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The secondary school principal's role as instructional leader in teacher professional development

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The secondary school principal's role as instructional leader in teacher professional development

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Content Running Head: PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

THE SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPAL’S ROLE AS INSTRUCTIONAL LEADER IN
TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

by
Romela Khachikyan

A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC ROSSIER SCHOOL OF EDUCATION
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OF EDUCATION

May 2015

Copyright 2015 Romela Khachikyan

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT ii

DEDICATION
I dedicate this to my husband and my daughter who inspire me to be the best I can be on
a daily basis.

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT iii
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
First and foremost, I would like to thank God for all the blessings he has granted me
throughout my life and during this journey.
I would like to express my gratitude to Dr. Pedro Garcia, my dissertation chair, for his
continuous support and guidance throughout this process. It was a great privilege to work under
your guidance. I would also like to extend my gratitude to Dr. Rudy Castruita and Dr. Laurie
Love, members of my dissertation committee, for their support and for dedicating their time to
this study.
I would like to also thank all the participants who contributed a great wealth of
knowledge and insight about their role as school principals. It was a privilege sitting down with
all five principals who graciously offered their time and support for this study.
I am extremely grateful to my family for all their support. I am thankful for my parents-
in-law for helping me in every possible way and for taking care of my sweet daughter. Last but
not least, I would like to thank my wonderful husband who never questioned me when I started
this journey. Your unconditional support made this even more worthwhile.

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT iv

ABSTRACT
This research study seeks to understand the role of the secondary school principal as
instructional leader and to explore some of the challenges they encounter when fulfilling that role
effectively. This study also investigates how secondary principals perceive their role as
instructional leaders when planning for school-wide teacher professional development. Lastly,
this study explores some of the leadership qualities that principals think are essential when
leading a school organization.
This research study utilized qualitative and quantitative research methodology where
surveys and interviews were used to collect data. Data analysis revealed that principals perceived
their role as instructional leaders to be challenging due to time and lack of resources.
Findings suggested that principals value their role as instructional leaders and they
perceive their role as someone who supports teachers with instructional needs and professional
development. The value of forming a cohesive instructional leadership team was evident and
principals emphasized that to a great extent. The study also revealed that principals often feel
inadequate in teacher professional development and, due to uncertainty with the introduction of
the Common Core Standards, they feel their role is shifting and they are compelled to become
stronger instructional leaders.
The study also provided great insight into leadership qualities and characteristics. The
study validated the importance of possessing effective leadership skills and qualities such as
listening, and being collaborative, courageous, communicative, organized and knowledgeable.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT v

TABLE OF CONTENTS
DEDICATION ................................................................................................................................ ii

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ............................................................................................................. iii

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv

LIST OF TABLES ....................................................................................................................... viii

CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY ................................................................................1

Introduction ..........................................................................................................................1

Background of the Problem .................................................................................................3

Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................................5

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................7

Research Questions ..............................................................................................................8

Theoretical Framework ........................................................................................................9

Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................10

Limitations .........................................................................................................................11

Definition of Terms ............................................................................................................11

Organization of the Study ..................................................................................................12

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ........................................................................13

Introduction ........................................................................................................................13

Principals as Instructional Leaders ....................................................................................14

Principal’s Role in Teacher Professional Development ....................................................19

Effective Leadership ..........................................................................................................26

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT vi
Summary ............................................................................................................................31

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................................33

Introduction ........................................................................................................................33

Research Questions ............................................................................................................33

Methodology ......................................................................................................................33

Sample and Population ......................................................................................................35

Instrumentation ..................................................................................................................37

Reliability and Validity ......................................................................................................39

Ethical Considerations .......................................................................................................40

Limitations of the Study.....................................................................................................41

Data Collection ..................................................................................................................41

Data Analysis .....................................................................................................................43

Summary ............................................................................................................................45

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS .............................................................................................................46

Background ........................................................................................................................46

Demographic Profile ..........................................................................................................46

Purpose ...............................................................................................................................48

Research Questions ............................................................................................................49

Instructional Leadership Role ............................................................................................52

Summary of Results: Research Question 1 ........................................................................64

Effective Instructional Leadership Team ...........................................................................65

Program Evaluations and Use of Data ...............................................................................69

Common Core Standards and Professional Development .................................................71

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT vii
Summary of Results: Research Question 2 ........................................................................76

Summary of Results: Research Question 3 ........................................................................84

Summary ............................................................................................................................85

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................87

Introduction ........................................................................................................................87

Statement of the Problem ...................................................................................................89

Purpose of the Study ..........................................................................................................90

Research Questions ............................................................................................................91

Review of Literature ..........................................................................................................91

Methodology ......................................................................................................................93

Results of Findings ............................................................................................................94

Implications for Practice ....................................................................................................96

Recommendations for Future Research .............................................................................97

Conclusion .........................................................................................................................98

REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................100

APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................108

Appendix A: Principal Survey .........................................................................................108

Appendix B: Principal Interview Guide ..........................................................................111

Appendix C: Information Sheet .......................................................................................112

Appendix D: Recruitment Letter .....................................................................................116

Appendix E: Graphic Summary of Online Survey Responses to Questions 1-10 ...........117

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT viii

LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Data Analysis Organization Plan .................................................................................... 44
Table 2: Interview Participants ..................................................................................................... 48
Table 3: Interview Data - Research Question 1 ............................................................................ 51
Table 4: Key Leadership Qualities for Successful Principals – Interview Data ........................... 77
Table 5: Key Leadership Qualities for Successful Principals – Survey Data ............................... 77
Table 6: Four-Frame Model – Interview Data .............................................................................. 82

