A school principal's leadership : vision to reality

Abstract

This study examines how a school principal brought his leadership vision to reality within his school. Some researchers have viewed educational administration as a science, while others have argued it is a craft. Each of these perspectives is illustrated in the present literature review of administration, leadership, vision, and effective schools. -- This is an ethnographic study employing the techniques of participant observation, unstructured interviews, and unobtrusive measures. The research was based on the philosophical assumptions of naturalistic inquiry with the accepted ethical and validity considerations. -- The study found the research focus to be a school leader working to build a vision of offering a quality service to the school's students. In this work, the school principal worked with and through teachers, students, parents, and community to bring changes in curriculum and instructional development, professional development, and school culture and climate. The research focus could be considered a transformational leader for his work in enabling and empowering others through the change process. An examination of the research findings reveals that a school administrator is more effective in leading change if the person operates from a craft perspective as opposed to the traditional scientific perspective. The research concluded with the investigator offering implications for changes to the way administrators are trained for the work of administering social institutions, such as schools.