Four case studies were developed of women who were promoted to high school principalships in a public school district in Virginia, 1970 __ 2000. Using qualitative research methods, data were obtained through interviews, school system documents, and written media. The software package Ethnograph was used to code and analyze interview data. Three themes resulted from cross-case analysis: school district policies, school district culture, and women's career aspirations. Grounded in data from coding and analysis, a theory evolved that changes that occurred over time opened leadership opportunities for these four women, changes that emerged from society's pressure to the institution of education, then the individual. Further research is needed to corroborate this theory of change that impacted women's careers in education administration. / Ed. D.

As schools are growing more diverse and opportunity and achievement gaps remain, educational leaders are called to develop an equity lens to meet the needs of students (Grissom et al., 2021). The Professional Standards for Educational Leadership explicitly outline critical dispositions for educational leaders to act with equity and cultural competence in all decisions (National Policy Board for Educational Administration, 2015). The purpose of this study was to identify principals' self-reported equity leadership practices and their perceptions of their preparedness to lead for equity in one urban school division. For the purposes of this study, equity leadership was defined as "conditions for learning that interrupt historically discriminatory practices, support democratic schooling, and achieve fair, inclusive, and just outcomes. Further, leadership for equity is acting on those beliefs and understandings intentionally, regularly, and systematically" (Rigby and Tredway, 2015, p. 6). The following research questions guided this study: (a) How do principals in one urban school division indicate they demonstrate equity leadership practices outlined in the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development framework? (b)What are principal perceptions regarding their preparedness to lead for equity? (c)What professional development do principals indicate they need? This study utilized a convergent-mixed-methods design with self-rated surveys and semistructured interviews. Findings included that while principals (n = 44) felt they were prepared to lead for equity, their practices fell on a continuum with majority of responses associated with the emerging to proficient equitable practices ratings based on the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development (LEAD) rubric. Moreover, principals noted that personal backgrounds and professional learning helped shape their preparedness to lead for equity most significantly. Principals indicated a need for professional growth relative to developing and evaluating teachers to be more equitable and culturally responsive. Additionally, principals suggested a need for more equitable approaches in engaging families and communities. Implications and recommendations for future studies were provided. / Doctor of Education / As schools are growing more diverse and opportunity and achievement gaps remain, educational leaders are called to develop an equity lens to meet the needs of diverse students (Grissom et al., 2021). The purpose of this study was to identify principals' self-reported equity leadership practices and their perceptions of their preparedness to lead for equity in one urban school division. Through surveys and semistructured interviews, this study examined the current equity leadership practices of 44 principals in one urban school division in southeastern Virginia leveraging the Leadership for Equity Assessment and Development (LEAD) framework (Galloway and Ishimaru, 2017). Additionally, this study examined the perceptions of preparedness of principals to lead for equity and what professional development is still needed in this school division. The results of this study indicated that while principals felt they were prepared to lead for equity, their practices fell on a continuum, with a majority of responses associated with the emerging to proficient equitable practices ratings outlined on the LEAD rubric. Moreover, principals noted that personal backgrounds and professional learning helped to shape their preparedness to lead for equity. Implications for school division leaders and school leadership preparation programs were described based on the findings, as well as considerations for future research.

The purpose of this study was to identify perceptions of middle and high school principals in Virginia regarding high-stakes testing. Perceptions were assessed regarding unintended consequences impacting the principals' role and their alignment with professional and scholarly literature. There were 22 findings emerging from this study. One of the findings revealed that principals perceived the necessity of instructional leadership as opposed to simply acting as school managers. The findings also revealed that middle and high school principals strongly agreed that high-stakes testing resulted in a loss of instructional time and that there has been a narrowing of the curriculum; however there now was a clearer alignment of the written, taught, and tested curriculum. Additionally, the findings revealed that less than 50% of middle and high school principals believed that high-stakes testing had helped close the achievement gap between minority and majority students. One of the most prevalent findings focused on the stress exhibited by students, teachers and administrators, all due to high-stakes testing. One hundred and sixty-six Virginia middle and high school principals participated in this study. An electronic survey instrument was used to rate 31 statements derived from the scholarly literature regarding the unintended consequences and perceptions of high-stakes testing of middle and high school leaders in Virginia. / Ed. D.