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 1
CHAPTER 1: OVERVIEW OF THE STUDY
Introduction
With increased accountability requirements for school districts, the role of the principal
has become more and more significant in improving student scores and implementing
instructional change. There is a high level of expectation for school principals to improve the
quality of student learning and provide a vision for teachers and staff to meet those expectations.
Federal and state guidelines mandate teachers be considered “highly qualified” in all subjects
(NCLB, 2002). Within the No Child Left Behind Act, there is greater focus on the principal’s
role as an academic and instructional leader (Finkel, 2012). The principal’s primary directive
under current legislation is to assume the role of an instructional leader to promote academic
growth for all students.
One of the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders is to promote the
success of all students by advocating and sustaining a school culture and instructional programs
that are conducive to student learning and staff professional development (Commission on
Teacher Credentialing, 2013). Providing effective teacher professional development is a vital
component of a principal’s role as instructional leader. Effective leadership is critical to the
successful functioning of many aspects of a school and effective principals are a necessary
precondition for an effective school (Marzano, Waters, & McNulty, 2005). School leaders need
to understand their job and be able to provide leadership that promotes student learning; at the
same time, they must advocate and implement effective teacher professional development school
wide.
Teacher quality impacts student learning and teachers who are provided with quality
professional development are more active in teaching, which in turn leads to higher student
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 2
achievement (Budde, 2011). Teacher professional development is an essential component of
NCLB and also of the California Public School Accountability Act (CPSAA) which requires
effective professional development plans be implemented throughout districts for teachers
(Commission on Teacher Credentialing, 2012). In order for principals to be the guiding force in
instruction, they need to establish clear academic goals and ensure that all stakeholders share
these academic and instructional goals. According to Ovando and Ramirez (2007), principals’
instructional leadership actions include setting clear expectations, monitoring instruction, and
providing professional development programs according to teachers’ needs. Teachers need
principals who demonstrate strong academic leadership and can support them in achieving
academic excellence for all students. Teacher professional development is an important
component of California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders, and school leaders
need to be vested in providing effective professional development for all teachers (Commission
on Teacher Credentialing, 2013).
As the instructional leader of a school, the principal’s primary role is to support all
teachers in their efforts to develop their pedagogical skills and knowledge while staying current
in new research-based strategies. The role of the principal as instructional leader should include
supporting and coaching teachers through effective professional development programs to ensure
they have opportunities to learn and grow in their practice. According to Harris (2002), when
teachers were surveyed about the impact of the past three years of professional development, less
than 25% reported that professional development affected their instruction. The purpose of
providing teachers with professional development is to promote their skills and pedagogical
knowledge to increase student achievement and performance. Therefore, professional
development needs to be effective, purposeful and well-planned by principals.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 3
To assure that teacher professional development programs are effective, principals should
assess their impact on teacher knowledge and evaluate their overall purpose. Principals must be
visionary leaders and be reflective practitioners who carefully consider how directives are
implemented and assess the resulting effects (Brown & Anfara, 2003). Professional development
programs implemented by principals need to be assessed and evaluated to ensure effectiveness
and impact on teacher practice. Now more than ever, there is greater accountability on school
leaders to meet certain expectations and produce positive results. According to Ovando and
Ramirez (2007), the school principal’s specific instructional leadership actions include planning
for instruction and setting staff development goals. As a result, creating an environment that is
conducive to student learning and teacher practice is essential when discussing the instructional
role of the principal. The aim of this study is to look at the role of the principal as the
instructional leader and how they utilize that role when planning and implementing teacher
professional development.
Background of the Problem
Traditionally, the role of the principal has been to oversee some of the functions of the
school and primarily the job entailed managerial and organizational duties. In recent decades
there have been drastic changes to the public education system, which have caused many of the
decision-making processes to be shifted to the school site. With each new piece of legislation or
reform, the role of the principal has become more critical and these changes have triggered
immense accountability on the part of the school leader to produce better results in a shorter
amount of time (Blome & James, 1985). Some of the demands require principals to oversee all
school operational functions, develop community relations, ensure a safe environment for
students and teachers, and support and supervise classroom teachers (Richter, Lewis, & Hagar,
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 4
2012). Districts expect principals to act as the primary instructional leader at the school site and
provide necessary support to teachers (Anderson & Togneri, 2003). Today, principals as
instructional leaders are compelled to frequently visit classrooms, provide staff development,
utilize data analysis to improve student performance, and introduce innovative research-based
strategies to enhance teacher knowledge and classroom instruction. Twenty-first century school
leaders need to incorporate new leadership strategies and behaviors to be able to implement
effective teacher professional development and, at the same time, to meet the expectations and
demands of state and federal government policies.
Principals have substantial influence and authority to reform schools. One of the most
significant aspects of a principal’s role as instructional leader is the opportunity to transform a
school and bring about necessary instructional change (Carlisle & Berebitsky, 2011). As
instructional leader, the principal has to be involved in the curriculum development process and
have a knowledge base in classroom instruction. School principals have to be recognized as
catalysts for school instructional reform and they need to be supported in the process. The
pressure to improve student performance is more significant today than ever because
accountability requirements are greater.
As the instructional leaders of the school, principals have diverse responsibilities that are
aligned to the state and federal accountability systems. Effective school leaders are able to create
a clear vision and mission for the school and encourage and empower all stakeholders to support
and join the process. Leadership is a process whereby an individual influences a group of
individuals to achieve common goals (Northouse, 2007). It is necessary for the principal to
utilize effective leadership skills to be a successful instructional leader.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 5
With the increasing focus on principals and their role as instructional leaders, this study
aims to understand some of the approaches taken by principals when implementing teacher
professional development. Effective professional development leads to higher student
performance, and principals as instructional leaders need to recognize that they must facilitate
effective programs to promote effective teacher practice and improve student achievement. It is
necessary to look at how principals make those essential decisions when implementing
professional development and what actions are taken to ensure program effectiveness.
Statement of the Problem
To understand the role of the principal as the instructional leader and how principals plan
and implement teacher professional development school wide, there is a need to identify the
approaches taken by principals as instructional leaders when implementing those programs. A
fundamental function of the role of the principal as the instructional leader is to provide
instructional support for teachers and a vital component of that function includes planning
quality teacher professional development.
The central problem revolves around how principals determine what professional
development programs to implement and what methods are used to determine the needs of the
teachers. Effective leaders have the capacity to change school culture and use their influence to
positively bring about instructional change. According to Bolman and Deal (2003), change
agents should not rely entirely on reason and structure, but also on the human, political and
symbolic elements by pulling together a guiding team whose members have the skills and
credibility to get things done. Some principals are more successful than others in creating change
and this study in part will focus on practices and procedures utilized by principals when planning
and implementing teacher professional development.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 6
Classroom instruction and curriculum standards are changing with the implementation of the
Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Principals need to be informed and be able to provide
guidance and support for classroom teachers through professional development to increase
teacher pedagogical knowledge of the new standards. According to Reitzug, West, and Angel
(2008), instructional leadership has long been advocated as a primary responsibility of principals.
Within that role, professional development is a large component of the principal’s responsibility
in ensuring that teachers are receiving instructional support that improves practice. According to
Cantrell and Hughes (2008), teachers are often encouraged and sometimes mandated to
participate in professional development programs despite the fact that teacher knowledge and
skills have not been significantly improved or impacted. Cantrell and Hughes (2008) suggest that
effective professional development programs have the potential to impact teacher learning and
ultimately lead to student learning. To address the need for quality professional development, it
is imperative and necessary to understand how principals view their role as the instructional
leader in implementing programs that can potentially improve teacher content knowledge and
skills.
In addition, perceived leadership qualities and practices of principals that are utilized are
another area of focus. To facilitate effective teacher professional development, how do
principals’ leadership skills and qualities play a role in that process? As the leader of a school
organization, what leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess in order to be
effective and in order to fulfill that role to its full potential? Effective principals possess
leadership skills to help them with time management, problem solving, delegating authority,
building relationships, establishing equitability, and setting clear expectations and goals (Blase,
1987). The focus on principal’s leadership qualities and characteristics will help identify the
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 7
skills school principals must have in order to effectively lead a school organization as well as
how they utilize those skills when making decisions about teacher professional development.
The study will also help us understand some of the approaches taken by principals when
evaluating and assessing the effectiveness of teacher professional development programs.
According to Marzano et al. (2005), one of the principal’s responsibilities as instructional leader
is to continually monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of school instructional and curriculum
practices.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study is to identify the role of the principal as the instructional leader
of a school and investigate the influences of that role in implementing effective professional
development for teachers. According to Marzano et al. (2005), instructional leadership is one of
the most frequently mentioned educational leadership concepts; despite its popularity, however,
the concept is not well defined. There is great body of research that demonstrates the relationship
between effective leadership and student achievement, but there seems to be a missing link. How
do principals utilize their role as instructional leader to influence teacher professional
development? Is providing effective teacher professional development and support for teachers a
factor in achieving that goal?
Research suggests that there is a greater need for effective professional development
programs for teachers to build competence and to develop understanding of research-based
strategies that will promote learning, however, many programs that have been implemented have
failed to foster meaningful teacher learning (Scott & Mouza, 2007). How are principals
accountable for the lack of schoolwide effective teacher professional development? How are
programs planned and implemented? What perceived leadership qualities do principals utilize
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 8
when leading a school organization and when planning, implementing and facilitating
professional development at the school site? Similar concerns are not addressed in studied
literature and have triggered further investigation to perhaps have a better understanding of the
relationships among these variables. The results can yield further information that can impact
future policies and decisions on planning, implementing and evaluating teacher professional
development programs by school principals.
In addition, changes within school accountability systems have impacted the role of the
principal as an instructional leader. The intent of this study is to investigate how principals make
decisions when planning for professional development and what actions are taken to ensure the
effectiveness of those programs. The research questions are designed to understand the
perceptions of school principals and their role as instructional leaders and what leadership
qualities principals need to effectively foster and facilitate teacher professional development. The
questions guiding the study will attempt to shed light on the role of principals as instructional
leaders and how they navigate through that role to implement effective teacher professional
development.
Research Questions
1. How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are some of the
challenges of that role?
2. How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional development
programs?
3. What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when leading a school
organization?
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 9
Theoretical Framework
For the purposes of this study, the Four-frame model of Bolman and Deal (2003) will be
used as the theoretical framework to guide the study of principals and how their instructional role
is utilized within school organizations to make decisions about teacher professional
development. The four-frame model has been used by organizational development practitioners
to help better understand issues within organizations and identify leadership behaviors that can
maximize efficiency and effectiveness. All four frames have been commonly used by school
principals in responding to organizational problems. In addition, principals apply the four-frame
model to the decision making processes. Most school leaders primarily rely on human resources
and structural lenses in dealing with leadership challenges; however, when principals reframe,
they can see new possibilities and their responses will become more effective and versatile
(Bolman & Deal, 2003).
• The Structural Frame is prevalent among many leaders, and emphasizes standards
and productivity. It assumes that schools as organizations work best when goals and
roles are clear and when diverse efforts are tightly coordinated through authority and
rules. Standards and accountability are large measures of this rationale.
• The Human Resource Frame is often preferred by principals, and emphasizes
individual needs and motives. It sees schools as family units that work best when
people’s needs are satisfied in caring and trustworthy environments. It also focuses on
providing opportunities for participation and shared decision making which allows
people to get involved.
• The Political Frame highlights the limits of authority and the scarcity of resources
that are available to fulfill all demands. Schools and classrooms become arenas where
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 10
individuals and groups jockey for power. Solutions arise from political skill and
intelligence.
• The Symbolic Frame focuses attention on culture, beliefs and faith. Schools create
symbols to cultivate commitment and loyalty. Symbols within organizations govern
behaviors through shared values and informal covenants and agreements.
Significance of the Study
Understanding the impact of the principal’s role as an instructional leader and its
potential influence on teacher professional development is important. This study will benefit
school principals, teachers and instructional coaches and further discussion of the issue. This
study will also explore approaches taken by principals when evaluating effectiveness of teacher
professional development programs and further the discussion of how principals are fulfilling
their role as instructional leaders.
This study is also timely since there have been changes enacted in the federal and state
regulations that require the use of new Common Core Standards. There is greater emphasis on
principals as instructional leaders to plan and implement instructional programs to enhance
teacher knowledge and skills. The principal is accountable for ensuring teacher mastery of the
standards through implementation of professional development programs that can increase their
knowledge and skills. This study helps us define the role of the principal in planning teacher
professional development and how they determine the needs of their staff before developing
instructional programs. In addition, the study will provide insight into the perspectives of
principals and the leadership qualities they must possess to foster effective professional
development programs for their staff. Finally, conclusions, implications and recommendations in
this study will help provide a basis for educational researchers to further the debate on the role of
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 11
the principal as instructional leader and how that role reinforces teacher professional
development.
Limitations
Potential limitations of this study center on the use of self-reported perceptions and
assumptions of principals and their characteristic biases. The study will not represent the general
population of school principals in the entire nation since the sample size is limited and small.
Depending on the responses of the surveys from school principals, sampling of a smaller
population may be insufficient to produce valid survey results. Overall, the scope of the research
may be limited due to sample size.
Definition of Terms
Within the scope of this study, key concepts are defined as followed:
1. Leadership: a process whereby an individual influences a group of individuals to achieve
a common goal (Northouse, 2007).
2. Leadership practice: the specific knowledge, skills and tasks identified in the research
necessary for fulfilling the responsibilities (Marzano et al., 2005).
3. Perception: organization, identification and interpretation of information in order to
represent and understand something.
4. Professional development: teacher/staff training that is designed to increase, build and
develop knowledge and skills of educators. Implementing new organizational structures
that promote collaboration and continual learning for both student and teacher.
5. Vision: a statement of what all want to build together (Kouzes & Posner, 2002)
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 12
Organization of the Study
This dissertation is divided into five chapters. The first chapter introduces the study and
focuses on the purpose of the study, the research questions, the significance of the study,
limitations and definition of terms.
The second chapter includes a review of the literature on school principals’ instructional
role in planning and implementing teacher professional development and how the effectiveness
of those programs are evaluated and assessed by principals. The literature review is divided into
three sections. The first section focuses on the role of the principal as an instructional leader. The
second section reviews literature on the principal’s role in all aspects of teacher professional
development. The third section focuses on effective leadership qualities and practices associated
with the principal’s role when leading a school organization.
The third chapter details the design of the study. The chapter also includes the sample
and population, instruments used, reliability and validity of the study, limitations, data collection
and analysis. The study incorporates both qualitative and quantitative methods.
The fourth chapter provides details of the findings of the study. The chapter includes
results for each research question. Both quantitative and qualitative findings will be presented in
great detail that will examine the similarities, differences, patterns and themes that emerged
based on the surveys and interviews conducted with principals.
The fifth chapter is a summary of the research study. The summary provides the reader
with conclusions, recommendations and suggestions for further study.

