Date
8-20-2026
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)
Chair
Treg Hopkins
Keywords
transformational leadership theory, Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ), private school leadership, North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship, school vouchers, rural education
Disciplines
Educational Leadership
Recommended Citation
Copland, Tahira, "Differences in Private School Leadership Styles Based on North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship Participation Status and Geographic Setting: A Causal-Comparative Study" (2026). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 8753.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/8753
Abstract
This quantitative causal-comparative study examined whether leadership style differs between private school leaders of North Carolina Opportunity Scholarship participating schools and nonparticipating schools in urban and rural geographic settings. This study is important because the rapid expansion of school voucher programs has implications for the accessibility and effectiveness of private schools now serving larger numbers of recipients. This study adds to the literature on the behaviors of private school leaders in the context of school vouchers in distinct settings. The study comprised a convenience sample of 89 North Carolina private school leaders recruited statewide who were at least 18 years of age and not reporting to any administrators within their school. The results of a series of two-way ANOVAs did not reveal any statistically significant differences in leadership style, with the exception of Management-by-Exception-Active (MBEA). Leaders of NCOS nonparticipating schools scored higher (M = 2.60) in MBEA than leaders of NCOS participating schools (M = 1.76), F(1,85) = 5.23, p = .025, ηp² = .058. Across groups, mean transformational leadership scores and leadership outcome scores were higher than transactional scores, with lowest mean scores in passive-avoidant leadership. This study suggests that private school leaders emphasize transformational leadership irrespective of voucher program participation status and geographic setting. Future research should replicate this study with larger, more balanced samples, use follower ratings, apply qualitative and longitudinal methods, compare private school leadership in states with expanded voucher programs on additional variables, and examine how rural leadership demands affect voucher participation decisions.
