Individual case studies

An aspect difficult to develop when presenting findings through text is the passion and conviction demonstrated by the participant’s body language; their voice; their gestures. The focus group transcripts revealed that all fifteen principals believed they were in their schools to make a difference to their learning community, in particular, their students. The four case study interviews then further contributed to the findings analysis in Chapter Six. Much of what was said confirmed previous data. Their stories of progression are each different but inform and personalise this research, hence each journey is detailed.

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5.8.1 Karena

Karena is an early career principal, with two and a half years’ experience. Her leadership capability was identified early in her teaching by the principal. “He saw the big picture rather than just what was going on in the school.” Karena was provided with opportunities, firstly as a senior teacher, and then through a deputy principal role.

She moved rapidly to a walking deputy position. She described the principal of the school where she was D.P. as knowledgeable, but a person who lacked personal confidence. Once Karena realised she was doing the principal’s job she became frustrated and sought change. Motherhood intervened; a role Karena saw as too big to combine with principalship.

She returned to an urban large school, again as Deputy Principal and during the following years completed a Diploma in Educational Management. She described the graduated learning programme the institution offered as outstanding. After one year, a person could finish with a certificate, two years a diploma and five years, a Master’s Degree. The course she found both practical and it covered, in her words, “the things I wanted to know about.”

Karena then chose a sideways move. She took on an advisory role, facilitating ‘workshops at the Teachers’ Centres’. She described the learning she got from working and talking with many principals as insightful, “You know, discussing what was going on in their schools. I was learning from them, even though they were learning from me.”

Karena then moved into her first principalship. She described this job as ‘fate and fit’.

I was comfortable and they obviously felt like they were comfortable having me because…. (They appointed me). I think that whole matching thing is important.

Page | 193 She talked about the importance for first time principals to take over a school that is successful. “It was (the school) really in good heart. There were already good teachers and a lot of the problem stuff had been dealt with.”

Induction into the role by the previous principal was valued. Karena had a clear understanding of what had and had not been accomplished. “I wasn’t able to do this with the staff… I have not been able to….” She gave Karena a strong understanding of the school culture and made clear the first challenge was to build her own staff relationships.

Karena had a good understanding of change management from her formal study. She articulated her belief that there needed to be some written contract about principals handing over schools to new principals. She was in her words, “lucky,” but it was not the same for other colleagues she had met through the FTPP.

The First Time Principals’ Programme (FTPP) provided networking and learning opportunities for Karena, “The practical examples from principals. Coming away with ideas and thinking, yes, I can do that.” She was thankful they grouped her with like principals from large urban schools, which provided shared understanding.

Karena’s most important learning came from her FTPP mentor. The mentor advised the Board of Trustees that Karena would only be able to achieve certain things in that first year. Her mentor made sure the Board knew what was important. Karena felt that, compared to many colleagues, she had an excellent start to principalship, although she still had lots of “in time, on the job learning.” She had three suspensions to deal with early on and she said that, without colleague’s advice and the New Zealand Trustees Association, she would have really struggled with the crisis management issues. Sleepless nights and worry she described as being inextricably tied to principalship. Each new experience however provided her with unforgettable informal learning.

Page | 194 Three years into her job, Karena said she was ready for more formal learning. She had recently joined a principals’ learning group where they considered a range of different educational leadership perspectives. She was again contemplating completing her Master’s Degree, but the cost of the degree was a concern. She believed that if the FTPP had contributed papers towards a Master’s Degree that would have helped her on that journey.

She described conferences she wanted to attend, overseas and in New Zealand. She believed conferences provided her with wonderful thinking opportunities, time out of her busy schedule to reflect. Her barrier was the school’s limited government funding. She was already fundraising large amounts of community money annually and she said it would have felt wrong to spend it on her learning.

Karena strongly supported a range of pathways being open to developing principals. She felt the succession plan however, was the most common pathway to the first job. Karena verbalised that formal learning would take her to her next career step. She believed she would be in her present school for a few more years and then she would like to develop another school, “knowing what I know now.”

Karena did not expressly identify how her learning made a difference to student learning but her drive for the staff to use assessment data to inform their teaching was evidence of practice.

5.8.2. Larry

Larry was an early career principal with two years’ experience. He began his leadership learning also with a very strong mentor. His mentor guided him through leadership and provided a range of opportunities. He realised that as the Associate Principal, he experienced, “a number of

opportunities that several colleagues (of mine), in the same level of associate principalship, may not have been lucky enough to get under their Principal”. Larry described initially having no aspiration to

Page | 195 leadership but over time he realised he wanted to give something back to education. He describes it as “almost a duty.”

His pre-career learning involved attending conferences, going to seminars, being encouraged to attend principal networking functions. Of the highest importance was completing his Master’s Degree.

It helped firm up many of the concepts in my mind that you could see developing from theory into practice.

Larry was given a study leave grant for six months to complete his Masters of Educational

Management. He identified that the business paper component of his degree provided him with a strong strategic view of his current school.

After completing his degree, he felt he could make that “next leap,” into principalship. Like Karena, he felt one of the most important aspects of his appointment was his fit with the school and job. He began principalship in a type of school he was familiar with and where he felt comfortable. It was similar to the school where he had developed his leadership skills.

Larry talked about his own experience in those first months in the job. He sensed so much of the job was experiential. He talked about the value of keeping the school running smoothly in that first year and the importance of people who help make that happen. He also believed first time principals were advantaged by taking on successful schools with knowing and supportive Boards of Trustees.