Principals have an impact on the teaching and learning that takes place in their schools. This research focuses on principal involvement in professional development (PD) to meet policy requirements while developing principals' skills to meet their changing roles to serve as instructional leaders accountable for student academic performance. The purpose of this qualitative study was to identify the types of PD principals and principal supervisors find most beneficial in developing principals' instructional leadership skills along with the perceived benefits and challenges of participating in PD designed for the principalship role. The secondary purpose was to identify the impact principal PD may have on instructional leadership practices and student achievement. The two research questions were: What types of PD do principals and principal supervisors find most impactful to developing principals' instructional leadership skills? What are the perceived benefits and challenges of participating in virtual, hybrid, and in-person PD specifically designed for the principalship role? A demographic survey and one-on-one, semi-structured interviews were completed with five elementary school principals, four secondary school principals, and three principal supervisors from a rural and suburban school division in Virginia. Deductive coding was used to analyze the data from interviews to determine common themes, patterns, similarities, and differences. Nine findings were discovered, including principals engage in PD focused on instructional leadership skills and perceive that PD has improved instructional practices and student outcomes, principals find value in networking and choice in PD, time is a barrier to participating in PD, and principal supervisors select and support principal PD opportunities. The findings provide principals, principal supervisors, and providers of principal PD with guidance on how to design PD focused on developing instructional leadership skills. Practitioners can utilize the study to guide the design of effective PD sessions that leverage the benefits noted by study participants while overcoming the challenges. Division leaders may consider the findings when developing PD plans for principals based on the literature and perceptions of study participants. These practices will help ensure principals receive the timely, targeted PD they need to become instructional leaders with a positive impact on student achievement. / Doctor of Education / Principals have an impact on the teaching and learning that takes place in their schools. This research focuses on principal involvement in professional development (PD) to meet policy requirements while developing principals' skills to meet their changing roles to serve as instructional leaders accountable for student academic performance. The two research questions were: What types of PD do principals and principal supervisors find most impactful to developing principals' instructional leadership skills? What are the perceived benefits and challenges of participating in virtual, hybrid, and in-person PD specifically designed for the principalship role? One-on-one, semi-structured interviews with five elementary school principals, four secondary school principals, and three principal supervisors from a rural and suburban school division in Virginia were conducted. Findings including, principals engage in PD focused on instructional leadership skills and perceive that PD has improved instructional practices and student outcomes, principals find value in networking and choice in PD, time is a barrier to participating in PD, and principal supervisors select and support principal PD opportunities. The findings might guide how to design PD to focus on developing instructional leadership skills. Practitioners can utilize the findings to guide the design of effective PD sessions that leverage the benefits noted by study participants, while also working to overcome the challenges. Division leaders may consider the findings when developing PD plans for principals. These practices will help ensure principals receive the timely, targeted PD they need to become instructional leaders with a positive impact on student achievement.

This basic qualitative study explored the lived experiences of fifteen millennial school principals, with 1-5 years in the role. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify what prompts some aspiring millennial leaders to pursue and accept the role of school leadership, what motivates them to remain in that role, and what conditions might prompt them to leave the principalship. The following questions guided this study: 1) What prompts the millennial leader to pursue and accept the school principal position? 2) What motivates the millennial school leader to remain in the principalship? 3) What are the factors or conditions that would motivate a millennial school leader to leave the principalship? Findings that came out of this research include: 1) Millennial principals bring a strong work ethic that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, but could be a condition for them to leave. 2) Millennial principals' interest in seeking life balance influences them to pursue the role but could be a leading condition to motivate them to leave. 3) Millennial principals value relationships and feedback to encourage their pursuit, engagement, and longevity in the role. 4) Millennial principals are driven by intrinsic motivation to contribute that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, and could be a condition for them to leave. 5) Millennial principals pursue the role and remain engaged with their school community with high levels of commitment and dedication. 6) Millennial principals are self-aware and pursue roles that are a good fit for their strengths. 7) Millennial principals work collaboratively with their stakeholders to remain in the role. 8) Millennial principals lead with passion for teaching and learning which keeps them engaged in their work. / Doctor of Education / This study explored the lived experiences of fifteen millennial school principals with 1-5 years in the role, in rural and suburban schools in Virginia. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify what prompts some aspiring millennial leaders to pursue and accept the role of school leadership, what motivates them to remain in that role, and what conditions might prompt them to leave the principalship. Findings that came out of this research include: 1) Millennial principals bring a strong work ethic that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, but could be a condition for them to leave. 2) Millennial principals' interest in seeking life balance influences them to pursue the role but could be a leading condition to motivate them to leave. 3) Millennial principals value relationships and feedback to encourage their pursuit, engagement, and longevity in the role. 4) Millennial principals are driven by intrinsic motivation to contribute that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, and could be a condition for them to leave. 5) Millennial principals pursue the role and remain engaged with their school community with high levels of commitment and dedication. 6) Millennial principals are self-aware and pursue roles that are a good fit for their strengths. 7) Millennial principals work collaboratively with their stakeholders to remain in the role. 8) Millennial principals lead with passion for teaching and learning which keeps them engaged in their work.

