Exploring the Reliability and Validity of Research Instruments to Examine Secondary School Principals' Authentic Leadership Behavior and Psychological Capital

Abstract

This study presents research on the Psychological Capital Questionnaire (PCQ-24) and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (ALQ) in a sample of Arizona secondary school principals. A comprehensive literature review was conducted linking the constructs of psychological capital and authentic leadership to other forms of positive leadership, effective organizational change theories, positive psychology, organizational learning, and empirical research on effective schools. A conceptual model of effective leadership for positive organizational was developed with psychological capital and authentic leadership as critical components. The goal of the study was to determine whether or not these measures of psychological capital and authentic leadership are valid, reliable, and appropriate for further research in educational settings. A confirmatory factor analysis quantitatively examined the goodness of fit between the data collected from Arizona secondary school principals and the predefined factor structure supported by previous theory and research. A sample of N=147 for the ALQ and N=149 for the PCQ-24 were collected from active secondary principals in Arizona. The following questions guided this study: 1. Is the factor structure of the PCQ-24 and the ALQ consistent with the theoretical model? 2. What are the internal consistencies (reliabilities) of the sub scales and the overall reliability for each questionnaire? 3. Are there any significant mean differences in psychological capital or authentic leadership behavior given any of the principal characteristics or school demographics? 4. What is the relationship between psychological capital and authentic leadership? Findings from the study suggested that the correlated four-factor model was a better fit than the theoretical latent factor model for both instruments. Overall reliability met acceptable levels for both instruments; however, some subscales in the self-report ALQ instrument were unreliable. Significant mean differences in principals' age and years as a principal were found in both instruments, along with mean differences on some school demographic factors. Several of these differences support the theoretical constructs of psychological capital and authentic leadership within this population. Given the tentative results of the instruments, additional research is recommended in validating these instruments and potentially modifying them slightly for a population of educators. Additional recommendations and limitations conclude this study.