Date of Conferral

2020

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Robert Flanders

Abstract

A suburban school district in the Mid-Atlantic faces a crisis with a lack of qualified principals to lead middle schools and high schools. The purpose of this qualitative study was to gain an understanding of the perceptions of principals who participated in the Associate Principal Leadership Development Program in a suburban public school district in the Mid-Atlantic. The conceptual framework of this study was grounded in Senge's systems thinking, which looks at the components of a system and the system as a whole to determine how the interconnectedness of the components impacts the entire system. Schools have intricate components, such as the community, parents, students, teachers, and educational reforms, that are essential for the organization to function for students to achieve and the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership as a guide for principals. Semistructured interviews were held with 5 participants to gather their perceptions of the program's ability and its modules to prepare them for a principalship to implement the Professional Standards for Educational Leadership to improve student achievement. Using in vivo coding, themes emerged about their preparedness to transfer power from one principal to another, develop school norms and professionalism, creating a community of care to support students, and creating an environment where equity is a priority after participating in the Associate Principal Leadership Development Program. The participants’ recommendations led to the development of a 3-day professional development. With the changes in educational reforms, ensuring that all students meet with success contributes to positive social change, and aspiring principals are trained in the skills and knowledge to promote student achievement.

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