Abstract:

This study investigates how the achievement goal theory and its measures can be utilized to understand the school principals’ achievement goals for leading. The achievement goal theory is an analytical tool little used when studying educational management. This explorative study aims at developing a measure of principals’ achievement goals for leading, by using a factor analysis of the scores of 270 Norwegian principals. The analysis shows a clear distinction between principals’ mastery and performance goals for leading. Mastery goals for leading were positively correlated with constructs such as principals’ efficacy beliefs for leading, autonomy and teacher-principal trust, while performance goals were weaker or not significantly correlated with these constructs. The study suggests that the context and organizational factors are influencing principals’ purposes of achievement behaviour. Given the increasing emphasis on the accountability of school leaders, the current study suggests the achievement goal theory as a fruitful approach when studying educational leadership.

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