New York City school principals\u27 perceptions of their role as school leaders

This dissertation will explore how New York City school principals understand their roles as school leaders. Many school districts, like New York City, view the principal as the key lever of change in school improvement, particularly in the area of student achievement. There is abundant literature on what principals should be doing but limited research on how principals actually view their own roles and how these views affect how they lead. The literature cites that principals perform a multitude of roles. At times, principals may experience work role overload due to the number of roles they perform. Sometimes principals may experience role ambiguity or role confusion because their roles may not be clearly defined by the school district. This may then affect how principals are perceived by the school community. Throughout the literature there is agreement that one of the primary roles of the school principal is to be engaged in instructional leadership. Another consistent theme that emerged is that the principals experience internal and external influences related to school accountability, student achievement and annual school performance. The role of the principal requires a continual balancing act between being a school manager and a school leader. The study will elicit the perceptions of principals regarding their role as school leaders in order to understand what they consider to be important and why, and to ascertain how these perceptions are manifested in their leadership. To explore this research question, the study will employ a mixed-method design comprising interviews, a focus group, field observations, and a survey of twenty New York City principals who are currently practicing in the field. The sample of New York City principals and their perceptions as schools leaders may enlighten future policy or practice in the field of school administration and supervision. It may be particularly informative for people who are engaged in developing, supporting, mentoring, or supervising principals, since it includes how principals view their own roles and leadership