Administrative passages : navigating the transition from teacher to assistant principal / by Denise E. Armstrong.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Armstrong, Denise E.

Series:

Studies in educational leadership ; 4.

Studies in educational leadership ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Assistant school principals.

School management and organization.

Educational leadership.

Physical Description:

xxiii, 151 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

Dordrecht ; New York : Springer, [2009]

Summary:

Assistant principals are vital to school success. As one of the largest groups of frontline managers, they represent the face of school administration and they perform a complex range of leadership and managerial roles. As important as they are, little academic attention has been directed to the role of the assistant principal and the ways in which newcomers navigate the transition from teacher to effective administrator. This book addresses this gap by offering a perspective on administrative practice which is not normally discussed in traditional textbooks. It describes the socio-emotional journey from teaching to administration through the eyes of eight newly appointed secondary school assistant principals, and it introduces a change model which integrates literature and primary research.

The assistant principals' narratives open a new window onto the inner and outer world of schools, revealing a uncharted landscape of paradoxes and emotions. These stories also uncover hidden boundaries, rites, and rituals which operate beneath a veneer of order, control, and stability, and shape administrators' work lives in imperceptible ways. As the new assistant principles describe their dreams, disappointments, and accomplishments, they illustrate the complex challenges of leading and learning within shifting organizational contexts. This book will be of interest to practitioners, policy makers, and theoreticians alike. It provides practical advice on surviving this career passage, and it identifies how institutional processes, policies, and practices can be improved to support this important leadership role.

Contents:

Pt. I. Background. Introduction

Perspectives on change, transitions, and passages

Pt. II. Narrating the administrative passage. The individual narratives

Charting the administrative passage

Entry-exit: crossing the administrative threshold

Immersion-emmersion: ascending the administrative hierarchy

Disintegration-reintegration: shifting perspectives-letting go, holding on, and reframing

Transformation-restabilization: becoming and being an assistant principal

Pt. III. The way forward: connecting theory and practice. Reconceptualizing assistant principals' leadership transitions.

Notes:

Includes bibliographic references (pages 139-145) and index.

ISBN:

9781402052682

1402052685

9781402052699

1402052693

OCLC:

149011392