How Principals Facilitate Teachers’ Learning Under Accountability Systems

Abstract

Under the different states’ accountability contexts, it may be meaningful to find the relationship among the strength of their accountability policies, principals’ facilitation of teachers’ learning, and teachers’ participation in professional development programs. The analysis of two-level hierarchical linear modeling found that high school graduation exit exams negatively affected principals’ support of professional days before and during the school year, although the annual measurable objective strength and the proficiency performance standards may not have had any relationship with principals’ facilitating teacher learning. The findings of three-level hierarchical linear modeling showed that principals were an essential factor for teachers’ participation in professional development. The proficiency performance standards increased teachers’ spending time for content professional development programs, although annual measurable objectives strength decreased them. However, professional development programs related to instruction and classroom management were not influenced by states’ accountability systems.