2025 Theses Doctoral

Growing Principals: An Exploratory Case Study of the Ways Principals Perceive Supporting Assistant Principals’ Preparation for the Principalship in Their Schools

Barakat, Michael

This qualitative case study explores how six US urban high school principals perceived their role in supporting assistant principals’ (APs’) preparation for the principalship in their schools, particularly in the context of high principal turnover. The six principals, all Cahn Distinguished Principal Fellows, not only see themselves as supporters of their APs but also had experience with Drago-Severson’s Four Pillar Practices. The study sought to understand their philosophies, actions, and the challenges they face in this work.

The study uses Drago-Severson’s Four Pillar Practices—teaming, providing leadership roles, engaging in collegial inquiry, and mentoring—as a framework to understand how these principals support their APs. It also considers how the COVID-19 pandemic affected these support efforts. Using a qualitative approach, the author gathered data through 27 hours of in-depth semi-structured interviews with the six principals. The collected data was analyzed to identify common themes and patterns in their reported experiences.

Key findings highlight the importance of principals believing it is their responsibility to support their APs’ preparation for the principalship by employing practices such as modeling desired behaviors and using the Four Pillar Practices to create supportive environments. However, the principals reported facing challenges including time constraints and APs' varying needs.

This research suggests that recognizing the different ways adults learn, known as developmental diversity, is crucial. It emphasizes the need for intentional and tailored support to help APs grow. The study also calls for school districts to actively promote the development of their staff by creating environments that foster growth.This study provides insights into how principals and school districts can support the development of adults in schools to promote supportive school communities and address the issue of principal turnover. Limitations of the study include the researcher's own biases and the small number of participants. Further research could explore how the ways principals and APs understand the world influence their support strategies.