Educational Leaders' Perceptions of the Impact of MBTI Professional Development on Leadership Practices in One School Division in Virginia

The purpose of this study was to identify the perceived impact of Myers-Briggs Test Indicator (MBTI) professional development on principal and assistant principal educational leadership practices in one school division in Virginia. The researcher collected and analyzed data to determine self-reported leadership changes that came as a result of school-system led professional development involving the Myers-Briggs Test Indicator. The results of these findings could help determine if school leaders and school systems would benefit from Myers-Briggs professional development. The findings were as follows: a) interview participants indicated only limited benefits of the MBTI training b) some participants identified self-awareness as a valuable leadership action related to the personality disposition training; c) some participants identified that they changed how they approached decisions when working with individuals with similar or different personality preferences and, d) participants indicated interest in additional MBTI training. Based on these findings, it is reasonable to conclude MBTI could be considered as a personality disposition tool in the context of comparing educational leadership personality preferences and understanding certain aspects of the decision-making process. The majority of the participants also recommended that such professional development be extended with additional sessions that allow for exploration and learning in specific school and team settings.