Date of Conferral
2020
Degree
Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)
School
Education
Advisor
Joshua Bass
Abstract
Principals in rural schools often must do more work with fewer resources and serve in many capacities performing both instructional and managerial duties. School principals in small rural school’s experience challenges when performing instructional and managerial tasks. The purpose of this case study was to examine how school principals in small rural districts handle instructional and managerial tasks and the perception of their readiness to manage these instructional and managerial tasks. The conceptual framework was Hersey and Blanchard’s situational leadership, which defines main quadrants of leadership as (a) telling or directing, (b) selling or coaching, (c) participating or supporting, and (d) delegating. The research questions guiding this study were how school principals in small rural school districts handle instructional tasks, and how do school principals in small rural school districts handle managerial tasks. Data were gathered through interviews with 8 school principals from southeastern rural schools in the United States. Thematic analysis was used to analyze the data for emergent themes. Findings revealed that successful rural school principals employ several leadership styles such as directing, coaching, delegating and supporting. Implications for positive social change occur when rural school principals were provided with peer mentor support groups, regional service center trainings pertaining to the rural principal’s specific job roles, and when rural school principals were allotted time to develop manuals and a common set of standards for the rural school administrator.
Recommended Citation
Jordan, Brenita, "Instructional and Managerial Challenges of School Principals in Small Rural Schools" (2020). Walden Dissertations and Doctoral Studies. 9582.
https://scholarworks.waldenu.edu/dissertations/9582
