LllzabeLh M. Curry Summer Leadershlp Conference !uly 29, 2014
A dlsserLauon submlued Lo Lhe Cardner-Webb School of Lducauon ln arual lulllmenL of Lhe 8equlremenLs for Lhe uegree of uocLor of Lducauon on !anuary 13, 2014 8ackground School leadershlp has a sLausucally slgnlcanL relauonshlp wlLh sLudenL achlevemenL (Marzano eL. al., 2003).
1he consLrucL of self-emcacy ls relaLed Lo prlnclpal eecuveness (LelLhwood & !anLzl, 2008). urpose of Lhe SLudy Lo conLrlbuLe Lo a llmlLed, buL growlng body of research on Lhe causes and conLrlbuung facLors Lo prlnclpal self-emcacy
Lo explore Lhe exlsLence of a relauonshlp beLween prlnclpals' self-emcacy and Lhelr professlonal learnlng experlences 8esearch Cuesuons WhaL ls Lhe relauonshlp beLween a prlnclpal's percepuon of Lhe quallLy of Lhelr preparauon program and subsequenL professlonal learnlng experlences and Lhelr self-emcacy? WhaL Lypes of professlonal learnlng experlences do prlnclpals percelve as valuable ln bulldlng Lhelr emcacy? 1heoreucal lramework Lmcacy 1heory 1ralLs of eecuve prlnclpals rlnclpal preparauon rofesslonal learnlng experlences of prlnclpals ln relauonshlp Lo adulL learnlng Lheory Slgnlcance of Lhe SLudy
1hls sLudy wlll lnform Lhe body of llLeraLure on prlnclpal preparauon, lnducuon and supporL for conunued learnlng.
1he researcher hopes Lhls sLudy wlll serve as a framework or resource for unlverslues and dlsLrlcLs ln developlng learnlng experlences LhaL supporL prlnclpal self-emcacy.
Lmcacy 1heory
8andura (1977) conceptua||zed se|f-emcacy a|ong three d|mens|ons: Comp|ex|ty-Lasks are ordered from slmple Lo dlmculL, people's emcacy may be llmlLed Lo very slmple Lasks or exLend Lo Lhe mosL dlmculL Genera||ty-may be focused on very speclc Lasks or be more broadly concelved. Strength- Cne may also hold emcacy bellefs weakly or sLrongly, weakly held bellefs belng easlly exungulshed ln Lhe face of dlmculLy" (LelLhwood & !anLzl, 2008, p. 301). AnLecedenLs Lo Lmcacy Lnacuve MasLery vlcarlous Lxperlence verbal ersuaslon Lmouonal Arousal 1he LecLs of rlnclpal-Lmcacy Leadershlp emcacy ls posluvely correlaLed wlLh sLudenL achlevemenL ln readlng and maLh.
(ulmmock & Pame, 1996, LelLhwood & McCall, 2008, SmlLh eL. al., 2003, 1schannen-Moran & Carels, 2003, Lehman, 2007). rlnclpal-Lmcacy Plghly emcaclous prlnclpals are prlmarlly concerned wlLh lmprovlng lnsLrucuon for all sLudenLs and can maneuver Lhe mlcro-pollucal consLrucLs ln a manner where supporL ls galned for Lhelr lnluauves (8andura, 1997). Low-emcacy prlnclpals focus on managemenL, compllance and dlsclpllne (8andura, 1997). CharacLerlsucs of hlghly emcaclous prlnclpals LranslaLe lnLo posluve eecLs for sLa and sLudenLs" (vlrga, 2009). When faced wlLh challenge, low-emcacy prlnclpals glve up buL hlgh-emcacy prlnclpals work harder, nd anoLher way and perslsL ln Lhelr eorLs (8andura, 2000). rlnclpal Learnlng Lxperlences Leadershlp reparauon rogram 1ypes unlverslLy based programs dlsLrlcL lnluaLed programs programs run by Lhlrd parues programs run Lhrough parLnershlps of Lhe unlverslues, school dlsLrlcLs, and Lhlrd parues AdulL Learnlng 1heory rofesslonal Learnlng Lxperlences Supporung Lhe lndlvldual educaLor ersonal and rofesslonal ulrecL Servlce Models Collaborauve/Cooperauve models Currlcular and lnsLrucuonal lnluauves 1he Workshop Way of Learnlng MeLhodology Sequenual mlxed meLhods approach
rlorlLy was glven Lo Lhe quallLauve daLa gaLhered as Lhe quanuLauve daLa was prlmarlly used Lo ldenufy Lhe paruclpanLs for Lhe sLudy.
