Middle school principals' reflection: a narrative research study exploring how leaders make sense of a recently launched educational intervention.

• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20241704

In a world of increasing responsibilities placed on schools, principals have been faced with mounting pressure to make decisions to improve instruction for all students. This pressure, coupled with state and federal mandates to improve performance has forced administrators to develop, implement, and evaluate educational interventions within their schools. This study explored how these school leaders made sense of this process as it related to a recently launched initiative. The research was conducted using the theoretical framework of sensemaking and included 4 middle school principals as participants. Data was gathered through a 3 tiered interview process allowing for a rich narrative to be developed. Data from the narrative was analyzed using a deductive approach and key themes were identified. The process identified the complexity of sensemaking as an emergent theme. At the conclusion of this study recommendations were made for future research and implications for both the theory and practice as it relates to this study.