This basic qualitative study explored the lived experiences of fifteen millennial school principals, with 1-5 years in the role. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify what prompts some aspiring millennial leaders to pursue and accept the role of school leadership, what motivates them to remain in that role, and what conditions might prompt them to leave the principalship. The following questions guided this study: 1) What prompts the millennial leader to pursue and accept the school principal position? 2) What motivates the millennial school leader to remain in the principalship? 3) What are the factors or conditions that would motivate a millennial school leader to leave the principalship? Findings that came out of this research include: 1) Millennial principals bring a strong work ethic that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, but could be a condition for them to leave. 2) Millennial principals' interest in seeking life balance influences them to pursue the role but could be a leading condition to motivate them to leave. 3) Millennial principals value relationships and feedback to encourage their pursuit, engagement, and longevity in the role. 4) Millennial principals are driven by intrinsic motivation to contribute that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, and could be a condition for them to leave. 5) Millennial principals pursue the role and remain engaged with their school community with high levels of commitment and dedication. 6) Millennial principals are self-aware and pursue roles that are a good fit for their strengths. 7) Millennial principals work collaboratively with their stakeholders to remain in the role. 8) Millennial principals lead with passion for teaching and learning which keeps them engaged in their work. / Doctor of Education / This study explored the lived experiences of fifteen millennial school principals with 1-5 years in the role, in rural and suburban schools in Virginia. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to identify what prompts some aspiring millennial leaders to pursue and accept the role of school leadership, what motivates them to remain in that role, and what conditions might prompt them to leave the principalship. Findings that came out of this research include: 1) Millennial principals bring a strong work ethic that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, but could be a condition for them to leave. 2) Millennial principals' interest in seeking life balance influences them to pursue the role but could be a leading condition to motivate them to leave. 3) Millennial principals value relationships and feedback to encourage their pursuit, engagement, and longevity in the role. 4) Millennial principals are driven by intrinsic motivation to contribute that influences them to pursue the role, motivates them to remain, and could be a condition for them to leave. 5) Millennial principals pursue the role and remain engaged with their school community with high levels of commitment and dedication. 6) Millennial principals are self-aware and pursue roles that are a good fit for their strengths. 7) Millennial principals work collaboratively with their stakeholders to remain in the role. 8) Millennial principals lead with passion for teaching and learning which keeps them engaged in their work.

Research on school principals has been narrowed to the factors leading to attrition or retention with little focus on the recruitment and development. The decreasing number of individuals applying for school principal positions has led some school districts to implement new methods to recruit and develop future school principals. One method being used by some large, urban school districts is the creation and implementation of leadership academies; however, few studies have been conducted to determine the effectiveness of this tool in aiding the recruitment and development of aspiring school principals.The purpose of this case study was to investigate the effectiveness of a leadership academy implemented in an urban school district to increase the recruitment of school leaders. Participants were assessed on their perceptions of the effectiveness of the leadership academy, in one urban school district, to prepare them for the school principal role. A qualitative, embedded case study approach was used to describe these perceptions. The study participants consisted of 12 individuals who were working as principals or assistant principals in the district after participation in the leadership academy. The data was based on participants' responses from 25 semi-structured interview questions, non-participant observations, and a document analysis of materials used in the leadership academy.The data revealed four assertions 1) the leadership academy provides an avenue for the district to identify individuals interested in the principal position and get to know the leadership styles of each individual; 2) participants believe the leadership academy aided in their preparation for a principal position in the district; 3) the application and selection process enabled the district to identify individuals interested in the principal position; and 4) the leadership academy was an indirect tool for recruitment. The findings showed that all study participants felt the leadership academy was a valuable experience and did aid them in their journey to becoming a school principal. The findings from this study support the use of a leadership academy as a tool to develop aspiring school principals; however, further research is needed to determine the effectiveness of the leadership academy in recruiting future school leaders.