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 13

CHAPTER 2: REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE
Introduction
“Good leaders change organizations; great leaders change people.” —Thomas R. Hoerr
In order to establish a foundation to implement a design focused on answering the
research questions, a review of current and prior literature must be performed to set the basis and
guidelines for further study (Merriam, 2009). With this premise, this chapter’s primary focus is
geared toward understanding the principal’s role as an instructional leader and how that role is
utilized to plan and implement teacher professional development programs.
Contemporary school administrators have a daunting array of roles, ranging from
educational visionaries and change agents to instructional leaders, curriculum and assessment
experts, budget analysts, facility managers, administrators, and community builders (Davis,
Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, & Meyerson, 2005). With each legislation and school reform
initiative, there is a growing demand on school principals to acquire the skills and knowledge
necessary to effectively lead a school.
The Nation at Risk report (National Commission of Excellence in Education) of 1983
brought perceived failures of the public school system into sharp focus and it was evident that
there was going to be great scrutiny placed on schools and how they are managed. School
principals and school administrators have been impacted by these accountability systems as the
No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 generated added punitive measures on schools that
lack improvement. To better understand the role of principals as school leaders, this report will
examine the various dimensions of instructional leadership, its influence on teacher professional
development and effective leadership approaches to instructional leadership.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 14
Principals as Instructional Leaders
According to Marzano et al. (2005), leadership is considered to be vital to the successful
functioning of many aspects of a school, such as teacher attitude, classroom climate, student
learning, instruction and teacher practice. Effective school principals make a difference in
improving student learning and instruction. The idea that principals should serve as instructional
leaders, not just as generic managers, is widely subscribed to among educators (Fink & Resnick,
2001). Instructional leadership predominantly encourages a focus on improving classroom
instruction of teachers. The causal logic of accountability driven improvement requires school
leaders to intervene to improve teacher practice so that student performance comes close to
accountability targets (Louise & Robinson, 2012). In practice, however, there are great
challenges that hinder principals in actually carrying out their role as the instructional leader of a
school.
According to Hallinger and McCary (1990), the knowledge that certain instructional
leadership functions and behaviors must be performed is of limited utility without some sense of
how and when to perform them. Thus, principals need to think strategically about their actions as
instructional leaders. A principal’s time is filled by the many demands of administrative
functions, which take time away from visiting classrooms, planning effective professional
development, evaluating teachers effectively and being involved with instruction and curriculum.
Growing evidence demonstrates the significance of the role of the principal as the instructional
leader of a school in developing and sustaining school improvement (Leithwood & Louis, 2012).
The importance of the school principal is significant, especially when considering their role as
the instructional leader, and it is critical for school principals to utilize this role to improve
teacher practice and student performance.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 15
New accountability measures have continued to add to the stress of school principals as
the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001 placed punitive constraints on underperforming
schools. Louise and Robinson (2012) claim that the focus of the NCLB policy is on student
outcomes, not leadership; however, a few of the leadership skills and responsibilities that are
required for instructional leaders are monitoring student achievement data, using data to identify
student needs and building collective teacher capacity to address those needs. With the current
school accountability system, the principal has enormous responsibility as the instructional
leader to implement instructional reform and improve school performance. Research on
educational leadership has underscored the importance of principals operating as instructional
leaders and the value of intensive job-embedded professional development to help them build
their capacity for such work (Honig, 2012). The four-frame model proposed by Bolman and Deal
(2003), provides a framework that helps us understand leadership capacities and how some of the
demands on principals can be met through the use of these four frames. The four frames include
structural, human resource, political, and symbolic domains of leadership. In order to be
effective in school leadership, it will serve principals well to consider the culture of the school,
the human needs of the staff, and the political and symbolic aspects of the school.
Principals have a central role in developing a school site instructional team to plan and
implement effective programs to improve instruction. Marzano et al. (2005) reaffirm the
principle of teamwork and claim that effective school principals should develop a strong
leadership team and distribute responsibilities throughout the leadership team. Leaders inspire a
shared vision and get the right people on board to help make that vision a reality. Exemplary
leaders enable others to act and they foster collaboration by creating a sense of teamwork and
engaging stakeholders (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). To effectively carry out instructional goals and
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 16
establish a vision through collaborative teamwork, school principals should have a deep
understanding of the existing climate and culture of the school. Effective leaders are able to
combine a moral purpose with a willingness to be collaborative and promote collective decision-
making amongst colleagues through teamwork (Harris, 2002). Smaller group setting
collaboration is essential to create a climate that is focused and where participants are trusting of
one another, which will contribute to greater professional accountability. The idea is to give
teachers more opportunity to influence decisions that impact them and their students and to
provide a setting where teachers and the leaders of the school are building trust and establishing
common goals and working together to achieve them. According to Klein, O’Neil, and Baker
(1998), group setting collaboration enhances learning, task performance and productivity, and,
by creating effective teamwork, the roles and responsibilities as well as accountability are shared
among all stakeholders. The kind of accountability that encourages teamwork and educational
excellence is one that is flexible in making high-stakes decisions and strengthens relationships
continuously (Goldberg & Morrison, 2003). Therefore, as the instructional leader, it is
imperative for principals to take a collaborative approach in building a team of leaders and
teachers to plan and implement instructional programs that are conducive to learning and
produce positive results.
Marzano et al. (2005) establish clear guidelines for principals as change agents and they
highlight the need for principals to adapt their leadership style to the demands of the current
situation of the school and to use appropriate leadership behaviors. Principals can benefit from
managing from within the structural frame by effectively building a team that is cohesive with
policies and procedures that are aligned to the overall goals of the school organization. Problems
arise when structure is poorly aligned with existing circumstances and rules and policies are not
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 17
clearly organized and carried out (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Effective principals build the
leadership skills of others and distribute leadership responsibilities to individuals while
facilitating the collaborative decision-making process (Foley, 2001). The school principal has a
profound impact on the effectiveness of the leadership team. Leadership is the central driver of
team effectiveness; therefore, effective leaders are committed to the team’s goals and ensure
healthy collaboration within the team to make shared decisions (Northouse, 2007). When
planning and implementing instructional change and reform, effective school principals need to
develop a well-organized and efficient instructional team that collaboratively plans and
implements effective teacher professional development.
Involvement in curriculum, instruction and assessment is a pertinent responsibility of
school principals and is considered critical to the concept of instructional leadership according to
Marzano et al. (2005). This responsibility refers to the extent in which the principal is directly
involved in the design and implementation of curriculum, instruction and assessment activities at
the school level. The study emphasizes and attests to the importance of this responsibility and
further demonstrates the need for school principals to be knowledgeable on subject matter and
pedagogy so that they can provide input to teachers on classroom practices and assessments.
According to Elmore (2000), leadership is the guidance and direction of instructional
improvement and, to accomplish this, principals must possess an extensive knowledge base in
best practices to be able to support their teachers. Without pedagogical knowledge, principals
will not be effective in implementing instructional change and, therefore, they will not be
successful in fostering learning for teachers or students.
The literature has focused on administrative preparation programs to address any
shortcoming of knowledge on the part of principals regarding their instructional leadership
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 18
responsibilities. Administrators’ lack of preparation to serve as school leaders of curriculum and
instruction is perhaps due to administrative preparation programs that emphasize management of
schools through an abundance of coursework covering policy, finance and organizational theory
with limited focus in the areas of instruction and curriculum (Foley, 2001). It is critical and
necessary for school principals to exhibit a great depth of knowledge regarding curriculum,
instruction and assessment to fulfill their responsibility as instructional leaders. As
straightforward and obvious as this responsibility might appear, some believe that it receives
little attention in practice (Marzano et al., 2005). As noted in the study, researchers at the
National Institute of Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking, and Management claim
that instructional knowledge has traditionally received little emphasis in the hiring process for
principals’ jobs. Tools used by states and school districts to assess school leadership fall short on
the criteria of instructional leadership mostly due to lack of steps taken to craft licensing policies
that reflect a coherent learning-focused school leadership agenda (Brown & Chai, 2012).
Institutions in charge of principals’ training and development must find ways to teach
information that makes the connections among research, theory and practice more evident and
applicable to the practice of administrative leadership (Hallinger & McCary, 1990). In
recognizing instructional leadership as an integral role of the school principal, organizers of
administrative preparation programs need to incorporate training based on the specific needs of
principals in order for them to effectively fulfill that role. Sanzo, Sherman, and Clayton (2011)
further assert that leadership preparation programs continue to evolve and reform and it is critical
that the programs look at contemporary literature focusing on successful leadership practices to
identify theory and practice gaps. There seems to be a greater need for specialized attention on
the instructional role of school principals. It is ironic that instructional facilitators are
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 19
increasingly thrust into leadership situations where they must lead individuals who are reluctant
to change, yet the facilitators have had little mentoring or advance preparation in the field of
leadership (Stock & Duncan, 2010). As the accountability movement pressures school principals
to effectively lead school instruction, there needs to be a system in place that will provide the
support and training they need to become successful.
Principals also need to be supported through their district offices in order for them to
improve their instructional leadership practices, however, this support has been lacking. Honig
(2012) attests to the lack of support by school districts and reports that district offices have been
inconsistent in helping principals focus on building instructional leadership capacities. It is
critical for districts to provide the resources necessary as well as specialized support for
