The School Leader's Guide to Understanding Attitude and Influencing Behavior

Brandt W. Pryor is Director of The Evaluation Group, College of Education, at Texas A&M University, College Station, where he now leads statewide studies of high school reform efforts. He is also an educational research consultant specializing in attitude and behavior studies. He has previously served as Associate Professor, Department of Educational Leadership, Lamar University, and Senior Research Associate in the College of Education at Arizona State University. He did his doctoral work at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, where he studied attitude theory and measurement with Martin Fishbein, the world's leading social psychologist. (Dr. Fishbein is now the Harry C. Coles, Jr., Distinguished Professor at the University of Pennsylvania.) His dissertation research, on which committee Fishbein served, was the first successful application of Fishbein's model to decision making about participation in voluntary educational programs. He later replicated that study in investigations of decision making by schoolteachers, prin-cipals, and others. His most recently completed attitude study investigated the participation of information scientists in professional development, and was published in the Journal of Education in Library and Information Science, 39, 118-133. He is currently studying decisions of teachers and administrators to use interactive video conferencing for pro-fessional development, and decisions of teachers to integrate technology into their instruction. He has spoken on attitudes and behavior since 1984, with high school students, community college teachers, as well as with public school and university teachers, researchers, and administrators. He has presented numerous scholarly papers concerning attitude theory, and has conducted his work-shop Have You Got "Attitude"?: Measuring, Understanding, and Changing Attitude and Behavior at state and national meetings since 1998. Caroline R. Pryor is Assistant Professor and Regents Fellow in the Department of Teaching, Learning and Culture, at Texas A&M University, College Station. In 2003 she was selected as a Wye Fellow of The Aspen Institute . She holds a doctorate in Secondary Education from Arizona State University. Her postdoctoral work at Arizona State University concerned the development of a citywide field-based preservice teacher education program, including staff development for princi-pals and mentor teachers. She holds teaching credentials in grades K-9, is a former elementary school teacher, and was the director of an English as a Second Language program. Her books include Philosophy of Education Workbook: Writing a Statement of Beliefs and Practices (2002), Democratic Practice Workbook: Activities for the Field Experience (2000), and Writing a Philosophy Statement: An Educator's Workbook (2004), all published by McGraw-Hill; as well as The Mission of the Scholar: Research and Perspectives, published by Peter Lang (2002). Currently, her research focuses on democratic classroom discourse strategies, and applying the model to study preser-vice and mentor teachers' intentions to implement democratic practice. She has also applied aspects of the model in grant project evaluations (e.g., Pryor & Kang, 2003). She teaches graduate courses in curriculum theory and development. In a career that spans 25 years of teaching, she has worked extensively with principals and teachers in field-based, preservice programs building alliances for school reform.

Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors Part I: A Useful Model for Changing School Behavior 1. How Are Attitudes and Behaviors Formed? 2. How Are Attitudes Toward People Formed and Changed? 3. How Are Attitudes Toward Behaviors Formed and Changed? 4. How Is Perceived Social Pressure Formed and Changed? 5. Putting it All Together: The Model as a Whole Part II: Conducting Your Study 6. Narrowing Your Interest 7. Collecting Your Data Part III: Understanding and Applying Your Results 8. Analyzing and Reporting Your Results 9. Applying Your Results to Your Interest Resource A: Glossary of Key Terms Resource B: Sample Scales Resource C: Sample Questionnaire Resource D: Action Plan Checklist for a Study Using the Model Resource E: Internet-Based Resources References Index

"Educational administrators will find the book to be an easily applicable tool for solving many of the dilemmas they face in their schools." -- Theron Schutte, Middle School Principal "Finally a book that can serve as a useful tool for aspiring and practicing school leaders. Today's school leader needs strategies and competencies in working with diverse audiences and perspectives. The Pryors have achieved this." -- Luana Zellner, Director "The business of education is a 'people' business; the most successful school leaders are those who have a full understanding of the individuals and groups they lead. This book provides a practical framework that enables school leaders to effectively asses the attitudes and better understand the behaviors of their staff." -- Kevin Brown, Director of Personnel "As a former public school administrator for many years, and now at the university level, I believe principals will find important topics that are though provoking and applicable . . . an excellent tool for administrators." -- Larry Butler, Coordinator/Middle Grades Program "This book fills a major void in the literature focused upon educational leadership." -- Robert Fallows, Associate Professor, Educational Leadership "Given the press for school administrators to implement and manage change, this book provides a framework for identifying why new initiatives are resisted and how best to reduce or eliminate this resistance." -- Bruce Barnett, Professor, Educational Leadership and Policy Studies "The book provides a theoretical base for practical application of strategies that will strengthen beliefs and attitudes that support behaviors that can move a school toward the fulfillment of its educational mission." -- David Erlandson, Professor "Beyond providing a useful framework to examine behavioral changes in schools, this book delves into the details of how attitudinal change occurs and provides the reader with a process for transforming changes in schools." -- Alan Shoho, Associate Professor "Today's principals are in the hot seat. Communities demand excellence for their children. This book helps principals understand how to approach problem-solving and decision-making for successful outcomes." -- Cordell Jones, Principal "An exceptional job of blending theory and practice. Written for the school administrator, it is clear, concise, and useful! It provides a tool that can bring about change and positively impact student performance and achievement." -- Fred Richardson, Manager, High School Redesign "In this book, Brandt and Caroline Pryor have presented us with ideas and techniques that will assist the average administrator in successfully addressing needed improvements. It is my intention to add important concepts presented in this book to my principal and superintendent preparation courses." -- Elvis H. Arterbury, Professor of Educational Leadership "School administrators, as well as leaders in a variety of organizational settings, will find this book a valuable tool in their arsenal of strategies to run effective, efficient, flexible organizations." -- James Gilsinan, Dean, College of Public Service "A successful school leader is not only an instructional leader, she/he is also an opinion leader who sets the tone and direction for a school. This book can help a principal or other administrator by putting research on attitudes and a model for understanding them into a school context. It provides a process that school leaders can follow when studying, and trying to influence, people's attitudes." -- Joe O'Reilly, Director of Research and Planning "This book keeps its promises: it is truly a guide for action that will be used by educators, especially educational change agents. Each of the authors comes out of an unusual blend of theoretical sophistication and practical experience that make this book a stimulating intellectual read and a solid manual for practice." -- Steven Tozer, Professor of Education