Social Skills of Principals: A Profile in Context

Abstract

A study context related to social communications in restructured school environments frames this investigation of social communications skills of principals. Responses of 709 public school principals to the Social Skills Inventory (SSI) constitute the data source. The instrument, a self-report inventory demonstrating positive relationships with several measures of social effectiveness, yields a global indicator of social skills defined as social competence. Results suggested generally marginal social skills among these principals. Positive associations were found between social competence and gender (female), higher levels of education, larger school size, urban school locus, and administrative decisional autonomy. Older, more experienced respondents with more extended positional longevity and tenure as administrators revealed significantly lower social communications skills as measured by the SSI. Findings are discussed in terms of the stewardship role of the principal, and the need for social skills training for work in open systems with multiple stakeholders.