Deborah Olusa
Published: 2014
Total Pages: 470
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Urban and suburban principals of the 21st century serve within chronically changing work environments that are heavily influenced by circumstances beyond their control. This dissertation explored how urban and suburban principals in the Northeast Corridor perceive and experience change within their work environment. It also explored how such constant change coupled with the pressure of leading urban and suburban schools impacted their professional and personal lives. Throughout the United States, both urban and suburban public school systems view the principalship as an integral role within the district as it relates to school reform, implementing change, and student achievement. Abundant literature exists on accountability and on the instructional leadership responsibilities of principals. However, a gap is evident in the dearth of studies regarding how public school principals experience and perceive working within a changing environment and the impact on their emotional, professional, and personal lives. Regarding enactment of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, and most recently, the No Child Left Behind Waivers of 2012, principals are held to progressive accountability measures in full view of the public. If desired results are not achieved, the shortfalls can result in reassignments or terminations. The study elicited the perceptions and experiences of principals regarding change to understand what they consider important and how these perceptions and experiences manifest through time. To explore this research question, a mixed methods design was used that included 5 indepth interviews and 5 behavioral event interviews along with the administration of a self-report instrument to each participant regarding self-efficacy, optimism, and posttraumatic stress disorder. All interviews and self-reporting instruments were conducted at a location outside the participants' school districts. All qualitative data were coded and thematically analyzed, and scores from self-reporting instruments were examined for similarities and differences among participants. Scores were also used to deepen and expand understanding of qualitative data. Findings were provided to capture the possible link between the emotions of urban and suburban principals during times of mandated change and their perceived leadership effectiveness, self-efficacy, levels of optimism, learned helplessness, and posttraumatic stress disorder. The completed study should bring greater awareness to the emotional, professional, and personal impact of working in a constantly changing environment and the lived experiences of principals. Several unanticipated findings emerged such as the existence of the (a) Violence theme and the Workplace Bullying/Mobbing, Emotional Abuse, and School Violence subthemes; (b) Learned Helplessness theme and Lack of Voice, Lack of Autonomy, and a Sense of Failure subthemes; (c) the Self-Efficacy theme and The Treatment of Principals subtheme; and (d) the Support theme and the Marginal or No District Support, and Professional and Personal Support Networks subthemes. The possibility is that the accumulation of work-related principal experiences may be contributing factors in the development of all principals having Posttraumatic Stress Disorder attributes. Interactions were discovered between themes and across subthemes such as Learned Helplessness and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Attributes; Workplace Bullying/Mobbing, Learned Helplessness, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Attributes; and Learned Helplessness and Depression. At the same time, male principals experienced Workplace Mobbing and experienced physiological symptoms and female principals experienced Workplace Bullying, which resulted in stress and anxiety related experiences. Overwhelmingly, all principals communicated an array of intense emotions and the psychological impact of their principal role, most notably fear, stress, anxiety, and numbing, Recommendations regarding how national, state, and local districts can support urban and suburban principals as they lead during chronic change were provided. Equally, recommendations were provided for urban and suburban principals to empower themselves collectively and independently. Most importantly, the study may be used to spur dialogue surrounding how optimally to support principals emotionally, professionally, and personally.