1he daLa from Lhe lnLervlews was sLudled lnducuvely and Lhe researcher auended Lo emerglng Lhemes ln Lhe reporLed eecuveness of dlerenL professlonal learnlng experlences. aruclpanLs 1wenLy-Lwo prlnclpals from a rural nC School ulsLrlcL School Level llve hlgh school lour mlddle school 1hlrLeen elemenLary school CrlLerla for selecung prlnclpals for Lhe lnLervlews Mlnlmum of Lwo years experlence Self-emcacy scores ln Lhe Lop slxLy -percenL AL leasL four secondary prlnclpals and four elemenLary school prlnclpals aruclpanLs 12 candldaLes meL Lhe crlLerla, eleven were lnLervlewed llve elemenLary, Lwo mlddle, Lhree hlgh school prlnclpals were lnLervlewed 8 WhlLe, 1 Launo, 1 Afrlcan Amerlcan and 1 Amerlcan lndlan rlnclpal were lnLervlewed Ma|e Iema|e Wh|te Afr|can Amer|ca Lanno Amer|can Ind|an 8 14 18 2 1 1 lnsLrumenLs rlnclpal Sense of Lmcacy Scale (SLS) developed by 1schannen-Moran and Carels (2004)
uemographlc Survey
lnLervlew Cuesuons
rocedures & uaLa Analysls ConLacLed Lhe SuperlnLendenL Lo dlscuss proLocol for survey dlssemlnauon and lnLervlew schedule ermlsslon for paruclpauon was recelved and surveys were admlnlsLered ln a group semng Surveys were collecLed and daLa analyzed Lo choose paruclpanLs for Lhe lnLervlew ConLacLed Lhe paruclpanLs selecLed for Lhe quallLauve daLa collecuons, secured verbal permlsslon for paruclpauon, scheduled lnLervlews lnLervlewed Lhe paruclpanLs over a perlod of ve days lnLervlew sesslons Lranscrlbed
uaLa Analysls 1he resulLs from Lhe SLS were analyzed Lo rank order Lhe emcacy scores of prlnclpal accordlng Lo school level. 1he resulLs from Lhe SLS and demographlc survey were used Lo generaLe a llsL of paruclpanLs for Lhe lnLervlew phase of Lhe research. rlnclpals selecLed were noued by emall and lnLervlews were scheduled and conducLed over a perlod of ve days. 1he quallLauve daLa was audlo recorded and Lranscrlbed. uaLa Analysls Conunued 1he researcher read Lhrough Lhe Lranscrlbed daLa one ume Lo geL a general sense of poLenual pauerns. 1he researcher read Lhrough Lhe daLa a second ume and began make noLauons ln Lhe marglns of sLaLemenLs deemed as slgnlcanL ln answerlng Lhe research quesuons. 1he daLa from Lhe audlo recordlng was coded by hand and analyzed by Lhemauc analysls, a process LhaL lnvolved codlng and Lhen segregaung Lhe daLa by codes lnLo daLa clumps for furLher analysls and descrlpuon" (Clesne, 2006, 147). 1he researcher organlzed Lhe daLa by emerglng Lhemes and around Lhe dlerenL Lypes of professlonal learnlng experlences prlnclpals descrlbe as belng mosL lmpacuul ln conLrlbuung Lo Lhelr emcacy. llndlngs-Lmerglng 1hemes Coded 1op|cs 1hemes
Support from Sta ulsLrlcL SupporL Lnab||ng D|str|ct Structures Support from D|str|ct
Lxper|enna| Learn|ng Lxperlenual Cn the Iob 1ra|n|ng Ass|stant r|nc|pa| Lxper|ences
Workshop CLher rofesslonal Learnlng Independent Study
Iorma| reparanon lormal reparauon
Learn|ng from Co||eagues]Co||aboranon Cooperauve/collaborauve rofess|ona| Learn|ng Commun|nes Cvervlew of 1oplcs and 1hemes (1) MenLors, 8ole Models and Coaches (2) CLher rofesslonal Learnlng (3) Cooperauve/Collaborauve models (4) ulsLrlcL SupporL (3) Lxperlenual learnlng or !" $%& '() *+,-"-". (6) lormal reparauon (7) ersonal Cooperanve and Co||aboranve Mode|s 1yplcally focus on developlng synergy and shared purpose and lnclude groups worklng wlLhln a communlLy Lo achleve goals held by Lhe communlLy (!oyce & Calhoun, 2010). Collecuve synergy lncreases posluve aecL, lncreases learnlng of selecLed knowledge and sklll, and lncreases lmplemenLauon of knowledge and skllls (!oyce & Calhoun, 2010). 