Degree Name

EdD (Doctor of Education)

Program

Educational Leadership

Date of Award

5-2011

Committee Chair or Co-Chairs

Virginia P. Foley

Committee Members

Eric S. Glover, Elizabeth Ralston, Donald W. Good

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine if teachers' job satisfaction was greater when working for principals with higher perceived use of humor. The study also examined the effects of principals' use of humor on perceived leadership effectiveness and level of personal relationship.

The researcher used a 36-question survey instrument to collect data. A population of 796 educators in a public school system in Northeast Tennessee was given an opportunity to participate in this research. There were 450 completed surveys (56%) returned.

There were 4 major findings from this study. Teachers reported that it was appropriate for principals to use humor in a school setting to a significant level (p < 0.001). Data from the surveys also indicated that teachers had significantly higher reported job satisfaction (p < 0.001) when working for principals who used humor when compared to principals who did not use humor regularly. The research also showed that teachers had significantly higher reported personal relationships (p < 0.001) with principals who use humor regularly. In addition, teachers in this study rated leadership effectiveness significantly higher ( p < 0.001) for principals who regularly used humor when compared to those who did not.

Document Type

Dissertation - unrestricted

Copyright

Copyright by the authors.

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