The Role of the Secondary School Principal: Examining the Evolution and Current Dynamics of the Role of Secondary Principals

The position of the school principal in today’s schools is made up of a multitude of dynamics and responsibilities that have shaped the role into something that bears only a mere resemblance to what the position was even just a few years ago. This drastic change in the makeup of the position has created a stark disconnect between what is represented in the literature and what the job actually entails. Likewise, principal preparation programs are not adequately preparing school principals for the realities of the job. Studies have been conducted in order to uncover the dynamics of the principal position, but thus far, this research and its findings have been fairly limited. The purpose of this qualitative research study was to uncover all of the dynamics of the role of the school principal in today’s schools and to discover what current principals perceive their role and function to be. The researcher interviewed a purposeful sample of school principals from small, rural school districts in Western Pennsylvania with at least seven years of experience. Data collected from these interviews revealed a strong consensus from participants that the role of the school principal has indeed drastically changed in recent years and has become overwhelming for these principals. Findings from this investigation may be useful in better understanding all of the dynamics that make up the realities of today’s principal position and in better preparing principals for what they will face on the job. Keywords: school principal, principal roles, educational change, educational leadership, school safety, student behavior, student relations, principal dutie