Effects of culture and gender on principal-teacher communication in schools

This is a report of a 1990‐91 study done in nineteen public schools in the state of Washington and twenty public schools in the province of Alberta. The authors examined teacher perceptions when principals communicate their organizational expectations. Communication that conveys messages of personal or organizational values, directly or indirectly and relying on intrinsic or extrinsic motivational mechanisms, is called social control communication. The authors found an interactive effect by culture, principal gender, and teacher gender. Three significant findings are outlined: Canadian teachers more than U.S. teachers perceive principals as using positive motivation in social control communication; male teachers more than female, teachers perceive principals as using negative motivational behaviors when communicating expectations; and teachers perceive male principals more than female principals as communicating expectations from a personalized ego state.