Date of Award

1-21-2022

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

First Advisor

Angela Sewall

Abstract

The purpose of the study the study was to address the current level of legal knowledge with a sample of Arkansas public assistant principals. The research sought to determine whether there were relationships between the content areas of the First, Fourth, and Fifth Amendments and recency of school law training, years of administrative experience, student enrollment, size of community, type of professional development, involvement in school-related litigation, and perceptions of law and policy knowledge. Legal knowledge was measured utilizing a 31-question survey which included one informed consent question, 15 demographic questions, nine First amendment questions, two Fourth Amendment questions, two Fifth Amendment questions, and one open response question. The survey was submitted via email to 347 with 65 surveys being returned for incorrect addresses and 121 completed responses, reflecting a response rate of 43%. Analyses of variance (ANOVAs) were performed with significant relationships found between search and seizure and attendance at conference and seminars (0.03), First Amendment knowledge (0.05) and the use of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators as a source of professional development, and total legal literacy (0.01) and the use of the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators as a source of professional development. The open responses indicated that over 50% of respondents felt professional development in the field of technology was needed. The findings of the study are encouraging because it appears that external factors such as student enrollment, community size, and recency of school law training do not affect legal literacy. However, it also demonstrates that professional development does have an impact on legal literacy. With this in mind, additional research should be conducted in the area of professional development to determine how appropriately developed national, state, and local policies can improve the legal literacy of public school assistant principals.

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