Continued support by the FTPP mentor was an important factor in his success. Involving the school in a networked action research project provided external stimuli to keep him and the school “moving forward.” Larry described the value he gained from self- reflection. He said principals have to be able to identify and rectify personal and institutional weaknesses.

Page | 196 He thought that building relationships and strong communication skills were paramount to the job. Larry verbalised his thoughts about the need for emotional intelligence and an understanding of the different styles of leadership. He felt personality had a huge influence on leadership. Sometimes he felt he was consultative but he knew and could apply authoritarianism when the hard decisions had to be made.

Larry talked about decision making, prioritising, and knowing your community as key skills for early leaders.

You have to decide what the most important thing is. If it comes down to a student or welfare of a student, or a family concern, then, those are the important things to deal with. We’re dealing with students, and that’s our first priority, the other stuff can just get in line. But then, sometimes being sensitive to issues too, so that if a parent issue crops up, I think you develop the, the ear, or the nose if you like, to sort of detect need.

Larry referenced the importance of networking several times. “I really can’t overestimate that, because you do hear about principals who nobody hears about, and they’re sort of like a silo in their own school, and they don’t seem to talk to other people, but (from networking) you learn so much.” Through his colleagues he heard about new programmes and events his students should be

participating in.

Larry talked at length about the role of the senior management team and distributed leadership, the importance of having the same vision and understanding of where the school is heading. He believed principals have to be seen by their staff as learners. Larry strongly believed that apprenticeship leadership preparation is part of an effective model for learning.

Larry had just finished the First Time Principals’ Programme and found it valuable. He felt there needed to be an element of compulsion to attend so that, “at least they’ve had that learning.” Larry

Page | 197 described however, a huge range of new principals, in age, learning, and experience. The thing is, that they are all “suddenly a principal.”

5.8.3 Ewen

Ewen is a long serving principal who took up his first position, in a five teacher rural school, pre ‘Tomorrow’s Schools’. On his first day as a principal, he went out at lunchtime and it was one of those ‘wow’ moments when he truly realised the enormity of his job:

It suddenly hit me, here are all these kids coming to their school, this is their school, they’ve been coming here since they were five. They turn up here every day, and this is their school. All of a sudden, I’m their Principal; I had better know what I’m doing. The essence of that message is, ever since that day, there’s been a constant search to know what I’m doing, and what is it I should be doing, and how do I know that, and how would I know if I’m doing it? My search continues because I am the kids’ Principal. I’d better make sure their school is working for them.

The big questions raised by Ewen concerned how much of what a principal does well is experience and how much can be attributed to explicit learning. Ewen has a strong belief in academic study. He says the rewards of study always “outweigh the worry, work and giving up weekends.”

The second learning he identified as meaningful was his involvement with fellowships; specifically funded learning. Throughout his career he applied for numerous travel and learning opportunities. Travel provided him with time to “think about big picture stuff, to see what other people do and say about these things.”

Page | 198 We can run development programmes, and we can run courses, and we can go off on

conferences, but there’s nothing quite like, I believe, well it was for me, the rigour of actually enrolling in a course of study and having to write papers.

Learning that contributes to a qualification was described by Ewen as sensible.

I think at the end of the day; you may as well have a qualification, it may as well amount to something, rather than just have a giant collection of papers that never actually gets pulled together. You may as well call it something.

Ewen talked about much learning coming from involvement. He has been on committees, working reference groups and he commented that although he was contributing he was also learning. “Principals, most principals say they learn most from other principals.” Ewen was sceptical that only participating in informal learning was “possibly frightening, even incestuous.”

Ewen was provided with, and funded for, a range of opportunities. His school looked after him and he looked after the school. Ewen expressed general concerns around principal remuneration and qualifications. He was strongly in support of a pay scale that reflected tertiary qualifications.

It is amazing to me that principals are probably the only people in, in our line of work, that don’t have a qualification allowance or step built into our pay scale.

He would reward principals with,

Significant, meaningful salary incentives, that would do two things: one, it would actually reward people to do it. And secondly, it would just build it into the expectation in the job.

He made it clear that a teacher with a degree did not necessarily make a very successful principal. He however believed all principals and teachers needed to demonstrate the capability to learn. The

Page | 199 selection of principals needed to come under scrutiny. He described the importance of selecting the right person for the job, “If you’ve got the wrong person in the first place, all the training in the world, no academic qualifications in the world, are going to fix the person.”

Ewen described management as relatively simple. It is logical and generally systematic. “You develop systems then look for ways to improve them.” Leadership he said was far more complex. He

expressed real concerns around professional judgement being eroded away through government policy.

Ewen’s leadership beliefs were highly aligned to personal beliefs. Near the end of the interview, Ewen made two strong comments about principals and their learning. He said:

x A person’s childhood determines them as a leader.

x Principals need academic rigour of some sort that makes us really get down and think about things.

Observing and talking with Ewen made me consider that perhaps model schools with high performing leaders could provide another learning pathway.

5.8.4. Jenny

Jenny was an experienced principal who took up her principalship post-Tomorrow’s Schools. She was currently in her second school as principal. Jenny described herself, pre-principalship, as a person with no ambition.

The trip to being a principal was completely, on the surface, accidental, because it was never a long term goal, it was simply people saying to me, through the years, “You could do this,” and, “you’ll be a principal one day.”