Thesis advisor: Martin Scanlan / This qualitative case study explored the role central office leaders played in recruiting, developing and retaining principal human capital in Lawrence Public Schools. One of the key strategies of central office transformation is the creation of assistance relationships with principals, which serves as the conceptual framework for this study. Data was gathered from interviews with central office leaders and principals as well as a document review. The results of the study found that central office leaders targeted principals with certain characteristics and recruited candidates from within and outside of the district. Central office leaders provided in-district professional development and engaged external organizations in the process. Work environment and a focus on cultivating local talent contributed to principal retention. Findings further indicated that the assistance relationships developed between central office leaders and principals contributed to principal development and retention through their impact on the work environment. Recommendations include continual examination of work environment and development of assistance relationships for their contribution to principal human capital. Future researchers may continue to contribute to the growing body of literature by examining these findings and offering a longitudinal view of this practice. This strand’s findings may provide insights into practices to recruit, develop and retain principals in low-performing districts. / Thesis (EdD) — Boston College, 2018. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Leadership and Higher Education.

ABSTRACT PREPARATION OF THE ASSISTANT PRINCIPAL FOR THE ROLE OF THE PRINCIPAL: AN EXAMINATION OF REAL TASKS AS COMPARED TO THE PERCEIVED IDEAL TASKS by April Chastang Madden Principals most commonly ascend from the pool of those who are assistant principals, but it is unclear whether assistant principals are prepared to assume such a pivotal leadership role. This study seeks to compare the extent of on the job training provided to the assistant principals by examining ideal as compared to actual task performance in six competency areas associated with the job of principal. The research questions were as follows: 1. What are the perceived ideal professional tasks assistant principals should perform prior to becoming a principal? 2. Which tasks are performed by assistant principals? 3. Do these performed tasks prepare assistant principals for principalships? Utilizing Survey Monkey, a survey was e-mailed to principals with 1-3 years of experience in the State of Georgia. Descriptive statistics, Pearson Correlations, and t-tests were used for data analysis. As for research question 1, this study revealed that the tasks that ranked the highest among the study participants regarding perceived ideal tasks that assistant principals should perform prior to becoming principal were the competencies falling under the categories of Instructional Leader, Leadership in Staff Personnel, and Management of Schools. For question 2, Pearson Correlation showed that there were no significant correlations for ideal and actual tasks, except in the area of Instructional Leader. Regarding research question 3, The Pearson Correlation along with t-tests of subscales showed that there are significant differences between the ideal and actual tasks performed by assistant principal. The Pearson Correlation highlighted that the only significant correlation between ideal and actual competency tasks was found in the area of Instructional Leader. In conclusion, this study indicated that assistant principals are not adequately prepared to transition to the role of principal.

Hillsborough County Public Schools embarked on an ambitious goal to improve the highest-need schools by restructuring how the district supports schools and their leaders in July 2018. As part of this effort, the superintendent reduced the span of control and assigned principal coaches to support principals in a more intentional way. The purpose of this study was to explore how a principal coach engages a principal in examining inequities in disciplinary practices and how the principal coach provides the supports to prompt and sustain the principal’s efforts to reduce the disproportionate number of students of color being suspended from school. Zero tolerance policies were enacted to protect students from violence and ensure schools remain safe. Unfortunately, those same policies resulted in a disparate impact that affected students of color more than any other subgroup. The unintended consequences of such actions have led to students of color being suspended at an alarming rate for minor violations of rules, affecting their regular access to a high-quality education and resulting in low proficiency rates in reading and math, high drop-out rates and low graduation rates. While extensive research exists on how this culture can be improved, there is no evidence of a school improving in the absence of talented leadership. Until a leader understands and believes that something should change in their school, no research can support them. This study used an autoethnographic approach, telling the story of the lived experiences of a principal coach during his first ‘rookie’ semester. Data for the study were coaching logs, call logs and a reflective journal. Data were analyzed using thematic analysis. Findings of the study concluded that the principal coach’s use of an inquiry cycle significantly assisted the principal in examining inequities by providing an avenue to thoroughly examine data, determine a clear priority and develop a theory of action to guide the work of the principal for the upcoming school year. To prompt and sustain the principal’s effort, the principal coach supports centered on various types of coaching visits from on-going data chats, to learning walks, to one-on-one coaching and occasional, random phone call coaching sessions. This study has implications for school districts exploring how to support principals and, more specifically, how to support principals who are tackling inequities in their schools. For school districts, it confirms the importance of a reduced span of control for district administrators assigned to coach and support a portfolio of schools. This study emphasizes the importance of job-embedded professional development for principals.