Becoming a Principal: Role Conception, Initial Socialization, Role-Identity Transformation, Purposeful Engagement

Abstract

This article presents findings from an exploratory study that described and analyzed the professional growth of 18 educational practitioners while participating in a principal preparation cohort program. The goal of the study was to add understanding to the nature of transformations that occur as teachers prepare to become school principals, and thus, researcher propositions guided the design and focus of this yearlong investigation. Analysis of the exploratory case study data suggests four major themes influencing practitioners' growth toward becoming principals: (a) role conceptualization of the principalship, (b) initial socialization into a new community of practice, (c) role-identity transformation, and (d) purposeful engagement based on career aspirations.

Preparing novice principals in Australia and Turkey: How similar are their needs?

“…It is becoming clear that for many there is considerable adjustment required in becoming a principal, a process that involves relinquishing the comfort and confidence of a familiar teaching role and embracing the discomfort and uncertainty of the new role of principal (Browne-Ferrigno 2003;Crowe 2007). It is also clear that new principals tend to perceive their role as more complex than initially anticipated especially in its tendency to involve dealing with tensions and dilemmas in their decision-making (Clarke and Wildy 2004;Clarke, et al 2007;Day et al 2001;O'Brien et al 2003).…”

Effective Internships: Building Bridges Between Theory and Practice

“…Studies of educational administration preparation students (Cordeiro and Smith-Sloan 1993;Browne-Ferrigno and Muth 2001;Brause 2002;Browne-Ferrigno 2003) have shown that students recognize the importance of mentoring and describe their needs for "more experience" or "on-the-job training." Cunningham (2007), Smith (2003), Grogan and Andrews (2002), Grogan (2004), Billet (1996), Beck (1994), Raelin and Schermerhorn (1994), and others have pointed out the importance of integrating knowledge and experience in real-world settings; the belief being that learning needs to be embedded or situated within the context of practice.…”

“…Further, she found that conceptions of the principalship and understanding what it means to be a school leader were not molded through leadership coursework alone. Engagement through the internship was indispensable to the socialization process (Browne-Ferrigno 2003; transformation to follow. Thus, there is a strong desire among educational administrative faculty to explore ways by which internships might be strengthened.…”

Training Principals to Ensure Access to Equitable Learning Opportunities in a High-Need Rural School District

“…Clinical practica guided by mentor principals can potentially foster role transformation and support socialization to a new community of practice. 23 Because clinical practice is greatly enhanced through support provided by qualified professionals, district leaders carefully select high-performing principals to serve as project-trained mentors during the biweekly field-based experiences. 24 The reasons for integrating mentoring are threefold.…”

“…The findings presented in this section were taken from written responses to a reflective questionnaire administered during the tenth month of each cohort's yearlong training, i.e., October 2003, October 2004. Where appropriate, the prompts that generated the comments are provided.…”