1hls Lheme was coded 102 umes ln Lhe daLa analysls, represenung 24.82 of Lhe LoLal responses. Lnab||ng D|str|ct Structure. Lnabllng ulsLrlcL SLrucLure (LuS) Lhe sLrucLure aL Lhe dlsLrlcL level LhaL supporLs prlnclpals and lncludes a focus on quallLy, dlsLrlcL culLure, use of daLa, [ob-embedded professlonal developmenL for Leachers, LargeLed lmprovemenL, and an emphasls on Leam work ls a vlable and lnuenual consLrucL relaLed Lo prlnclpal emcacy (Land, 2013). 34 responses (13) coded as slgnlcanL llndlngs-Collaborauve Models and LuS Plgh quallLy professlonal learnlng ls susLalnable and bullL upon shared knowledge and collaborauon (Speck & knlpe, 2003). nearly one-fourLh of Lhe overall responses abouL learnlng experlences LhaL conLrlbuLed Lo prlnclpal eecuveness were aurlbuLed Lo Lhe LC sLrucLures LhaL were elLher organlzed, encouraged or supporLed Lhrough Lhe ulsLrlcL. 1he LC's organlzed by Lhe dlsLrlcL are a posluve example of LuS. All eleven prlnclpals reporLed a hlghly collaborauve culLure, wlLh hlgh levels of LrusL. 1here were 34 sLaLemenLs referenclng speclc supporL from leadershlp aL Lhe dlsLrlcL omce.
Lxper|enna| Learn|ng All of Lhe prlnclpals lnLervlewed dlscussed Lhe lmporLance of experlence or (" $%& /() $+,-"-". ln bulldlng Lhelr emcacy.
ln 81 of Lhe 411 (19.7)responses coded as slgnlcanL, prlnclpals referred Lo pasL experlences or on Lhe [ob Lralnlng as belng a powerful Leachlng Lool.
Lnacuve masLery experlences or performance accompllshmenLs are Lhe mosL lnuenual source of emcacy, repeaLed success ralses Lhe expecLauon of fuLure success, whlle repeaLed fallures lncrease Lhe expecLauon of more fallure (8andura, 1997). Cther rofess|ona| Learn|ng. Cf Lhe 411 responses 38 sLaLemenLs (14.11) regardlng formal professlonal developmenL Lhrough Lhe workshop model or lndependenL sLudy were ldenued as slgnlcanL. ulsungulshed Leadershlp ln racuce (uL) and nauonal 8oards were hlghllghLed as a valuable learnlng experlence by Lhe candldaLes who had paruclpaLed. uL was menuoned as belng eecuve ln regards Lo ume spenL ln collaborauon wlLh oLher prlnclpals, yeL one prlnclpal felL LhaL Lhere were noL enough of Lhese opporLunlues. Iorma| reparanon Lach of Lhe LwenLy-Lwo recelved Lhelr MSA, advanced degrees or add-on llcensure from unlverslues ln Lhe sLaLe of norLh Carollna. 1wo were rlnclpal lellows Cne paruclpaLed ln an add-on program. 1he remalnlng elghL prlnclpals were enrolled ln Lradluonal unlverslLy programs. 60 (14.6) SLaLemenLs of slgnlcance 40 (66) of Lhose sLaLemenLs were coded as belng facLors LhaL had a posluve lmpacL on emcacy lour (1.6) sLaLemenLs were coded as neuLral 16 (26.6) of Lhe sLaLemenLs were coded as noL beneclal Lo Lhe growLh ln emcacy. Mentors, Coaches and ko|e Mode|s. Cnly Lhree prlnclpals reporLed havlng an asslgned menLor 31 (7.3) of sLaLemenLs coded as slgnlcanL Lo prlnclpal learnlng were relaLed Lo Lhls Lheme 27 of Lhe responses from prlnclpals descrlbed Lhelr relauonshlps wlLh menLors, role models or coaches as slgnlcanL ln bulldlng prlnclpal emcacy. All eleven prlnclpals had menLors, buL Lhe menLor was only formally asslgned as parL of a dlsLrlcL sLrucLure ln Lhe experlence of Lhree prlnclpals. Cf Lhese Lhree, Lwo prlnclpals were neuLral regardlng Lhelr experlence and one felL lL had no lmpacL on her performance. 1en of Lhe eleven paruclpanLs Lalked abouL havlng lnformal or self- selecLed menLors and were very posluve abouL Lhe relauonshlps wlLh Lhelr self-selecLed menLor. 1en of Lhe eleven prlnclpals lndlcaLed LhaL Lhelr menLor was a prlnclpal wlLh whom Lhey served as an asslsLanL prlnclpal and LhaL Lhe relauonshlp had endured.
