The assistant principal, an internship report

Abstract

The purpose of this report was to examine the roles and duties of an assistant principal in a specific school setting. -- Chapter One outlines the internship setting, goals of the internship, on-site supervision, and the internship study. Chapter Two contains a review of the literature pertinent to the roles and duties of the assistant principal. Chapter Three reports the internship experience. -- As part of the internship experience the assistant principal was assisted when it was feasible to do so. As well, using Mintzberg's method of structured observation, the daily activities of the assistant principal were documented over a period of 35 teaching days between the hours of 8 a.m. and 4 p.m. -- This report not only detailed the roles and duties of an assistant principal in a specific situation, but also discussed the roles and duties of an assistant principal from the perspectives of researchers, principals, assistant principals, and teachers. These differing perspectives were then compared to the situation observed and similarities and differences were identified. The major finding was that the assistant principal at the internship school was not an instructional leader and that his time was largely taken up with management.