principals to strengthen their instructional leadership role. Sanzo et al. (2011) recommend the
involvement of external leaders within the district office to look into how they impact principals’
instructional leadership role and how they can participate in the process of preparing principals
to fulfill that role. Furthermore, with structures in place, principals are not left to their own
devices to raise the intellectual level in the school, rather they receive a degree of support and
substance for engaging school staff in educational matters and for building their own
instructional leadership capacities (Mitchell & Castle, 2005).
Principal’s Role in Teacher Professional Development
Leadership work that is focused on the improvement of teaching and learning is generally
known as instructional leadership and a distinction is sometimes made between those leader
behaviors which involve direct involvement with teachers and those which involve more indirect
instructional leadership practices, such as the organization of curriculum and instruction
(Hallinger, 2005). The publication of A Nation at Risk (1983) led to a second wave of reform that
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 20
focused on the quality and work of teachers and on improving teacher preparation programs and
practice (Jacobson & Cypres, 2012). The No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 created
mandates for states and districts to provide high-quality professional development for teachers as
a primary means of increasing the likelihood that the quality of instruction and student
achievement will improve (Carlisle & Berebitsky, 2011). According to Edwards (2009), now
more than ever teachers are expected to provide high-quality learning and cognitive skills to their
students and are held accountable for low student achievement. Professional development is at
the center of the practice of improvement and is the process by which we organize the
development and use of new knowledge in the service of improvement (Elmore, 2002). In
improving teacher quality and knowledge, professional development has been widely accepted
and utilized as a tool to promote effective research-based programs. Research has shown that
increased teacher and student motivation often are indicators for student achievement and school
organizations must provide instructional support, such as effective professional development and
coaching, to boost both teacher and student capacity to further the ambitious learning goals
(Adams, 2010).
Teacher professional development is the primary mechanism to improve teaching and
there is a great need for investing in activities that have characteristics which research has shown
to foster improvement in teaching practices. Elmore (2002) states that effective professional
development needs to focus on improving student performance through the improvement of the
skills and knowledge of educators. With instructional improvement being the ultimate goal, the
principal is expected to find the time and provide leadership in areas of staff development,
curriculum review and assessment (Hansen & Smith, 1989). Studies demonstrate that high-
quality collaborative professional development can improve the quality of classroom teaching
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 21
(Poekert, 2012). Literature suggests that high-quality professional development should be
ongoing, collaborative, coherent and based on subject content matter that focuses on research-
based instructional practices (Borko, 2004; Desimone, 2002; Desimone, Porter, Garet, Yoon, &
Birman, 2002; Garet, Porter, Desimone, Birman, & Yoon, 2001; Guskey, 2003). Teacher
knowledge and skills are developed through effective professional development, which can lead
to enhancement of classroom instruction and practices. The centrality of professional
development stems from the assumption that increased student achievement will come only
through continuous improvement of practices and skills of teachers and principals (Fink &
Resnick, 2001). Individual teacher professional competence in curriculum and pedagogy is
necessary for effective classroom practices; therefore professional development programs must
integrate specific content knowledge and effective instructional delivery strategies to promote
teacher growth and student learning.
A school is unlikely to enhance teachers’ practices school-wide or improve the
achievement of all students unless the set of processional development activities provided to its
faculty members address teachers’ knowledge, skills and dispositions (Youngs & King, 2002).
The integral part of the teaching profession is that teacher knowledge and skills have to
continually deepen and school principals need to utilize their instructional role in promoting that
growth process. The principal as instructional leader needs to have knowledge of instruction and
curriculum and be the primary advocate for teachers in supporting them to improve their practice
through effective professional development programs. In order for principals to be able to make
decisions about teacher professional development and help teachers through guidance and
instructional support, they need to have significant content knowledge themselves (Fink &
Resnick, 2001). Principals don’t have to deliver the actual professional development content,
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 22
thus it is important to build a team of specialists and coaches to plan and implement effective
teacher professional development that meets the needs of teachers (Fink & Resnick, 2001).
Utilizing the teachers as instructional specialists and encouraging their involvement in
developing programs school-wide can have a positive effect. Carlisle and Berebitsky (2010)
emphasize this point by stating that when the instructional coach is a member of the school staff,
the theoretical framework includes possible school-wide benefits. Research demonstrates the
importance of schools embracing a decentralized approach by empowering school leaders and
teachers to make important decisions to improve student performance (Childress, Elmore, &
Grossman, 2006). School-level professional development programs that are planned through
collaborative measures and with teacher input have a greater impact, which Denler, Wolters, and
Benzon (2006) claim is essential because programs that are endorsed by teachers generate better
outcomes. Teachers who experience professional development that is coherent and connected to
their professional development experiences and aligned with standards and assessments are more
likely to change their practice (Garet et al., 2001). Professional development, in the consensus
view, should be designed to develop the capacity of teachers to work collectively on problems of
practice, within their own schools and with practitioners in other settings (Elmore, 2002). As
principals plan and implement school-wide professional development programs for teachers,
they must take advantage of utilizing collaborative measures and promoting a team effort in
order for those programs to be effective and meaningful.
In their study on school leadership, Marzano et al. (2005) found 21 key responsibilities of
school principals that can have a profound impact on student achievement. One of those
responsibilities is intellectual stimulation, which refers to the extent to which school leaders
ensure that faculty is aware of the most current theories and research practices regarding
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 23
effective schooling. Within this responsibility, there is a need for knowledge building—sharing
and providing the time and resources to continually expose staff to cutting-edge research and
theories on effective schooling. An integral part of a principal’s role as instructional leader is to
facilitate professional development that is meaningful and engaging for teachers. A principal
needs to maintain staff morale and motivation by consistently and vigorously promoting staff
development through in-service training and peer support schemes (Harris, 2002). A core feature
of professional development programs allows opportunities for teachers to actively engage in
activities that promote meaningful discussion and collaboration, planning, and continuous
development of teacher practices (Garet et al., 2001). As research demonstrates, principals need
to establish a culture that creates opportunities for teachers to engage in activities where they
share views about effective instructional practices.
A study done by Foley (2001) reported that a significant number of principals indicated
that knowledge of teaching, teacher training and teacher professional development were areas of
professional weakness. This report is contrary to research-based evidence that suggests effective
principals have strong leadership in the areas of curriculum and instruction. Foley (2001)
suggests school principals need to have opportunities to expand their knowledge and skills in
areas of instruction and curriculum to facilitate the development of quality instructional
programs to meet the educational needs of students. Sanzo et al. (2011) found in their study that
most principals are concerned about providing instructional development programs and activities
that enable teachers to effectively use data. Furthermore, the study claimed that creating a culture
where professional development is valued and effectively implemented is a complicated process
because sometimes the purpose is lost and goals are not shared.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 24
Many professional development programs provided for teachers have been reported to
have little impact on teacher knowledge, skills and practice. Districts often plan professional
development that is not relevant to what teachers teach and often neglect the professional needs
of the teachers. Cantrell and Hughes (2008) claim that teachers are often encouraged and
sometimes mandated to participate in professional development programs, however, some of
those programs have not made any significant impact on teacher knowledge and skills. The
authors suggest that professional development has to have the potential to impact teacher
learning and ultimately lead to student learning. Research suggests that there is high demand for
effective professional development programs for teachers to build competence and develop
understanding of research-based strategies which can potentially foster effective learning,
however, many programs that have been implemented have failed to foster meaningful teacher
learning (Scott & Mouza, 2007). The problem with many professional development designs is
that they provide almost no opportunity for teachers to engage in continuous and sustained
learning about their practice in the setting in which they actually work, observing and being
observed by their colleagues who are confronting similar problems of practice (Elmore, 2002).
To improve schools as places for teachers to learn, it is important to acknowledge that not all
teacher learning is conducive to changing teacher practice (Thooner, Sleegers, Oort, Peetsma &
Geijsel, 2011). Effective professional development includes training and provides opportunities
for teachers to be reflective as practitioners. According to Ismat (1996), teacher professional
development encourages and supports school-based teacher initiatives and provides collaborative
opportunities for teachers on an ongoing basis.
Principals as instructional leaders have to lead the charge in encouraging and
empowering teachers to take part in the professional development planning process. Harpell and
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 25
Andrews (2010) suggest professional development and facilitation of self-managed teams is
considered one way to generate a sense of empowerment among teachers, which has significant
impact on teacher practice. Part of generating teams and empowering teachers is for principals to
trust the teachers to make decisions about their own professional development that can have the
most impact on their practice. Bolman and Deal (2003) state that organizational leaders can
focus and utilize the human resource frame to create a sense of community or family and
empower and encourage individuals by allowing more autonomy and promoting participation.
Having teachers involved in planning their own professional development programs impacts
teacher efficacy and participation (Mushayikwa & Lubben, 2009). This particular research
claims that teacher-directed professional development not only promotes networking with other
professionals but also provides an opportunity for teachers to acquire practical knowledge and
skills in their subject discipline and improve teacher content knowledge. Acknowledging this
raises the important question of which professional activities teachers need to be engaged in to
improve their teaching and thus which types of learning activities need to be promoted (Thooner
et al., 2011). As research suggests, the role of the principal is critical in teacher professional
development, especially when instructional changes are being implemented at the school level.
In compliance with the new accountability measures, new instructional programs are
being implemented in schools. Critical to the implementation process is developing an evaluation
plan that will be utilized to assess the effectiveness of professional development programs and
their impact on teacher practice and student achievement. Elmore (2002) attests to the
importance of program evaluation by claiming that professional development practices require