ersona| Lxper|ences or Intr|ns|c Character 1ra|ts
23 of Lhe 411 responses coded as slgnlcanL all eleven of Lhe candldaLes lnLervlewed expressed famlllal upbrlnglng, an early school experlence, an lnLrlnslc characLer LralL, or anoLher personal background experlence as havlng a slgnlcanL lmpacL on Lhelr capaclLy Lo lead eecuvely. Lxamples Cne prlnclpal Lalked abouL hls famlly's experlence ln Lhe servlce lndusLry and how Lhls posluvely lmpacLed hls emcacy ln lnLeracung ln Lhe publlc arena and bulldlng relauonshlps. AnoLher prlnclpal Lalked abouL her personal sLruggles as a sLudenL and her deslre Lo posluvely lmpacL Lhe educauonal experlence for all sLudenLs. A Lhlrd prlnclpal shared hls prlor experlences ln Lhe armed forces as a conLrlbuung facLor ln hls capaclLy Lo lead. Summary and Supporung 1heory School leadershlp ls a key Lo hlgh numbers of sLudenLs meeung rlgorous academlc achlevemenL goals (1schannen-Moran, & Carels, 2003, neules and PerrlngLon, 2007, Marzano, 2003, LelLhwood, eL al, 2008). LvldenLly, Lhe percelved quallLy of Lhe preparauon and Lralnlng makes a dlerence ln Lhe prlnclpals' sense of emcacy, suggesung LhaL Lhe deslgn, conLenL and conunuous lmprovemenL of educauonal leadershlp programs ls lmporLanL Lo Lhe professlon" (1schannen-Moran & Carels, 2003, p. 24). rlnclpal self-emcacy bellefs can be developed Lhrough a varleLy of professlonal learnlng experlences lncludlng preparauon programs, Lradluonal professlonal developmenL experlences, and menLorlng and coachlng experlences. lnLerpreLauons of ndlngs Lxperlenual Learnlng Collaborauve Learnlng 8eal-world Appllcauon Supporuve SLrucLure Concluslons Seven overall Lhemes were ldenued as havlng a slgnlcanL lmpacL on Lhe professlonal learnlng experlences of prlnclpals. 1wo of Lhe Lhemes ldenued represenLed nearly half of Lhe responses coded as slgnlcanL. professlonal learnlng experlences LhaL lncluded collaborauon or cooperauon wlLh colleagues experlenual on Lhe [ob learnlng. lour of Lhe ve remalnlng Lhemes were coded as posluve when Lhey lnvolved collaborauon and lnLeracuon wlLh oLhers Lo some degree or were relevanL Lo Lhe lmmedlaLe needs of Lhe [ob. erhaps Lhe only excepuon Lo Lhe slgnlcance of collaborauon would be Lhe lasL and remalnlng Lheme coded as 0&+1(",2, lnvolvlng pasL school or llfe experlences and famlly background. lmpllcauons for racuce ln order for prlnclpals Lo bulld Lhelr sense of emcacy, Lhey need Lo engage ln experlences LhaL lnLenuonally supporL Lhe anLecedenLs Lo emcacy. Plgh quallLy professlonal learnlng ls susLalnable and bullL upon shared knowledge and collaborauon (Speck & knlpe, 2003). ulsLrlcLs can deslgn professlonal learnlng experlences LhaL are relevanL Lo Lhe learner by provldlng prlnclpals lnpuL lnLo Lhe conLenL of Lhe learnlng experlence. ulsLrlcLs should lnLenuonally deslgn Lhese experlences wlLh opporLunlues for collaborauon and when posslble draw upon Lhe exlsung problems of prlnclpals ln a case sLudy analysls. erhaps prlnclpals could brlng relevanL lssues Lo Lhe Lable and have opporLunlues Lo collaborauvely problem solve and deep dlve Lhe consequences of posslble responses Lo Lhe lssues aL hand. 1he lmporLance of a culLure of LrusL.
