Sustaining the Human Spirit of the High School Principal Leading for Equity

• Main Author: Richardson, Ryan David
• Format: Others
• Published: PDXScholar 2017
• Subjects: High school principals > Attitudes > Case studies; Job satisfaction; Work environment; Educational leadership; Transformational leadership; Educational Administration and Supervision; Educational Leadership
• Online Access: https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/open_access_etds/3763; https://pdxscholar.library.pdx.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=4772&context=open_access_etds

Shrinking budgets and swelling public accountability characterize public education in the 21st century. Pressures to increase achievement while assuring the emotional and physical safety of all students make the work of the secondary principal daunting. A leader for equity must be a symbolic, visionary, and instructional leader that creates positive change that leads to student achievement, especially for students that are traditionally underserved. The demands placed on school administrators generate leadership burnout. As we strive to meet the rigorous goals of improving academic achievement while teaching and caring for each child, we must create environments for effective administrators to thrive in their schools long enough to impact a school's culture and produce equitable outcomes. The purpose of this dissertation is to describe and explain the issues around nurturing the human spirit of high school principals. Chapters One and Two will describe the context of the problem and a literature review. In Chapter Three, the research will be described including the methodology, instruments, and the process for data collection and analysis. Chapter Four will describe the findings of the research that examines how a clear focus on equity and relationships lead to feelings of satisfaction, self efficacy, and career/personal fulfillment for each of the leaders in this study. The study includes two groups, Principals of Color and White principals that are allies to people of color. Chapter Five synthesizes the findings and makes recommendations for future practice and policy.