commitment and continuous improvement to ensure effectiveness and that phase of
implementation is critical. Marzano et al. (2005) claim that monitoring and evaluating school-
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 26
wide instructional programs is one of the most powerful single modifications that can enhance
student achievement. More specifically, the study illustrates the need for principals to monitor
the effectiveness of school practices in terms of their impact on student achievement and
instruction. Continually monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the school’s curricular,
instructional and assessment practices is a key responsibility of the school principals as
instructional leader. Contrary to what research suggests in terms of program evaluation for the
purposes of assessing effectiveness, this is an uncommon practice and many professional
development programs that are implemented often lack this process. Elmore (2002) attests to this
by asserting that teacher professional development programs need to be crafted carefully and
analyzed and evaluated, however sometimes monies are spent on ineffective programs without
sufficient evidence that they improve instruction.
Effective Leadership
When focusing on instructional leadership with principals, the emphasis needs to be on
leadership and not just on the specifics of instruction (Fink & Resnick, 2001). Principals need to
have sufficient content knowledge to be able to evaluate teacher practices and facilitate
instructional programs to address the needs of the teachers. Carrying out those decision-making
processes requires effective leadership skills and knowledge (Marzano et al., 2005). Improving
the teaching profession is essential in school leadership practices. School leaders need to be able
to support improvement in working conditions and teacher development because this is how
great leadership is ensured for the future, and the only way to get quality principals is to facilitate
effective teacher learning (Fullan, 2002).
It is important for principals to match their leadership style to the situation or
circumstance facing the school at different times in order to achieve positive outcomes (Harris,
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 27
2002). If new instructional reforms are being implemented in a school, the principal should adopt
a more supportive style in order to support the teachers through the process. Leadership skills
such as the ability to listen, provide support, and empower others with authority and resources
are often cited as strengths of effective school leaders (Foley, 2001).
Leadership qualities of school principals must include knowing what to do and how to do
it and tailoring their leadership skills to the unique circumstances and conditions they are faced
with daily. To do this, Townsend (2011) suggests school leaders adopt a plan that includes a
sense of direction, discovery and destiny. Effective leaders establish clear goals for the
organization and are able to communicate those goals to the staff in order for them to share the
same sense of purpose. Effective principals also facilitate professional development that enables
teachers to envision the destination of the organization and what the end instructional goals are.
This requires school principals to develop effective communication skills and be able to convey
the purpose and vision of the organization to the rest of the staff.
School leaders need to use a combination of transformational leadership behaviors to
improve teaching and learning (Thooner et al., 2011). The transformational leadership approach
has been one of the current focuses of leadership research. According to Northouse (2007),
transformational leadership is a process that changes and transforms people in an organization
and is centered on emotions, values and standards; it also moves followers to accomplish more
than what is expected. This particular approach is a broad-based perspective that encompasses
many features and dimensions of the leadership process and describes how leaders can initiate,
develop and carry out significant changes in organizations. Leaders utilizing transformational
leadership practices can fundamentally change school organizations and Silins, Mulford, and
Zarins (2002) suggest that it is important for school leaders to set a vision, provide support to
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 28
staff and establish a supportive culture. Furthermore, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson,
Orr, & Cohen (2007) add that the importance of establishing a participatory decision-making
structure that encourages intellectual stimulation and establishes high performance expectations
for staff and students is critical for transformational leaders. They found that these factors are
vital elements of effective leadership practices and that they also directly affect teacher outcomes
and motivation.
Transformational leaders tend to be more visionary and are able to motivate and inspire
others to become committed to and part of the shared vision of the organization. Kouzes and
Posner (2007) developed a leadership model that is consistent with transformational leadership
qualities. Their model emphasizes behaviors and it recommends specific practices or actions of
what people need in order to become effective leaders. Their model consists of five fundamental
practices that enable leaders to get extraordinary things accomplished: model the way, inspire a
shared vision, challenge the process, enable others to act, and encourage the heart.
To model the way, principals need to be clear about their own values and beliefs and
unify constituents around shared values. They need to set the example by behaving in ways that
are consistent with shared values and achieving small wins that promote consistent progress,
which builds commitment. Leithwood and Jantzi (2005) suggest that effective leadership
practices include helping individual teachers through support and modeling. By actively
engaging with teachers, supporting instructional progress, and setting expectations that are clear
and realistic, principals are seen as front runners. The school principal has a prominent role in
advocating for teachers and students, and when they model behaviors that demonstrate support
for teachers and students, those individuals feel empowered and motivated to follow the leader.
A study done by Blase and Blase (1999) reported the importance of modeling by school
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 29
principals. The study asserts that teachers value principals who demonstrate forms of modeling
that yields positive effects on teacher motivation. In the study, teachers expressed a high need for
principals to utilize a great deal of informal coaching and mentoring and have insights on
classroom practices.
To inspire a shared vision, principals must create a compelling vision that can guide
people’s behaviors and challenge them to transcend the status quo to do something for others.
Through initiating and identifying a shared vision, school leaders contribute to vision building in
the school that can generate excitement, build emotional attachment, and reinforce the personal
and social identification of followers with the organization and thus increase collective cohesion
(Thooner et al., 2011). The vision is a focal point for transformational leadership because it gives
leaders and the organization a conceptual map for where the organization is headed as well as
providing meaning and clarifying the organization’s identity (Northouse, 2007). Hallinger (2005)
further adds that instructional leaders who are goal oriented are able to define a clear direction
for the school and motivate others to join in its achievement. When leaders cannot establish a
clear internal agenda, a discretionary external policy will not in itself help them find a more
coherent focus (Louise & Robinson, 2012). Creating a vision and setting goals are initial steps
that school principals take in order to be successful as school administrators. Principals may
benefit from operating within the symbolic frame in order to inspire individuals to see the
meaning of the organizational goals and vision and be able to create faith within the
organization.
Challenging the process suggests that effective school principals constantly challenge the
status quo by continuously monitoring progress and are never satisfied because they advocate for
change. They are constant innovators and pioneers. Challenging the process means that leaders
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 30
are change agents who do not change merely for the sake of change but for the purpose of
propelling the organization into the future (Kouzes & Posner, 2007). School principals may
benefit from operating within the political frame when trying to make changes that are necessary
for the growth of the school. Marzano et al. (2005) assert that transformational leaders often are
change agents who are willing to temporarily upset a school’s equilibrium to lead change
initiatives with uncertain outcomes. It is often not easy to move organizations, however,
principals need to utilize their power and authority to advocate for change that will improve
student learning and creates an environment that is conducive to teacher development, as well.
Enabling others to act is an essential quality of effective leaders and encourages
principals to work with people through teamwork and cooperation. The central idea is to promote
cooperative goals, seek integrative solutions and build trusting relationships. The expectation is
for school principals to encourage teachers to become part of the decision-making process
regarding professional development or any programs that may potentially promote student
achievement. This is a key quality of transformational leaders because principals act as the role
model in delegating tasks and promoting and supporting a cooperative environment, which can
draw teachers closer to sharing the vision and mission of the school. Findings by Blase and Blase
(1999) emphasize that effective instructional leadership integrates collaboration, peer coaching,
inquiry, collegial study groups and reflective discussions, which are holistic approaches to
promoting professional dialog among educators. This particular quality may fall within the
structural frame because it assumes that principals are more effective and efficient when they
advocate for division of labor and make sure that everyone is working together to meet the goals
of the organization.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 31
Encouraging the heart is the fifth quality of effective leaders. These leaders make a
practice of building self-confidence through high expectations, connecting performance and
rewards and carrying a positive attitude. Blase and Blase (1999) demonstrate in their study that
effective principals encourage teachers to redesign instructional programs and support a
multitude of diverse approaches to teaching and learning. Furthermore, the study claims that
these types of behaviors by principals result in increased teacher motivation, efficacy, reflective
behavior, innovation and creativity in teaching. Principals cannot lead schools without staff
collaboration, and they need to empower staff members to make their own decisions and work
with them in a cooperative, collegial manner (Sanzo et al., 2011). Principals may operate within
the human resource frame when encouraging the heart of the people of the organization because
within this frame, people’s skills, attitude and energy are vital resources that can be utilized by
leaders to create a productive organization.
Summary
As presented in the literature, there is a clear link between student achievement and the
effective use of leadership strategies by school principals as the school’s instructional leader.. As
Reitzug et al. (2008) assert, the primary responsibility of school principals is to be effective
instructional leaders. The demands on school principals can be taxing because some of the
responsibilities require them to oversee all school operational functions, develop community
relations, ensure a safe environment for students and teachers, and support and supervise
classroom teachers (Richter et al., 2012). According to Anderson and Tagneri (2003), districts
expect the principal to act as the primary instructional leader of a school site, however, districts
need to have a support system in place to help principals improve their organizations and guide
them in that process. According to Elmore (2002), practices of improvement are largely about
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 32
moving whole organizations including the teachers, administrators and schools toward the
culture, structure and processes that support quality professionals in the service of student
learning.
Bolman and Deal (2003), suggest that change agents should not rely entirely on reason
and structure, but also consider the human, political and symbolic elements by pulling together a
guiding team that has the skills and credibility to move things along. If school principals desire
to create learning and lead organizational change, they must utilize Bolman and Deal’s frames
and have the ability to reframe their organizations. They must learn the skills that will allow their
organization to more equally represent all four frames in a way that is most productive to the
members and their leadership styles.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 33

