Exploring the challenges faced by a novice administrator: A case study
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.12928/tefl.v2i1.424Keywords:
Novice administrator, challenges, management, leadership, responsibilitiesAbstract
With the changing world and the developing technology, many alterations occur throughout the world as a whole. Managing and directing an educational institution is not an exception. The teaching and learning process, as well as the place of stakeholders of these educational institutions, are currently in a period of development as the governments are concerned with raising the standards of education. All these changes and standardization movements put pressure on the administrators, especially on those new to such positions. The situation becomes even worse when these administrators lack the necessary experience and training. To draw attention to these issues, this case study aimed to elicit the opinions of a novice administrator concerning leadership and administration practices and identify the critical challenges she faced during the first year of her appointment. A qualitative case study research methodology was employed in the present research. Two different data collection tools were used: a semi-structured interview with the participant administrator and a diary of the participant. Content analysis was used to analyze the obtained data. The results of the study demonstrated that working as a novice administrator is a gratifying task, yet, it creates personal, occupational and relational challenges for the administrator.
References
Allison, D. G. (1997). Coping with stress in the principalship. Journal of Educational Administration, 35(1), 39 55.
Arnett-Hartwick, S. E., & Cannon, J. (2019). Problems Faced by Secondary Technology Education Novice and Veteran Teachers. Journal of Research in Technical careers, 3(1), 1-12.
Beam, A., Claxton, R. L., & Smith, S. J. (2016). Challenges for novice school leaders: Facing today’s issues in school administration.
Bednar, A.K., Cunningham, D., Duffy, T.M., & Perry, J.D. (1991). Theory into practice: How do we link? In G. J. Anglin (Ed.), Instructional technology: Past, present, and future. Englewood, CO: Libraries Unlimited.
Blackmore, J., Thomson, P. & Barty, K. (2006). ‘Principal Selection: Homosociability, the Search for Security and the Production of Normalized Principal Identities’, Educational Management Administration and Leadership 34(3), 297-315.
Bolam, R., Dunning, G., & Karstanje, P. (Eds.). (2000). New heads in the new Europe. Munster, Germany: Waxmann.
Borg, M. G., & Riding, R. J. (1993). Occupational stress and job satisfaction among school administrators. Journal of Educational Administration, 31(1), 16-22.
Bush, T. (2011). School Leadership Development: Top-down or Bottom-up? Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 39(3), 258-260.
Bush, T., Briggs, A.R.J., & Middlewood, D. (2006). The impact of school leadership development: evidence from the “New Visions” programme for early headship. Journal of In-Service Education, 32(2), 185–200.
Cheung, R.M.-B., & Walker, A. (2006). Inner worlds and outer limits: The formation of beginning school principals in Hong Kong. Journal of Educational Administration, 44, 389-407.
Clarke, S., Wildy, H., & Styles, I. (2011). Fit for purpose? Western Australian insights into the efficacy of principal preparation. Journal of Educational Administration, 49(2), 166-78.
Coleman, M. (2005). Gender and Secondary School Leadership, International Studies in Educational Administration 33(2), 3-20.
Connelly, F. M., & Clandinin, D. J. (1990). Stories of experience and narrative inquiry. Educational Researcher, 19(5), 2-14.
Cranston, N (1999). CEO or headteacher? challenges and dilemmas for primary principals in Queensland, Leading & Managing, 5(2), 100-113.
Cranston, N (2000). The impact of school-based management on primary school principals: an Australian perspective, Journal of School Leadership, 10(3), 214-232.
Crow, G. M. (2006). Complexity and the beginning principal in the United States: Perspectives on socialization. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 310-325.
Dağlı A. (2006). Okul müdürlerinin tükenmişlik düzeyleri. Eğitim Araştırmaları Dergisi. 25, 85-95.
Daresh, J. C., & Playco, M.A. (1995). The arrival of the new principal: Reactions and staff. Change, 3(3), 322-333.
Draper, J., & McMichael, P. (2000). Contextualising new headship. School Leadership & Management, 20, 459-473.
Dunning, G. (1996). Management problems of new primary head-teachers. School Organisation, 16(1), 111-128.
Earley, P., Nelson, R., Higham, R., Bubb, S., Porritt, V., & Coates, M. (2011). Experiences of new headteachers in cities. London, England: London Centre for Leadership in Learning.
Edelson, D. C., Pea, R.D., & Gomez, L. (1995) Constructivism in the Collaboratory. In B. G. Wilson (Ed.), Constructivist Learning Environments: Case Studies in Instructional Design. (pp. 1 22). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Educational Technology Publications.
Education Queensland (1999). School Planning and Accountability Framework, Brisbane: Government Printer.
Friedman, I. A. (2002). Burnout in school principals: Role related antecedents. Social Psychology of Education, 5(3), 229-251.
Gray, D. E. (2004). Doing research in the real world. London: SAGE Publications.
