In their various works, researchers, writers, and scholars regularly discuss the public school building level principal. The principal’s role and the tasks performed by the principal are generally recognized as valuable to the educational community. For the most part, the general public has little idea of what the principal’s role entails. Building level principals complete training for the principalship, but their readiness for the principalship is debatable. There is little literature that discusses the first-year principal; the principalship of small, rural schools; and the principalship as experienced by a first-year principal. This study identified what the first-year principal of a rural school encountered during his first year. The study documented events that included school stakeholders such as community members, board members, teachers, students, and central office personnel. The documented events are presented chronologically, beginning with appointment to the principalship and concluding with the final week of the first school year. Events included school finance, student discipline, and curriculum. The research was conducted as an autoethnography, which allowed documentation of the events of the first-year principal from a first-hand perspective. The intricate details provided insight to the first year of administrative duties. Findings determined that the principal’s readiness for assuming the principal’s role had little to do with prior educational training, but more to do with personal qualities and prior job experiences as a coach, teacher, and assistant principal. Discussion and recommendations include the need for preparation programs for rural administrators to recognize they cannot prepare administrators for all decisions they will make, but can prepare them to be decision-makers and leaders. Many duties of this first-year principal were learned on-the-job, including financial matters concerning the handling of school funds, the relationship with the school secretary, and the handling of athletic events.

Each year, as more school principals retire, other leaders take their place--many of them becoming principals for the first time. While this change in leadership can be disconcerting to the students, parents, teachers, and other staff members, it is most taxing for the new principal, who is immediately inundated with the various demands on his or her time. In order for the new principal to navigate these challenges effectively, it is important that he or she is ready and equipped for this transition and prepared to participate successfully in the day-to-day interactions with others. Using ethnographic qualitative methodology, this study sought to examine the first-year principal's interactions with parents and staff members. Telling the stories of two first-year principals, the study explored the issues and challenges faced by these principals as they interacted with the various institutional stakeholders. In its treatment of interpersonal interactions, the study assembled a broad archive, including oral accounts, interviews, personal journals, calendars, and emails. The data were then examined through Bolman and Deal's (2008) "frame" theory, which was offered as a comprehensive approach for looking at organizations from more than one theoretical perspective. Viewing the data through the structural, human, political, and symbolic frames provides a more in-depth examination of the principals' various interactions with parents and staff members during their first year as principal. Dissecting a first-year principal's interactions in the setting of a school, this research extends Bolman and Deal's four-frame theory (2008) by analyzing three types of principal/stakeholder interactions through each of the four frames. A problem-solving interactions protocol and a set of guiding questions are offered to assist new leaders as they prepare for various interactions of each type. / text

Thesis advisor: Irwin Blumer / This case study examined the demands that a first year principal in a school in Corrective Action faces and explored what are the key factors for creating a successful entry from the teachers' perspectives. The study further identified what a first year principal's immediate priorities should be when entering the job and examined potential pitfalls. This qualitative case study was conducted by the principal, who was a participant-observer. Data collection included the use of the on-line SurveyMonkey.com service, the researcher's reflective journal entries and field notes, as well as a review of pertinent documents. Findings were many, and illuminated many insights for beginning principals, including the importance of taking the time to learn about the existing culture before attempting to change it, as well as cultivating relationships and carefully laying the groundwork for change. Implications for practice included more specific recommendations, such as spending the summer months reading teacher files, comparing and compiling data on student performance, and being knowledgeable of all the school's initiatives for improving achievement before school officially begins. Limitation of this study included the researcher's role as principal and participant-observer, a small sample size, and the relatively short time frame within which the study was conducted. Recommendations for future study included studying the perspectives of other key constituents, such as students, parents, and other community members, broadening the scope of the study to include other middle schools in Corrective Action, and conducting a longitudinal study that would document the professional socialization of a first year principal during the three-year period following her appointment. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2009. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Administration and Higher Education.

xii, 149 p. A print copy of this title is available through the UO Libraries under the call numbers: KNIGHT LB2831.93.O7 M45 2008 / Principals of schools have a unique set of responsibilities that range from the transactional to the transformational. Principals are expected to set a clear vision for the school community, support teachers in their work, while at the same time being responsible for all the details that allow a school to function smoothly. Thus, the first year of a novice principalship is a complex challenge. The first year in a high performing school carries with it an added set of challenges that a novice principal must come to understand and navigate. First-year principals work to not only gain understanding of their role in the school community, but also to develop a personal leadership style that supports teachers, children, parents and the larger community. It is through their experiences and reflections that novice principals begin to develop their unique voice as a leader. These experiences lay the foundation for their coming years in the principal's office. / Committee in Charge: Dr. Diane Dunlap, Chair; Dr. Gerald Tindal; Dr. Philip McCullu;m Dr. Jean Stockard, Outside Member