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
Introduction
This chapter will describe the research methodology and the techniques used for data
collection and data analysis procedures that were utilized in this study. The purpose of this study
is to identify the role of the principal as the instructional leader of a school and investigate the
influences of that role in implementing effective professional development for teachers. The
study is designed to provide an overview of the principal’s role as an instructional leader by
focusing on their role in planning and implementing effective teacher professional development.
The first question focuses on how principals perceive their role as an instructional leader. The
second question examines how principals utilize their role as an instructional leader to plan,
facilitate and evaluate effective teacher professional development. Lastly, the third question
seeks to identify leadership qualities and characteristics that are necessary for principals to have
in order to effectively lead a school organization.
Research Questions
1. How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are some of the
challenges of that role?
2. How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional development
programs?
3. What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when leading a school
organization?
Methodology
The nature of this research study calls for a qualitative and quantitative research
methodology. According to Maxwell (2013), using multiple methods has been much more
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 34
systematically addressed in what is generally termed mixed methods research, which is the joint
use of qualitative and quantitative methods in a single study. The purpose in using mixed
methods is triangulation, which involves using methods as a check on one another and making
sure that methods with different strengths and limitations all support a single conclusion
(Maxwell, 2013). The mixed methods approach provides greater consistency of the findings and
helps ensure validity and reliability. By using more than one source of information such as
survey data, interview transcripts and documents, mixed method design enhances the
researcher’s understanding and comprehension of complex experiences and phenomena.
According to Patton (2002), using qualitative and quantitative methods together can provide a
deeper understanding of how preliminary survey results play out in the individual practice of
interview participants. According to Merriam (2009), the following four characteristics are
identified by most as key to understanding the nature of qualitative research: (a) the focus is on
process, understanding, and meaning; (b) the researcher is the primary instrument of data
collection and analysis; (3) the process is inductive; and (4) the product is richly descriptive.
Qualitative research is a way to understand and explore the themes and relationships we ascribe
to individuals, groups and organizations (Creswell, 2009).
According to Corbin and Strauss (2008), one of the most important factors of quality of
analysis is the quality of materials and information gathered through interviews, surveys and
observations. This study used a two-part mixed methods approach that incorporated a
quantitative phase followed by a qualitative phase. For Part I, an email invitation to participate in
an online survey was sent out to 80 principals within three large urban school districts in
Southern California. A recruitment letter was sent out with the email (see Appendix D). The
information received from the participants was collected in a database and analyzed. The online
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 35
survey was designed to assess principal’s individual perceptions of their role as an instructional
leader and how that role is utilized in planning and implementing teacher professional
development. The survey was also designed to assess individual principals’ understanding of
effective professional development programs and how they determine the instructional needs of
their teachers. Assuming that principals responded truthfully to the survey, statistical procedures
were then used to interpret the findings.
The online survey was used to identify respondents who were willing to participate in the
interview process. The principals who expressed a willingness to participate in an individual one-
on one interview were contacted for Part II, which is the qualitative phase. The purpose of the
interviews was to further explore the instructional role of principals and how they perceive that
role in planning or implementing teacher professional development. To address all three research
questions, a qualitative methodology was necessary for this study. Effective qualitative studies
should be descriptive and strive to understand the relationship between people, processes and
belief systems (Patton, 2001). This portion of the research study is aimed at understanding how
principals utilize their role as instructional leaders when involved in teacher professional
development and what leadership qualities they possess that help them make decisions when
implementing such programs.
Sample and Population
The purpose of the study is to determine how secondary principals perceive their role as
instructional leaders and how that role is utilized when planning for teacher professional
development. However, the population of secondary principals is generally large and because of
time and other limitations, it was not feasible to include all secondary school principals.
Therefore, it was necessary to select a sample that is a subset of the population to represent an
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 36
entire population, which according to Maxwell (2013) is the usual goal of sampling in
quantitative research.
For Part I of the process, the nature of the study required purposeful sampling, a common
strategy used by researchers when selecting participants. Purposeful sampling is based on the
assumption that the investigator wants to discover, understand, and gain insight and therefore
must select a sample from which the most can be learned (Merriam, 2009). The secondary school
principal’s role as an instructional leader is the focus of the study, thus the sample had to reflect
that specific population. According to Maxwell (2013), particular settings, persons or activities
are selected deliberately to provide information that is particularly relevant to research questions
and goals. On this premise, the participants were purposefully selected from three large urban
school districts in Southern California. The researcher sampled the principals at the secondary
school level who met the following requisites: (a) the participating principals had to be currently
employed in the selected districts and (b) have a minimum of two years of experience in a school
site. This process enabled the researcher to randomly select 80 principals from the database.
Principals were enlisted via email invitation to participate in the online survey. The initial
invitation included a short description of the research study and its purpose and significance.
According to Merriam (2009), it is critical for the researcher to obtain informed consent and
ensure the confidentiality and security of the information to be gathered. A description of the
procedures for taking the online survey was provided in the email along with information on the
voluntary nature of their participation. Participants were assured confidentiality by the omission
of their names or the names of schools they are affiliated with or any other identifiers that could
reveal their identity. The online survey questions were designed to determine how principals
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 37
perceived their role as an instructional leader and how that role is utilized when making
decisions about school-wide teacher professional development programs.
The Part II sample selection was obtained from the analysis of Part I and its findings. The
principals who agreed to participate in the online survey were invited to participate in a 40-
minute interview. From the list of those who were willing to be interviewed, five principals were
randomly selected.. Upon agreeing to be interviewed, the participants were provided the
parameters for the interview, such as assuring confidentiality, security of information, as well as
the option to record the interview. Each participant confirmed their willingness to be interviewed
and they were all provided with the information letter (see Appendix C).
Instrumentation
A combination of qualitative and quantitative instrumentation was used to collect data for
the study. Data was collected primarily through Survey Monkey, which is an online software
tool, and through one-on-one interviews of secondary school principals. The nature of the survey
questions fits well with the quantitative approach. Surveys have become a major means of
collecting data to answer questions about physical, social, economic and political life (Fink,
2013). Generally, surveys are used because they allow information to be obtained directly from
people. Online surveys are self-administered questionnaires and the respondents complete the
surveys at their own convenience without the presence of the researcher.
The survey contained 10 open and closed questions. The survey instrument included a
variety of questions that mostly aligned with what was found in the review of the literature as
well as all three research questions. The questions that were included in the survey were mostly
structured closed response questions. Furthermore, the survey results established the groundwork
for the design of the interview questions and guided the overall structure of the interview
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 38
process. The survey questions were designed to answer some elements of all three research
questions; however, surveys cannot begin to elicit the rich data needed for the study, which
makes the interviews a necessary instrument for qualitative data collection (Maxwell, 2013). The
online principal survey questions can be found in Appendix A.
The second instrument used for this study was the interview. Qualitative researchers
typically study a relatively small number of individuals and preserve the individuality of each
participant during analysis (Maxwell, 2013). Working with that premise, this stage of the study
only involved five participating principals, which is a very small sample and very much aligned
to Maxwell’s (2013) description of one of the goals of qualitative design. Qualitative data was
collected through personal interviews of five secondary school principals. In all forms of
qualitative research, some and occasionally all of the data are collected through interviews
because interviewing is often the major source of data needed for understanding the phenomenon
under study (Merriam, 2009). The most common interview according to Maxwell (2013) is the
person-to-person encounter in which one person elicits information from another. The researcher
and each participant agreed upon a date to conduct the 40-minute interviews. The interview
protocol used can be found in Appendix B.
The researcher introduced the study to each participant and a rapport was established
prior to the actual interview. As suggested by Merriam (2009), skilled interviewers have to create
a positive interaction and be respectful and nonjudgmental during the interview. The one-on-one,
face-to-face interviews consisted of 10 questions. A semi-structured interview format was
utilized, which allowed the participants to elaborate more on the open-ended questions and also
allowed probing and sub-questions to be asked by the researcher. Probing allows the researcher
to seek more detailed information or clarity and helps the researcher gain maximum insight into
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 39
the experiences of interviewees (Merriam, 2009). In addition to the 10 interview questions,
probing provided opportunities to ask numerous sub-questions to solicit additional information
from participants in order to have a wider understanding of the study at hand.
The interview protocol and questions are designed to evoke responses from the
participants regarding the principal’s role as an instructional leader and how that role relates to
teacher professional development. The interview also addressed the principal’s perception of
what leadership qualities and characteristics are necessary for principals to utilize when leading a
school organization. Consent was acquired from all participants prior to conducting the
interviews and all principals agreed to have the interviews recorded. The participants were
assured that all data was secure, confidential and would only be used for the purposes of this
research study and would be destroyed thereafter. According to Merriam (2009) one of the most
effective and common ways to record interview data is using a tape recorder because it ensures
that everything said is preserved for analysis. All interviews took place at each participant’s
school site, which was agreed upon prior to each interview. The formal interviews ranged from
approximately 30 to 65 minutes.
Reliability and Validity
Ensuring validity and reliability in qualitative research involves conducting the
investigation in an ethical manner (Merriam, 2009). The validity and trustworthiness of this
study was addressed through data collection triangulation by using multiple sources of data and
comparing and cross-checking data collected through initial online surveys and interviews.
Patton (2002) claims that this process allows a mixed methods study to be designed to cut across
inquiry approaches and achieve triangulation by combining qualitative and quantitative methods.
According to Merriam (2009), triangulation remains a principal strategy to ensure for validity
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 40
and reliability. Direct quotation from the interview phase is a common form of triangulating and
validating research findings (Creswell, 2003).
It is imperative, especially in qualitative research, to ensure that the research being
conducted is reliable and can be considered a significant piece of study. Validity and reliability
have to be ensured, especially when going through the process of collecting and analyzing data,
which Merriam (2009) states is a concern that can be approached through careful attention to a
study’s conceptualization and the way in which the data are collected, analyzed and presented.
The mixed methods two-part study used multiple forms of data for the findings. Collection and
analysis of multiple forms of data contribute to validating findings. Merriam (2009) provides a
list of questions about the validity and reliability of qualitative research, which is a strategy that
was utilized for the purposes of this study.
Ethical Considerations
To secure the participants’ confidentiality, the names of participants and their schools
were changed. The researcher also followed the University of Southern California Institutional
Review Board (IRB) procedures and regulations. The researcher acquired consent from the
participants for the online surveys and the interviews. The appendices of this dissertation include
copies of the online survey instrument, interview protocol, invitation letter and consent forms.
Creswell (2003) suggests that protecting the rights and confidentiality of participants is the
primary responsibility of the researcher. For ethical issues and considerations of the study, the
researcher followed Creswell’s safety model which provided a safeguard for both the
participant’s rights and insured the integrity of the researcher and the research study. All
interviews were tape recorded, so participants were reassured that all data collected would be
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 41
kept safe and confidential and their identities would not be disclosed. At no time during the study
are participant names used and the names of their school organizations are also not identified.
Limitations of the Study
The research study is limited by its qualitative nature due to its sample size. The research
questions center around many of the perceptions of individual participants, therefore objectivity
is always a critical issue. The research is restricted to particular individuals who were selected as
a sample after meeting certain requisites. The research is limited to the voice of the principals
who participated in the survey and the interviews. Since data was only collected from the
selected three school districts, it can be said that the study is not entirely representative of the
entire United States population of principals.
Another limitation of the study is the objectivity of the researcher. Objectivity is a critical
issue for the researcher because data might be interpreted based on personal biases, idiosyncratic
lens and personal perceptions. Since the researcher is the primary instrument for data collection,
data has been filtered through his or her particular theoretical position and biases (Merriam,
2009). Therefore it is imperative for the researcher to continually examine personal biases. It is
critical for the researcher as the instrument to be transparent and honest about preexisting biases
that may influence the findings or the assumptions made in the findings. Taking the time to
consider all possible meanings helps researchers to become more aware of their own
assumptions and the interpretations they are placing on data (Corbin & Strauss, 2008).
Data Collection
For Part I, survey data was collected through an online statistical tool called Survey
Monkey. Once the participants agreed to take part in the study and the survey process, they
received an email that included a summary and purpose of the study, guidelines to taking the
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 42
online survey and assurances as to the security of the data. Once the researcher received the
participants’ consent, a second email was sent that included the Survey Monkey link directing
them to the 10-question survey. As each participant completed the survey, Survey Monkey
automatically generated an email that notified the researcher of the data received. Upon
completing the survey, each participant received an emailed appreciation letter..
For Part II, data was collected through personal interviews with five secondary school
principals. The primary tools utilized to collect interview data were audio recording and note
taking. Merriam (2009) suggest the use of a tape recorder during interviews to ensure all
information is recorded properly and can be transcribed thoroughly for data analysis. Prior to
conducting the individual interviews, the researcher acquired each participant’s consent
including their consent to the use an audio recorder. Acquiring written consent for interviews or
any other form of data collection is absolutely necessary and critical for any researcher (Bogdan
& Biklen, 2007).
The participants for the interviews were randomly selected with the help of the data
collected through Survey Monkey. The five principals selected were willing participants who
met all the requisites for the study. The interviews were scheduled with each participant at a time
and place convenient for them. Each interview lasted 30-65 minutes in length. The interview
format was semi-structured, which afforded the researcher and the participant an opportunity to
engage in meaningful dialog and allowed further probing for clarity and understanding. The
protocol for the interviews included 10 open-ended questions. The same protocol was utilized for
all five interviews.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 43
Data Analysis
Quantitative data was collected with the use of an online survey, which addressed parts of
all three research questions. The Survey Monkey was utilized as a tool to code and analyze the
online survey data. Data analysis of the survey instrument demonstrated how principals perceive
their role as instructional leader when involved with planning teacher professional development
and what leadership qualities are necessary to fulfill the role of the principal when leading a
school organization. In addition, the survey data also addressed how principals assess and
evaluate teacher professional development programs to determine their effectiveness or lack
thereof.
Qualitative data was collected through the use of an independent interview instrument,
which provided greater in-depth understanding of the findings from the surveys and addressed
the research questions with richer data due to its qualitative nature. According to Merriam
(2009), a much preferred method of analyzing data in a qualitative study is to do it
simultaneously with data collection because without ongoing analysis, the data can be unfocused,
repetitious and overwhelming in the sheer volume of material that needs to be processed. A
system was created that helped to keep the data organized for coding purposes. As an
organizational tool, for each interview and field notes, the researcher made identifying notations
and characters so that data can be easily accessed as needed for analysis and for the write-up of
the findings. As suggested by Merriam (2009), each interview was transcribed, which also
helped the researcher generate insights and hunches about what is going on in the data. To assure
the reliability of the data and make the data more manageable, a computer software program that
is designed for qualitative research was utilized.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 44
As the study progressed from Part I to Part II, the researcher continually looked for
common emerging themes across the reviewed literature, online surveys and the interviews. The
intent was to provide the reader with an in-depth and comprehensive description of the
participant’s experiences as an instructional leader and how that role is utilized when making
decisions about teacher professional development. According to Patton (2002), qualitative data
can put flesh on the bones of quantitative results, bringing the results to life through in-depth
case elaboration. Under this premise, the use of direct quotations from the interviews reflected on
what Patton (2002) calls in-depth elaboration. Both survey and interview data were used to
address each research question as demonstrated in the proposed data analysis organization plan.
Table 1
Data Analysis Organization Plan
Research Questions Instruments Used
1. How do principals perceive their role as
instructional leader and what are some of the
challenges of that role?
Survey / Interview
2. How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate
teacher professional development programs?
Survey/Interview
3. What leadership qualities are necessary for
principals to possess when leading a school
organization?
Survey/Interview