Hart, A.W. (1993). Principal succession: Establishing leadership in schools. Albany: State University of New York Press,
Karakose, T. (2007). High school teachers’ perceptions towards principals’ ethical leadership in Turkey. Asia Pacific Education Review, 8(3), 464-477.
Karakose, T., & Kocabas, I. (2009). An investigation on ethical culture in educational organizations. African Journal of Business Management, 3(10), 504-510.
Karakose, T., Yirci, R., & Kocabas, I. (2014). A Qualitative Study of the Novice Principals' Problems in The School Management Process And Solutions. Pakistan Journal of Statistics, 30(6), 11-25.
Krishnan, L. A., & Hoon, L. H. (2002). Diaries: Listening to ‘voices’ from the multicultural classroom. ELT Journal, 56(3), 227-239.
Kukla, A. (2000). Social constructivism and the philosophy of science. Lieblich: Psychology Press.
Lindle, J. C. (2004). Trauma and stress in the principal's office: systematic inquiry as coping. Journal of School Leadership, 14(4), 378-410.
Loder, T. L., & Spillane, J. P. (2005). Is a principal still a teacher? US women administrators’ accounts of role conflict and role discontinuity. School Leadership & Management, 25(3), 263-279.
Lortie, D. C. (2009). School principal: Managing in public. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
MacBeath, J., Gronn, P., Opfer, D., Lowden, K., Forde, C., Cowie, M., & O’Brien, J. (2009). The recruitment and retention of head teachers in Scotland. Edinburgh: Scottish Government.
Marzano, R.J. (2003). What works in schools: Translating research into action? Alexandria, VA.:Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Nelson, S., Colina, M.G., & Boone, M.D. (2008). Life world or systems world: what guides novice principals? Journal of Educational Administration, 46(6), 690-701.
Ogembo, P.O. (2005). Training needs of heads of departments of secondary schools for effective curriculum implementation in Kenya. A case of Eldoret Municipality. Unpublished M. Phil. Thesis.
Özmen, P. (2007). An analysis of the awareness levels of the state school EFL teachers on reflective teaching: a case study. Unpublished Master thesis, Gazi University, Ankara.
Parkay, F.W., & Hall, G.E. (1992). Becoming a principal: The challenges of beginning leadership. Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon.
Pineda-Báez, C., Bernal-Luque, R., Sandoval-Estupiñan, L. Y., & Quiroga, C. (2019). Challenges facing novice principals: A study in Colombian schools using a socialization perspective. Issues in Educational Research, 29(1), 205-222.
Portin, B. S., Shen, J., & Williams, R. C. (1998). The changing principalship and its impact: Voices from principals. Nassp Bulletin, 82(602), 1-8.
Quick, J. C., Macik Frey, M., & Cooper, C. L. (2007). Managerial dimensions of organizational health: The healthy leader at work. Journal of Management Studies, 44(2), 189-205.
Quong, T., Walker, A., & Bodycott, P. (1999), Exploring and interpreting leadership stories, School Leadership & Management, 19 (4), 35-41.
Sackney, L. and Walker, K. (2006). Canadian perspectives on beginning principals: their role in building capacity for learning communities, Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 341–58.
Saleem, A., Muhammad, Y., & Masood, S. (2020). Classroom management challenges and administrative support in elementary schools: Experiences of novice public-school teachers. UMT Education Review, 3(2), 29-46.
Spillane, J. P., & Lee, L. C. (2014). Novice school principals’ sense of ultimate responsibility: Problems of practice in transitioning to the principal’s office. Educational Administration Quarterly, 50(3), 431-465.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Walker, K., Anderson, K., Sackney, L., & Woolf, J. (2003). Unexpected learning by neophyte principals: Factors related to success of first-year principals in schools. Managing Global Transitions, 1(2), 195.
Weindling, D. and Dimmock, C. (2006). Sitting in the “hot seat”: New head-teachers in the UK. Journal of Educational Administration, 44(4), 326-340.
Wieczorek, D., & Manard, C. (2018). Instructional Leadership Challenges and Practices of Novice Principals in Rural Schools. Journal of Research in Rural Education, 34(2).
William, M., & Burden, R. (1997). Psychology for language teachers. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Authors who publish in TEFL Journal agree to the following terms: Authors retain copyright and grant the TEFL Journal right of first publication with the work simultaneously licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY-SA 4.0) that allows others to share (copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format) and adapt (remix, transform, and build upon the material) the work for any purpose, even commercially with an acknowledgement of the work's authorship and initial publication in TEFL Journal. Authors are able to enter into separate, additional contractual arrangements for the non-exclusive distribution of the journal's published version of the work (e.g., post it to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgement of its initial publication in TEFL Journal. Authors are permitted and encouraged to post their work online (e.g., in institutional repositories or on their website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as earlier and greater citation of published work (See The Effect of Open Access).
