Developing a Survey to Determine Student Perceptions of Readiness at the Beginning of an Educational Leadership Program

In this study, a survey was developed to determine student perceptions of readiness prior to entering an educational leadership program. The survey was disseminated to all students entering the program, and the results were analyzed to determine the reliability and validity of the instrument. The data from the survey was then analyzed to help faculty in the program make instructional decisions based on the student feedback and used to provide suggestions to the faculty for program improvement. The results will also be used to contribute to program accreditation through the Council for Accrediting Educational Programs (CAEP). This study had two initial phases; first, it determined how trustworthy and dependable the instrument is in identifying student perceptions of readiness; second, the results were analyzed to determine areas of focus for the cohort of students in future courses. A panel of experts from areas outside of the research population was used to establish content and face validity of the instrument. Internal consistency and reliability were measured using Cronbach’s alpha. An analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to determine the areas of focus for future classes. Approximately 50 survey scores were used from students enrolled in the educational leadership program across the Commonwealth of Virginia. The survey was given in July of this year, and the results were analyzed in time for presentation at the conference.