Quantitative data was organized through graphs and charts to demonstrate the findings,
which were provided by the online survey tool Survey Monkey. Qualitative data was manually
coded using a basic Microsoft Office tool, which helped turn the transcribed interviews into
more manageable data.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 45
Summary
The purpose of this study is to understand how secondary school principals perceive their
role as instructional leaders and how they utilize that role when making decisions about school-
wide teacher professional development programs. The study also attempts to identify essential
leadership qualities for principals to possess and utilize when leading a school organization. A
mixed methods approach was used to collect data that incorporated an online survey and
personal interviews. The findings are reported through summaries and quotations in a narrative
approach in Chapter 4.

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 46

CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS
Background
Chapter 4 presents the findings of the study based on the online survey and the personal
interviews of five current secondary school principals. The study seeks to understand the role of
the principal as an instructional leader and some of the challenges principals face when trying to
fulfill that role effectively. The study also examines how principals plan and facilitate teacher
professional development and what leadership qualities are necessary for principals to lead a
school organization.
This study used a two-part mixed methods approach that incorporated a quantitative
phase followed by a qualitative phase. The quantitative data used for this study was collected
through an online survey tool, which included 10 questions. Of the 80 surveys distributed, there
were a total of 29 respondents. From the 29 respondents, five principals met the purposeful
sampling criteria and were selected to participate in the qualitative part of the study. The
qualitative data used for this study was collected through personal interviews. The interview
protocol included 10 open-ended questions. The interview questions were designed to provide
greater insight into the role of the principal as an instructional leader and how principals utilize
that role when planning teacher professional development.
Demographic Profile
For the purposes of this study, both surveys and interviews were conducted to gather
data. For Part I of the study, the principal survey was sent to potential candidates who are
currently working as middle or high school principals in urban school districts in Southern
California. Purposeful sampling was utilized for Part I of the study, which is a common strategy
used by researchers when selecting participants. According to Merriam (2009), purposeful
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 47
sampling is based on the assumption that the investigator wants to discover and gain insight into
a particular phenomenon and therefore must select a sample from which the most can be learned
(Merriam, 2009). As the focus of the study pertained to secondary school principals and their
role as instructional leader, the sample had to reflect that specific population. As indicated by
Maxwell (2013), participants are selected intentionally and deliberately to provide information
that is particularly relevant to the research questions and the overall research study. Based on
these guidelines, all participants were purposefully selected from three large urban school
districts in Southern California. The participating principals received via email a recruitment
letter and an information sheet that highlights significant parts of the study and the requisites
prior to taking the survey. Requisites included: (a) participating principals had to be currently
employed in the selected districts, and (b) principals needed a minimum of two years of
experience in a school site. Of the 80 surveys sent out, 29 principals responded by accessing the
online survey and answering the questionnaire, which contained 10 open- and closed-ended
questions.
For Part II of the study, interviews were conducted to further understand the role of the
principal as instructional leader. Participants for this process were also purposefully selected.
From the online survey respondents, five principals agreed to be interviewed. There were three
females and two males who participated in the interview process who are currently serving as
secondary public school principals in large urban schools in Southern California. All interview
participants have served as secondary school principals for more than five years. Three principals
held a doctorate degree and two held a master’s degree. All five schools had diverse student
populations, which ranged from 800 to 3,600 students per school. All principals completed an
administrative credentialing program in California. Table 2 presents a summary of the basic
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 48
demographics of the interview participants and provides information about their school
organization.
Table 2
Interview Participants
Gender
Education
Level
Years of
Experience
School
Enrollment
PI Status Title I
Principal 1 F Master’s 23 2018 Year 2 Yes
Principal 1 F Doctorate 10 2796 Year 4 Yes
Principal 1 F Doctorate 15 826 Year 5 Yes
Principal 1 M Doctorate 8 3604 Year 3 Yes
Principal 1 M Master’s 32 1326 Year 3 Yes

Purpose
The purpose of Chapter 4 is to present the data with a complete analysis of the
quantitative and qualitative instruments used. In order to understand how principals perceive
their role as instructional leader and how that role is utilized when planning and implementing
teacher professional development programs school-wide, online surveys and personal interviews
were conducted to gather the data necessary to answer the three research questions. Data
collected through the online survey and the interviews generated an organic process that allowed
the researcher to gain a greater understanding of the role of the principal as an instructional
leader in relation to teacher professional development. According to Maxwell (2013), even
though surveys as instruments can provoke fundamental insight and address parts of a study,
interviews are designed to elicit rich data that is often necessary to answer the questions guiding
the study. The survey instrument was mostly aligned with what was found in the literature
review as well as the research questions, and the results established the groundwork for the
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 49
design of the interview questions and guided the overall structure of the interview process. In all
forms of qualitative research, most data are collected through interviews because interviewing is
often the major source of data needed for understanding the phenomenon under study (Merriam,
2009). The data used for this study was collected between the months of March and July 2014.
As the online survey data was collected, Survey Monkey was utilized as an online tool to
generate themes based on participant responses. The data collected from the principal surveys
was organized and aligned to address the three research questions. Data collected through the
principal interviews was transcribed, coded and analyzed. The interview data was coded
manually; however, a Microsoft Office tool was utilized for the purposes of organization and
management. With the completion of coding and analysis of the data, the following section will
summarize and provide detailed information on the research questions. The sections are
organized into three parts to address each research question independently.
Research Questions
1. How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are some of the
challenges of that role?
2. How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional development
programs?
3. What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when leading a school
organization?

Research Question 1: How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are
some of the challenges of that role?
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 50
When asked about the role of the principal as an instructional leader and its significance
in leading a school organization, principals’ responses on the surveys were clear and there were
obvious trends present in the collected data. A copy of the online interview questions and the
geographic charts referred to in this section are included in Appendix E. When principals were
asked in the online survey if the primary role of a principal is to be an instructional leader, an
overwhelming 75.8% of principals agreed. The data analysis of the survey and interviews
revealed that the principal’s perception of their role as an instructional leader is critical, however
challenging. There is a great deal of consistency between the survey and interview responses as
they relate to the principal’s role as instructional leader. As shown in Table 3, the interview data
yielded two common themes related to their role as instructional leader: (a) supporting teachers
with instructional needs/teacher professional development and (b) building a cohesive
instructional team to create a vision for instruction. The interview data also revealed two
common themes regarding some of the challenges for principals as instructional leaders: (a) the
managerial role vs. the instructional role and (b) a lack of time for teacher/classroom visits or
observations.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 51

Table 3
Interview Data - Research Question 1
Interview
Participant
Instructional Role of the Principal Challenges Within That Role
Principal 1

• Making sure teachers have best
strategies to use in the classroom
• Being the resource for the teachers
• Providing professional development
for teachers
• Most important and critical role for me
• Creating a working instructional
team/vision for instruction
• Teacher PD
• Not enough time to do it all
• Day-to-day problems take up too
much time away
• Student safety is first, have to
take care of what is most
important
Principal 2
• Managerial and instructional role are
equally important
• Instructional role is the most
challenging role
• Supporting teachers with their
instructional needs
• Change agents/visionaries
• Teacher PD
• Having an effective team to implement
instructional programs
• Being in the classrooms 50% of the
time (district expectation)
• Lots of time is spent on
managerial duties
• Classroom observations
• Having the tough conversations
with teachers about their practice
• Lack of content knowledge to
support teachers
• Ability to be a change agent
• Urgent/managerial duties
consume most time
• Feel inadequate in PD
• Lack of adequate staffing/lack of
support
Principal 3
• Passionate about
instruction/curriculum
• Most important role
• The responsibility to make sure
students are learning and the teachers
are effectively teaching
• Be the support for the teachers
• Being in the classrooms 50% of the
time (district expectation)
• Visionary
• Teacher PD
• Instructional team to carry out
• Logistics of running a school
takes great deal of time away
• No time to dedicate 50% to
instruction
• Not enough face time with the
teachers
• Not able to visit classrooms
routinely
• All the other responsibilities
minimize my role as an
instruction leader
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 52
plans/decisions
Principal 4
• Provide support for teachers
• Classroom observations/visits
• Very important role
• Effective time management
• District pushes for effective
instructional leadership
• Creating vision/mission
• Having an instructional team is critical
• Effective PD
• Managerial stuff comes first –no
time
• Not getting a buy-in from the
teachers
• Change agent
• Conflict with the district/lack of
communication
• Urgent matters take up great
amount of time
Principal 5
• Creating an instructional/leadership
team to carry out responsibilities
• making sure instructional plans are
carried out
• Being in the classrooms 50% of the
time(district expectation)
• Supporting teachers
• PD
• Inadequate in PD
• Inadequate in
instruction/curriculum
• Not able to visit classrooms
• Managerial duties take up too
much time

