Servant leadership is a leadership model that is gaining popularity because this model has been shown to be effective in both the public and private sectors. Although there is
evidence that many of the most admired and successful organizations are now practicing
the disciplines of servant leadership, there is a lack of substantive research into the
examination within the field of educational administration. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to investigate the application of servant leadership practices by public school principals. This study used quantitative and qualitative research methods and was
divided into two distinct phases. In the first phase, the Self-Assessment of Servant
Leadership (SASL) was used to survey 70 principals in New Jersey public schools. The
results of this survey were used to create a group of principals for further study, which was composed of the 15 principals who yielded the highest score on the SASL. The
second phase included an examination of implementation of the 10 characteristics of
servant leadership by these 15 principals. This analysis occurred through a
semi structured interview process. The data from the SASL and the 15 interviews led to
the conclusion that servant leadership provided by principals exists in New Jersey's highachieving public schools. The one-on-one interviews provided an abundant amount of
common themes regarding how these servant leaders apply the 10 characteristics of
servant leadership in the principals' practice. The data also revealed these servant
principals had a similar belief system and approach to leadership, which may have been a
factor in the success of the school. This study represents an important contribution to the
existing literature regarding servant leadership, as this study provides a framework for
higher education institutions to use in course design. The themes can also be utilized to create professional development opportunities for educational leaders, which can support principals in initiating, implementing, and sustaining outstanding schools. Further research that extends the servant leadership approach in schools by correlating servant leadership with student achievement levels and teacher empowerment would be valuable.These studies would reveal more information regarding the influence that servant leadership has on critical factors in schools.