how they make course content relevant to students, how they make
class personally exciting for students and how they try to motivate students (Adams and
Olsen, 2017). Questions addressing the above practices intend to elicit reflection and
thoughts about the controlling and nurturing qualities behind instructional practices.
Interactions targeted at competence support address the ways teachers communicate
high expectations for students, how they use performance information and feedback in
non-controlling ways and how they build student confidence with optimally challenging
tasks (Reeve and Halusic, 2009). Teacher understanding of competence support can form
as principals engage teachers in thinking about how they convey realistic and high
expectations for students, how they build confidence of discouraged students and
how performance information is used (Adams and Olsen, 2017). Such interactions direct
sense-making to how goals are framed and used, how feedback supports learning and how
interactions affect student mindsets (Reeve, 2016).
Relational-supportive interactions stimulate reflection on the social adjustment of
students, the expression of respect and acceptance, open communication and outreach to
parents/guardians (Deci and Ryan, 2016). Example conversations might involve principals
asking teachers how they convey acceptance and respect to students, how they support
students’social adjustment or how teachers communicate and work with parents and
students. Talking about teaching and learning from a social perspective directs attention to
affective processes and their influence on student motivation.
The above questions asked regularly and consistently provoke exchanges that enable
teachers and principals to think deeply, and collectively, about student psychological needs and
need-support in the classroom. The questions do not explicitly reference student autonomy,
competence or relatedness, yet the information exchanged captures experiences related to
psychological needs and need-support. Such questions leverage conversation as a vehicle for
teacher reflection and sense-making around the interaction between thelearning context and the
student as a learner.
244
JEA
57,3
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