Perceptions of the Roles and Challenges of High School Principals in a Diverse Mid-size School District in Texas

Perceptions of the Roles and Challenges of High School Principals in a Diverse Mid-size School District in Texas PDF Author: Rhonda J. McWilliams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational leadership
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Other than the superintendent and the district's athletic director, there is no position more visible than the high school principal. Although there is a significant amount of research and information regarding the roles and challenges of principals collectively, there is not as much specific to high school principals. With the role of the high school principal including increased expectations to adhere to all federal, state, and local mandates and requirements, while providing a quality instructional program where student learning occurs daily in a safe and secure environment, a study that focuses specifically on perceptions of high school principals is warranted. As schools face challenges involving urban issues, migrant students, divisions based on race/ethnicity and class, homelessness, drugs, violence, and more, this study will be an important first step in focusing specifically on the perceptions of the roles and challenges of high school principals. The purpose of this study was to explore current perceptions of high school principals regarding their perceived roles, the challenges they face, and their recommendations for professional development for those who aspire to be high school principals. This study was developed as one of qualitative design, exploratory in nature. Qualitative research was used in order to gain a more holistic impression of the perceptions of high school principals of their roles and challenges. The study addresses these questions: 1.What are the perceptions of high school principals regarding their roles as the school principal, and how do these perceptions align with what they actually do daily? 2.What do high school principals perceive are their greatest challenges? 3.What do current high school principals recommend as professional development activities or developmental experiences for aspiring high school principals? For this study, 13 high school principals from a mid-sized school district in Texas participated in an in-depth interview process. Those interviews were transcribed and responses were organized and aligned to the research questions. An analysis was then conducted to determine themes emerging from the interviews with high school principals. Results of the analysis were summarized and conclusions drawn. The study concludes with implications for practice and recommendations for further study.

Perceptions of the Roles and Challenges of High School Principals in a Diverse Mid-size School District in Texas

Perceptions of the Roles and Challenges of High School Principals in a Diverse Mid-size School District in Texas PDF Author: Rhonda J. McWilliams
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Educational leadership
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Other than the superintendent and the district's athletic director, there is no position more visible than the high school principal. Although there is a significant amount of research and information regarding the roles and challenges of principals collectively, there is not as much specific to high school principals. With the role of the high school principal including increased expectations to adhere to all federal, state, and local mandates and requirements, while providing a quality instructional program where student learning occurs daily in a safe and secure environment, a study that focuses specifically on perceptions of high school principals is warranted. As schools face challenges involving urban issues, migrant students, divisions based on race/ethnicity and class, homelessness, drugs, violence, and more, this study will be an important first step in focusing specifically on the perceptions of the roles and challenges of high school principals. The purpose of this study was to explore current perceptions of high school principals regarding their perceived roles, the challenges they face, and their recommendations for professional development for those who aspire to be high school principals. This study was developed as one of qualitative design, exploratory in nature. Qualitative research was used in order to gain a more holistic impression of the perceptions of high school principals of their roles and challenges. The study addresses these questions: 1.What are the perceptions of high school principals regarding their roles as the school principal, and how do these perceptions align with what they actually do daily? 2.What do high school principals perceive are their greatest challenges? 3.What do current high school principals recommend as professional development activities or developmental experiences for aspiring high school principals? For this study, 13 high school principals from a mid-sized school district in Texas participated in an in-depth interview process. Those interviews were transcribed and responses were organized and aligned to the research questions. An analysis was then conducted to determine themes emerging from the interviews with high school principals. Results of the analysis were summarized and conclusions drawn. The study concludes with implications for practice and recommendations for further study.

