This dissertation investigates the differences in leadership practices between traditional and public charter school principals in Indiana. The first chapter provides the reader with information regarding societal views on the position and the potential for entrepreneurial school leaders. The chapter also describes the impact that school leaders have on learning and student achievement. The second chapter provides the history of the school principal and how this role has progressed through various reforms and accountability measures. Furthermore, it details effective leadership practices and entrepreneurial leadership practices and the commonalities that they share.
To completely understand various views on leadership practices, the third chapter analyzes the interviews of 15 school principals representing traditional or public charter schools in an effort to compare and contrast practices in school leadership. The next chapter elaborates on the similarities and differences between both sets of school leadership. Differences were found in how the principals implemented their school visions and monitored the implementation of new learning strategies. Commonalities existed in how the principals modeled expectations through visibility and delegation. The final chapter determined that both sets of school principals practiced leadership qualities in effective leadership and/or entrepreneurial leadership practices.