1

Principals
Role
Leading and
Managing
ORGL 4341 - Management Theory I

Abigail Hernandez & Pedro Vasquez

South Texas College

Introduction
Background
In public schools, the principal is the most complicated and conflicting figure in the educational
leadership. Ever since the mid-20th century, the role was defined as a teacher with administrative
responsibilities as an administrator who supervised teachers. The principal in the Rio Grande Valley are
now only seen by children as something bad. You only go to the principals office if you get in
trouble.

Problem
Some school districts in the Rio Grande Valley perceive the principal role as that of a manager
instead of a leader or both.

Significance
The burden that comes with the position of a school principle hangs heavily on a person. That
person will have to be able to lead and manage school staff. The school principle can lose sight of
leading or managing and that can affect not only the school, school district but, the education that the
children from that school receive. The finding of the study are expected to be of help to several groups
of people:

A). If the findings of the study can be considered by principals of participating schools, it will act a
resource material to refer to for insights into the leadership requirements of a principal.
b). The proposed research will enable the researcher to complete a degree requirement for Bachelors in
Organization Leadership.
c). Future researchers who will be interested in this study can use this research as a reference material
or past study for their research work. Finally the study will also benefit scholars and academics by
filling a gap in literature on principal leadership.
Research Goal
The reason for this study is to have a clear picture of what Principals are focusing on either
managing or leading. To know what principals have to work on to have a balance between both of
them.

Purpose
The purpose of this research is to see if the schools can be better with having a Principal who is
balanced in managing the school and being a leader with their faculty and students.

Research Questions
1. To what extend do principals shape the vision of academic success for all students?
2. What is the role of the principal in creating a climate hospitable to education in the school
district?

3. How do school principals manage people, data and processed to foster school improvements?

Literature Review and Synthesis of Evidence

McKee (2014) defines a leader as A person who is out in front, influencing and inspiring
people to follow. And management An individual who makes plans; organizes and controls people,
production, and service; and who regulates or deploys resources. The school principle does not have to
just be a leader but, a blend of both leader and management. It is essential for them to have both in
order for the success of the school. There are traditional views of both leaders and management McKee
(2014):
Managers have been encouraged to focus their energies on problem solving and controlling resources,
while leaders have been encouraged to focus on vision and the environment. Management been taught
to see the independence of their tasks and responsibilities in relation to their division or functional unit,
whereas leaders have been encouraged to view and oversee the interdependence of all tasks, people,
and functions in the organization, rather than picturing them as isolated, self-contained.
Project Plan and Methodology
The plan would be to observe

Week 1

Revision task, and speak

the Principals of a 10 schools in two

Week 2

with schools for meetings

Shadow principles

Week 3

Shadow principles

Valley. It is also important to go to

Week 4

Gather shadowing Data

different schools with different grade

Week 5

Evaluate findings

levels; elementary, junior high, and

Week 6

Draft report

Week 7

Submit Report

school districts in the Rio Grande

high school. Since the principals have different environments at all levels, the observation will be
recorded. The interviews and observations will be transcribed into a narrative for the research.
Timeline:

Conclusion
Through observation, the study would be able to the fore who has the managing and leadership
skills to be able to manage the whole school effectively. This data will then help the principals that
need assistance on how to balance themselves out. This in return would help their faculty and students.
Doing this in different schools would help the districts as well.

References

McKee, A. (2014). Motivation and Meaning: What Makes People Want to Work? In
Management: A Focus on Leaders (Second ed., p. 64-70). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson
Education.

The Latest TEA News. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from http://tea.texas.gov/

Principals as Leader-Managers. (n.d.). Retrieved February 28, 2016, from

http://www.educationworld.com/a_admin/admin/admin451.shtml