Perceptions of Texas High School Principals Concerning Their Roles and Strategies Used in Increasing Hispanic Completion Rates

Perceptions of Texas High School Principals Concerning Their Roles and Strategies Used in Increasing Hispanic Completion Rates PDF Author: Paul Kimball Vickers
Publisher:
ISBN: 9781109888492
Category : High school principals
Languages : en
Pages : 156

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Book Description
Hispanic students drop out of high school at a higher rate than any other ethnic group in Texas. The high national dropout rate of Hispanic students is also reflected in looking at the completion rates of Hispanic students in Texas. This qualitative study examined the perceptions of Texas high school principals concerning their roles and strategies used in increasing the Hispanic completion rates on their respective campuses. Narrative non-fiction storytelling was used to discern the themes from narratives of four Texas high school principals. Perceptions concerning the roles and strategies of the principals emerged. The study concluded that principals viewed their roles as change agent, relationship builder, and promoter of an ethic of care through cultural understanding on their campuses. Strategies of the principals included an understanding of impoverished students through Ruby Payne training, credit recovery programs, advisory classes, individual student tracking, and social support.

Perceptions of the Roles, Professional Development, Challenges, and Frustrations of High School Principals

Perceptions of the Roles, Professional Development, Challenges, and Frustrations of High School Principals PDF Author: Stephen J. Knobl
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
ABSTRACT: The purpose of this study was to investigate the current perceptions of high school principals regarding their perceived roles, professional development experiences that impacted their careers, and the challenges and frustrations they face when enacting their roles as high school leaders. This qualitative study investigated perceptions of high school principals and addressed three research questions: (1) What are the perceptions of high school principals regarding their role as school leaders? (2) What professional development experiences do high school principals report are most important in impacting their careers? (3) What do high school principals perceive are their greatest challenges and frustrations? Three in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with each of eight high school principals. The results were based on analysis by the researcher and the two expert panels. The high school principals perceived that they had a tremendous number of roles and responsibilities within their positions. The roles and responsibilities that were identified with the greatest importance were: providing a safe learning environment, ensuring quality teachers and quality instruction, high accountability expectations for all and mandates, and leadership within the school and system. Professional development opportunities and personalized support systems were perceived to be vital to the success of the high school principal. Principals in the study reported that both formal and informal professional development experiences were beneficial for their improvement as school leaders. The principals perceived that when they created relationships with mentors and established strong networks, they improved the likelihood of sustained support and success. High school principals perceived the greatest challenges were management of time, balancing leadership and management of the school, and navigating the legislative mandates and accountability requirements. High school principals perceived the greatest frustrations were issues related to time and legislative mandates dictated to them by the local, state, and federal systems. They faced constant pressures that could be directly tied to student achievement and accountability measures. High school principals need to be prepared to assume various roles. Further research may determine if roles and challenges identified by the eight participants mirror other states' results.

High School Principals' Perceptions of Their Effectiveness in Leading District Initiated High School Reform

High School Principals' Perceptions of Their Effectiveness in Leading District Initiated High School Reform PDF Author: Carlos Rios
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
Current research has described a changed central office perspective that not only includes campus principals as part of the district's leadership team, but also focuses on developing principals' instructional abilities with the purpose of supporting school reform. However, to date, research has not provided examples of a successful relationship between campus principals as a collective group and the district (central office) leadership team attempting to implement district-wide high school reform. This study was conducted in order to examine the perceptions of high school principals (in an urban school district in Texas) toward district-wide initiated high school reform. Methods used for data collection included semi-structured interviews, review of available artifacts, and case profile development. Questions derived from the researcher's review of the literature and ongoing professional interest were the basis for dialogue during the semi-structured interviews. All interviews were recorded, transcribed, and unitized. The data were further organized into categories and subcategories. The analysis of principals' perceptions provided insight and helped develop an understanding of obstacles that high school principals perceive in implementing district-led high school reform. This study has concluded that the district goals and mission do not define the daily operations of a campus. Instead, the district goals and mission are often reprioritized because principals are insecure, believe they have a better understanding of the local context than does the central office, and are oftentimes frustrated by the central office's political machinations. Recommendations include suggestions on how to eliminate these obstacles, improve the ability of principals to implement district-led high school reform, and how to suggest actions for the improvement of the high school reform process at the central office level.

