This research represents a highly personalized account of the complexities,
interpretations, and reflections of a principal in transition from one elementary school to
another elementary school in the same district. Using myself as the subject and the
researcher in the social context of an elementary school provided the impetus for this
self-study. Through an insider's vantage point, I have chronicled and traced the
experiences of my own administrative transition using the qualitative methodology of
autoethnography. This genre of qualitative research brings the reader closer to the
subculture studied through the experiences of the author. While every campus and
district has its own unique culture and environment, the introspection and evaluation
provided by the methodology of autoethnography greatly facilitates an understanding of
the processes of transition. The experiences I have encountered, the problems I face, and
the interpretations derived from them will strengthen my own practice as a public school
administrator and provide insight into the ever-changing administrative position called
the principalship. Data gathering consisted of a reflexive journal, my personal calendar, faculty
agendas, staff memos, and reflective analysis. At the completion of the school year
common strands, key attributes, and coding of the data served to provide retrospective
insights. These research tools were used to capture the experiences of my administrative
transition.
The results of this study were expressed in a personal narrative that comprises
Chapters IV through VI. Chapters I through III present a traditional dissertation model
that includes the introduction, review of literature, and research methodology. Chapter
VII offers recommendations, a discussion of the findings and concluding remarks.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:tamu.edu/oai:repository.tamu.edu:1969.1/4876 |
| Date | 25 April 2007 |
| Creators | Dethloff, Carl Henry |
| Contributors | Erlandson, David A. |
| Publisher | Texas A&M University |
| Source Sets | Texas A and M University |
| Language | en_US |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Book, Thesis, Electronic Dissertation, text |
| Format | 552404 bytes, electronic, application/pdf, born digital |
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