Teachers' Perceptions of their Self-Efficacy and Effects of Principal Leadership Practices on Self-Efficacy Beliefs in Low and High-Performing Elementary Schools in South Carolina (Under the direction of Dr. Vivian Brackett) Across the United States, school districts are challenged with attracting and attaining high quality teachers. Efficacious teachers are critical to improving student achievement in low-performing elementary schools. Principals who adopt transformational leadership practices are more likely to improve teacher self-efficacy beliefs, thereby improving student achievement. In fact, previous research has shown that the most vital characteristics of effective teachers are their self-efficacy beliefs. The purpose of this study was three-fold: (a) to investigate if there was a difference in teacher self-efficacy beliefs between low and high-performing elementary schools, (b) to examine if teachers in low and high-performing elementary schools perceive that their self-efficacy beliefs were impacted by the leadership practices of the principal, and (e) to determine if teachers that reported high self-efficacy beliefs observed more transformational leadership practices in principals of high-performing schools than principals in low-performing schools. This quantitative study used a survey research design consisting of two questionnaires that were administered to a sample of teachers. The questionnaires, based on previously published surveys, collected data on teacher self-efficacy beliefs and the perceptions of sampled teachers regarding their principal's leadership practices. Six elementary schools were randomly selected for this study from two urban school districts in South Carolina. One hundred sixty-seven teachers from low and high-performing elementary schools were selected to participate. The resulting data were examined using descriptive statistics, Cronbach's Alpha coefficient of internal consistency, t tests, ANOVA, and correlation. There was a significant difference between self-efficacy beliefs held by teachers in low-performing compared to high-performing schools. The study also showed that there was no significant difference between low and high-performing schools when they were surveyed about the efficacy of the use of strategies for achieving objectives, common teacher-student goals, and democratic decision-making. Moreover, teachers at low-performing schools rated key principal leadership practices lower than teachers at high-performing schools. This study revealed that transformational leadership practices had an impact on teacher self-efficacy beliefs in both low-performing and high-performing schools. This study provides evidence that principals indirectly impact student achievement through teacher self-efficacy beliefs. This study leads to the recommendation that principals of low-performing schools provide teachers with different professional development strategies to improve teacher self-efficacy beliefs. Also, school districts should provide principals of low-performing schools with training on transformational leadership practices. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]