Leadership Challenges in High Schools

Leadership Challenges in High Schools PDF Author: W. Norton Grubb
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317256883
Category : Education
Languages : en
Pages : 251

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Book Description
Principals are responsible for an increasing range of duties in an era of school reform, standardized testing, and more. These responsibilities are even greater in high schools, which are many times larger and more complex than elementary and middle schools. Yet little has been written on the special challenges of high schools and their leadership. This book fills the gap by exploring the challenges specific to high schools, including their size and complexity, the special difficulties in improving instruction, the crucial role of high schools for students' futures, adolescent behavioral issues, and many more. Grubb shows how principals and other leaders can address the complexities of multiple pathways, or efforts to create theme-based trajectories through high school - one of the most promising high school reforms. Looking to the future, he offers alternative ways of preparing professionals for high schools, and the responsibilities of districts for improving high schools and their leadership.

Personal and Professional Characteristics and Androgynous Behavior of High School Principals in Texas

Personal and Professional Characteristics and Androgynous Behavior of High School Principals in Texas PDF Author: Diana Powell Hope
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Androgyny (Psychology)
Languages : en
Pages : 268

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Book Description


An Investigation of the Role of the High School Principal as Perceived by High School Principals and Superintendents in Selected Texas Public High Schools

An Investigation of the Role of the High School Principal as Perceived by High School Principals and Superintendents in Selected Texas Public High Schools PDF Author: William Henry Scott
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : High school principals
Languages : en
Pages : 274

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Book Description


High School Principals' Perceived Leadership Practices and Their Relationship to Student Performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS)

High School Principals' Perceived Leadership Practices and Their Relationship to Student Performance on the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) PDF Author: Christopher Benton Soileau
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages :

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Book Description
The purpose of this study was to determine how leadership practices impact student performance as perceived by principals and selected site-based decision making (SBDM) committee members of high schools in Region V Education Service Center (ESC), Texas. The study is one of four studies which examined perceived leadership practices of principals in the public school system in Southeast Texas. The other studies in this cohort focused on elementary principals, middle school principals and superintendents. This study compared the perceptions of high school principals and selected SBDM committee members regarding leadership practices and determined if selected demographic variables had an impact on the perceived leadership practices of the two identified groups. The investigation procedures for this study involved an analysis of the responses from principals and site-based decision making committee members to the Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) developed by James Kouzes and Barry Posner (2003) which evaluates the use of five identified leadership practices. Student performance information for the 29 participating high school campuses was obtained from the Texas Education Agency Academic Excellence Indicator System. Findings indicate no linear relationship exists between perceived leadership practices of high school principals and the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) performance. Further analysis revealed no statistical significance in the correlation of student academic success as measured by TAKS and the five leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner(2002); Inspire a Shared Vision, Model the Way, Challenge the Process, Enable Others to Act, and Encourage the Heart. The data indicated that Region V high school principals embrace the leadership practices identified by Kouzes and Posner at least moderately (between the 30th and 69th percentile) and in some cases at a higher level (70th percentile or above). Also, the data revealed that, as a group, the high school principals rated themselves higher overall regarding perceived leadership in comparison to their observers. Further analysis of the data showed that the demographic variables of gender and ethnicity did not have an effect on survey responses of the study participants. After examining the differences between the LPI responses of principals and their observers regarding age and years of experience, it was evident that such demographic variables did not impact survey responses.

Perceived Roles of Hispanic Assistant Principals in a South Texas Rural School District

Perceived Roles of Hispanic Assistant Principals in a South Texas Rural School District PDF Author: Jesse R. Salazar
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Hispanic American school principals
Languages : en
Pages : 266

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Book Description


High School Principals' Perceptions of the Roles and Responsibilities of Persons who Would be Charged with the Responsibility for Leadership in the Development of Occupationally Oriented Programs in High Schools

High School Principals' Perceptions of the Roles and Responsibilities of Persons who Would be Charged with the Responsibility for Leadership in the Development of Occupationally Oriented Programs in High Schools PDF Author: Ralph C. Wenrich
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category : Vocational education
Languages : en
Pages : 44

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Book Description