lmpllcauons-rofesslonal Learnlng Lxperlences CLher professlonal learnlng experlences of prlnclpals, Lxperlences should be carefully examlned prlor Lo engagemenL and paruclpauon should be pursued lf Lhe professlonal learnlng experlence provldes opporLunlues for experlenual learnlng, eecuve pracuce and collaborauon wlLh oLher colleagues. ulsLrlcLs mlghL evaluaLe Lhelr process for prlnclpals when engaglng ln professlonal developmenL. An appllcauon process for professlonal developmenL may provlde for assurance LhaL Lhe professlonal learnlng meeLs Lhe crlLerla of eecuve professlonal learnlng experlences. 1hls wlll also esLabllsh relevancy. rlnclpal menLors, coaches or supervlsors could also deslgn and oer or presenL professlonal learnlng experlences Lo prlnclpals ln Lhelr lndlvldual or collecuve areas of need. 1hls scenarlo would also provlde for more dlerenuauon based upon need and lndlvldual learnlng sLyles of prlnclpals. lmpllcauons-lormal reparauon rogram conLenL should be dellvered Lhrough a varleLy of meLhods Lo besL meeL Lhe needs of adulL learners and allow prlnclpals and asplrlng prlnclpals Lo apply Lhe currlcular conLenL ln auLhenuc semngs and Loward Lhe resoluuon of real-world problems and dllemmas." Lvldence lndlcaLes LhaL eecuve programs are research based, have currlcular coherence, provlde experlence ln ln auLhenuc conLexLs, use cohorL grouplngs and menLors, and are sLrucLured Lo enable collaborauve acuvlLy beLween Lhe program and area schools" (uavls, eL.al., 2003, p. 9). lmpllcauons-lormal reparauon 1he quallLauve daLa ls conslsLenL wlLh Lhls research, calllng for more experlenual and auLhenuc experlences and Lhe prlnclpals' reporLed posluve lmpacL of collaborauon and experlence. Auenuon Lo a balance of Lheory and pracucal experlence. More ume spenL ln lnLernshlp, case sLudles and scenarlos More engagemenL ln auLhenuc work and more ume spenL ln problem solvlng wlLh pracuuoners. lnLernshlps, longer, varled, prlor Lo enrollmenL, ln Lhe conLexL of a workday arLnershlps and lncreased cooperauon and collaborauon beLween ulsLrlcLs and unlverslLy rogram AdmlnlsLraLors Lngage ln a rlgorous analysls and evaluauon of Lhe preparauon programs and professlonal developmenL of prlnclpals Lo dellneaLe whaL works and dlmlnlsh Lhose experlences deemed as lnadequaLe or lmpracucal ln Lhelr conLrlbuuon Lo emcacy. LlmlLauons A llmlLauon of Lhls sLudy would be Lhe degree Lo whlch Lhe needs of prlnclpals ln small rural communlLy ln norLh Carollna are conslsLenL wlLh Lhe needs of prlnclpals worklng ln dlerenL envlronmenLs. AnoLher llmlLauon of Lhls sLudy ls LhaL lL ls llkely LhaL Lhe prlnclpals ln Lhls dlsLrlcL have engaged ln slmllar professlonal learnlng experlences, Lhereby llmlung Lhelr ablllLy Lo reporL on some varlauons of professlonal learnlng experlences. Some models of professlonal learnlng, such as coachlng, were noL experlenced by Lhe group aL large and were noL able Lo be Lhoroughly examlned. 1he resulLs are llmlLed Lo Lhe self-reporLed lndlcauons of emcacy. uue Lo Lhe small number of paruclpanLs, Lhe lnLervlewees may feel Lhey were easlly ldenuable desplLe every eorL Lo proLecL Lhelr ldenuLy. 1here was no way Lo guaranLee anonymlLy. Suggesuons for lurLher 8esearch 1here ls a need Lo examlne prlnclpal emcacy prlor Lo enrollmenL ln a program such and compare Lo Lhe emcacy of prlnclpals aer paruclpauon ln a professlonal learnlng experlence. 1hls sLudy was noL deslgned Lo lnvesugaLe Lhe lmpacL of famlly background, pasL experlences of prlnclpals or Lhe lmpacL of lnLrlnslc characLer LralLs on prlnclpal emcacy. 1hls was a Lheme LhaL emerged and Lhls ls a Lheme LhaL warranLs furLher lnvesugauon. Lmcacy was self-reporLed Lhrough Lhe SLS. lL would be lnLeresung Lo see lf prlnclpal reporLs of self-emcacy are conslsLenL wlLh dlsLrlcL leadershlp or Leacher percepuons of prlnclpal emcacy. llnally, Lhere ls a need Lo repllcaLe Lhls sLudy wlLh prlnclpals ln a larger urban Lype semng Lo see lf Lhe ndlngs are conslsLenL across envlronmenL.