Date of Conferral

2-20-2024

Date of Award

February 2024

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

David Weintraub

Abstract

The role of the school principal has become increasingly stressful and the problem is that school principals in a large school district in Maryland experience multiple job stressors that are contributing to low job satisfaction. The purpose of this basic qualitative study was to explore high school principals’ perspectives of stressors that affect their job satisfaction as well as what support systems they believe are necessary to increase their job satisfaction. An additional purpose was to identify methods that could be used to reduce such stress. Herzberg’s theory of motivation, which outlines how job factors motivate workgroups, was used to guide this research. Data were collected from eight high school principals in a large school district in Maryland who have one or more years of experience as a school principal in the district. A generic data analysis was conducted based on Creswell’s six steps of the generic analysis process to identify four themes associated with the participants’ experiences associated with stress and the school principal role: stress is derived from expectations, need for coping and well-being, satisfaction amidst challenges, and desire for institutional educational change. Recommendations for future research include extending the scope of participants, incorporating mixed methods of research, and collecting more specific data related to stressors via survey. As a result of this research, district leaders may have the data necessary to further support school administrators in their efforts to meet district level expectations, thereby improving their overall job satisfaction. Increasing the level of job satisfaction will hopefully improve morale, thereby causing positive social change for educational leaders.?

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