Date of Conferral

2022

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Robert Flanders

Abstract

AbstractThe responsibilities of school principals in the United States have shifted to include instructional leadership in addition to the management of facilities and people. Principals at all levels can find it challenging to balance their administrative and instructional leadership roles. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to understand principals’ perceptions of their dual roles as managers and instructional leaders, including how they set priorities. Instructional management theory and instructional organization framework informed the study. Semistructured interviews were conducted with 10 principals from one district in the southern United States; participants had at least 2 years in their roles. A combination of a priori and open coding was used to support thematic analysis. Participants believed that managing both roles was overwhelming and often imbalanced toward the managerial, especially when addressing the challenges of COVID-19. Their primary challenge was managing time to respond and fulfill both roles successfully. Participants used delegating, sticking to schedules, and practices focused on instructional leadership such as coaching teachers and monitoring student academic achievement. Principals need more support from their districts’ administration to fulfill their dual roles; they also indicated ongoing professional development was a need for all staff at the schools. This study has implications for positive social change. Providing principals with support in their roles as campus managers and instructional leaders remains important as educators deal with worldwide health and safety challenges and opportunities. This study indicates principals being given assistance to navigate remote and virtual learning in addition to face-to-face interactions can improve student academic success.

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