ABSTRACT
The present chapter explores the meaning of systems thinking (ST) in schools and reports on our development of a measure of elementary school principals’ ST (PST). During the scale’s development, data were collected in three waves, from three different samples totaling 414 mid-level school leaders in Israel, who rated the ST of the principals in their elementary schools. First, relevant items were developed and pilot-tested through principal components analysis. Then, exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of items were conducted using two new independent samples to assess factorial validity. Findings indicated that a four-factor model of PST was the best fit between the empirical results and the conceptual formulation. Thus, according to mid-level leaders’ perceptions, PST comprises the following factors: Evaluating significance; Openness to a variety of opinions; Leading wholes; and Adopting a multidimensional view. Further, supporting criterion-related validity, the PST Scale was found to correlate significantly with two relevant established constructs: instructional leadership and organizational commitment. The PST instrument developed in this study opens new avenues for research regarding school leaders’ effects on organizational characteristics and student outcomes. Practically, measuring PST may be valuable at various stages throughout principals’ professional and career development.