Instructional Leadership Role
Supporting teachers and teacher professional development. The instructional
leadership is imperative to the successful functioning of many aspects of a school, such as
student learning, school climate, instructional programs and teacher practices (Marzano et
al.,2005). The instructional leadership role primarily encompasses improving student
achievement through teacher professional development by providing support in the areas of
instruction and curriculum. Survey data in this study revealed that 95% of principals on average
agree that planning and facilitating teacher professional development is an essential component
of their responsibility as instructional leaders and having adequate knowledge in instruction and
curriculum is critical. The interview data provided an in-depth understanding of the principals’
perception of instructional leadership. All five principals defined it as providing teachers with
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 53
support and with the resources they need to be effective and efficient in the classroom. Providing
support and resources to teachers is another component of school capacity and its success.
According to Marzano et al. (2005), one of the most frequently mentioned resources important to
the effective functioning of a school is the professional development opportunities available for
teachers. Principal 2 stated that principals at her district are trained and expected to be great
instructional leaders in order to provide support and the necessary resources for teachers. She
described her instructional leadership role and what it means to her:
I am responsible for making sure my teachers put the best curriculum and
instructional strategies into their classrooms. I am the support for that…Getting
them the resources they need…. Instructional leadership is always directed to
teachers, students, parents and counselors. Instructional leadership is the most
critical role for me. (Principal 2)
Principal 3 believes that her role is to make sure two things take place school wide:making sure
students are safe and ensuring that they are learning. She contextualized it in this manner:
As principals we do two things here, we make sure students are safe and we make
sure we teach them well. As far as teaching them well, it’s all about teacher
professional development. Teaching credential training is only yearlong and it
goes pretty fast. The methods courses are limited. Therefore teacher PD is critical
because teachers are meant to be lifelong learners. We need to keep teachers
collaborating and growing, and staying current. And my role is to facilitate that
process and be in a supportive role for teachers. (Principal 3)
She further explained that her district encourages all principals to effectively carry out their role
as instructional leaders, and being keyed into the instructional process of the school is critical.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 54
Marzano et al. (2005) reaffirm and validate this point by stating that involvement in instruction
and curriculum is a pertinent responsibility of school principals and is considered critical to the
concept of instructional leadership. Effective principals know about and understand teaching and
learning theories and are knowledgeable about the latest educational trends, and they make
themselves available to teachers to help critique these new trends and determine their
applicability to the classroom (Valentine & Prater, 2011).
According to Elmore (2000), leadership is the guidance and direction of instructional
improvement and to accomplish this, principals must possess an extensive knowledge base in
best practices to be able to support the teachers. Interview data revealed that even though
principal 2 felt inadequate in professional development, she still considered the instructional
leadership role to be important. She described the role of the principal as instructional leader to
be challenging but important:
As an instructional leader, I need to make sure I have strategies in place to help
teachers. Part of being an effective instructional leader is helping your staff and
students cope with change. In any organization, that is a real challenge for a
leader and its one of the most important. The challenge is that when I go visit a
molecular biology class and the teacher is not effective, how do I provide support
for her when I don’t have content knowledge in that area? So I need to make sure
I have done my homework to provide the support for that teacher to be effective
and help that teacher grow and become a better teacher practitioner. (Principal 2)
Without pedagogical knowledge, principals will not be effective in implementing
instructional change and therefore they will not be successful in fostering learning for teachers or
for students. 100% of the principals agreed that as instructional leaders they need to possess
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 55
knowledge in the areas of instruction and curriculum and stay current with their research in order
to provide research-based strategies through teacher professional development. Part of having
that knowledge involves the principals’ professional development and their growth as
instructional leaders and how they have been trained in the past and how they are currently being
supported by their district to carry out that process. A principal’s lack of preparation to serve as
instructional leader often can be linked to their administrative preparation program, where
frequently there is greater emphasis on the managerial rather than the instructional role (Foley,
2001). Survey data revealed that 14 out of 29 principals (54%) expressed that the administrative
credentialing program didn’t emphasize the role of the principal as instructional leader. The
interview data appears to validate the perceptions of principals regarding the lack of training in
the instructional role during the administrative service-credentialing program and so does the
current academic literature. Four out of five principals interviewed (80%) agreed that there was
less emphasis on instruction in their credentialing program and their instructional leadership role
was difficult to fulfill in the beginning years of their principalship. In order for principals to
fulfill the instructional role successfully, districts have to step in and provide professional
development for principals in the areas of instruction and curriculum to close that gap. Districts
can have a positive impact on the principal’s role as instructional leader, and they need to be
involved and engaged in the process of preparing principals for that role (Sanzo, et al., 2011).
Principal 4 stated that her district has been diligent in providing the support for her in order for
her to fulfill that role:
The district provides professional development for all principals to make sure we
are fulfilling that role. The district pays a lot of attention to the role of the
principal as an instructional leader, especially in the last few years. They have
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 56
provided instructional coaches to principals and have emphasized the need for us
to spend more time on the instructional and curriculum aspects of the school.
(Principal 4)
Principal 3 also stated that her district has been focusing on the principal’s role as an
instructional leader and have expanded principal professional development programs district-
wide:
I have been provided a coach from the district. It has really helped me. The
district provides a great amount of professional development especially now that
the Common Core Standards are being implemented. There is a great amount of
time spent on principals collaborating and routinely discussing about our role as
instructional leaders and how we can support teachers in the process. (Principal 3)
In addition, almost every principal expressed the need for their districts to provide support for
them to fulfill the role of an instructional leader. According to Mitchell and Castle (2005), with
structures in place, principals should not be left to their own devices to raise the intellectual level
of a school, rather they should receive a degree of support and substance for engaging the school
in educational matters and for building their own instructional leadership.
Building a cohesive leadership team to create a vision for instruction. Data collected
from the interviews revealed that principals in this study especially value building a cohesive
instructional team. Five out of the five principals (100%) mentioned the importance of having an
instructional team where they can make decisions about instructional programs. According to
Marzano et al. (2005), effective school principals develop a functioning and strong leadership
team and distribute responsibilities throughout the team. Principals interviewed discussed
extensively about the importance of creating a leadership team where duties and responsibilities
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 57
regarding instruction can be distributed amongst the team members. Principals who felt that
instruction and curriculum were not particularly their strength would ensure that someone in the
administrative team was more knowledgeable and could take on the instructional leadership role.
If they felt that their strengths were instruction and curriculum, they would delegate the
managerial responsibilities to other members of the team so that they could primarily focus on
the instructional needs of the school. This was the case with principal 5, who felt that instruction
was not his absolute strength, and throughout his principalship looked to create an administrative
leadership team where someone else would take on that role:
As the principal, you have to be the key person. I don’t think I am the strongest
curriculum instructional leader I can be, and I think it’s a team effort. The
assistant principals and I work together to make instructional plans for the year. It
all goes through me, however, I delegate it back to the team and make sure the
best minds can carry it out. I concentrate mostly on managerial and operational
duties and my APs focus on the instructional and curriculum responsibilities. It’s
a team effort and those who feel more passionate and knowledgeable about
instruction, they take on that role. (Principal 5)
Foley (2001) reported that a significant number of principals indicated that knowledge of
teacher training and teacher professional development were areas of professional weakness and
there are principals who lack adequate knowledge in areas of instruction. While this may be the
case for some principals, the principals in this study persevered and overcame that challenge
through utilizing the leadership team and designating that role to other administrators with
greater knowledge in instruction and curriculum.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 58
Principal 1 and principal 4 corroborated the idea of creating a leadership team where
decisions can be made and responsibilities can be distributed; however, they expressed their love
and passion for instruction and made sure that they were primarily involved in instruction.
Principal 1 stated, “My role as an instructional leader is one of the most important roles I
considered to be critical.” She expressed her passion for instruction and how she utilized her
leadership team to be an effective instructional leader:
I have delegated many of the other roles to the other administrators in order for
them to oversee other managerial and operational roles. I predominantly deal with
instruction. I don’t handle many of disciplinary issues or problems because I have
other administrators who take care of that. I like to get out and get in the
classrooms and support teachers in their practice. I have meetings with my staff
and the district plans meetings with me, which are strictly based upon my role as
an instructional leader. (Principal 1)
Leadership is the central driver of team effectiveness; therefore, effective leaders are committed
to the team’s goals and they ensure healthy collaboration within the team to make shared
decisions (Northouse, 2007). It is apparent that the principals interviewed utilized their role as
leaders and developed well-organized and efficient leadership teams where they collaboratively
planed and implemented instructional programs for teachers and students. Principal 4 operated in
a similar fashion to principal 1. His passion was clearly in instruction and he made sure that he
was principal of instruction:
Right now most high schools in my district have co-principals where one is
principal of instruction and the other one is more involved with all the other
operational responsibilities. I have a passion for professional development and it
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 59
is one of my strengths. I need to make sure that teachers are effective in the
classroom and that the students are getting the best education. I visit classrooms
routinely, I plan professional development, I evaluate the effectiveness of the
professional development programs and we implement instructional programs that
best meet the needs of teachers and students. (Principal 4)
All five principals reported that they meet and connect with their leadership team weekly
and discuss all the matters of the school. They all agreed that building a cohesive and functioning
leadership team is critical to the success of the school and plans of action need to be carried out
through the team. A strong leadership team is the natural outgrowth of purposeful community
and crafting the school into a purposeful community is a necessary condition for the design of an
effective leadership team (Marzano et al., 2005).
Through initiating and identifying a shared vision, school leaders contribute to vision
building in the school that generates excitement, reinforces the personal and social identification
of followers with the organization and thus increases collective cohesion (Thooner et al., 2011).
One component of effective instructional leadership became apparent through the principal
interview data, which was the need for principals to set a clear vision for the school for its
instructional programs. Research shows that the principal’s own vision for instruction and
educational programs is a key factor in predicting expectations (Katterfeld, 2013). All of the
principals talked about how instructional leaders have to envision a plan for instructional in order
to ensure the involvement of the staff and the students. Principal 2 said, “The district has a vision
and we make sure that our vision and goals are aligned to those of the district.”
The principals interviewed see the instructional leadership role of principals as someone
who has the desire to create a school culture that embraces student achievement through high
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 60
expectations. Many of the principals talked about how creating a vision for instruction is critical
for that process. Principal 3 spoke of the importance of principals creating a vision for the
school, especially when it comes to instruction:
Having a vision is a critical step in principals being instructional leaders. When
you go into a school, where do you see it going and how do you plan on getting
there? Your philosophy shapes the vision. The vision sets the tone and the
expectations for the school. We are visionaries and we keep people moving
forward. (Principal 3)
The vision is a focal point for transformational leadership because it gives leaders and the
organization a conceptual map for where the organization is headed as well as providing
meaning and clarifying the organization’s identity (Northouse, 2007). The literature supports
transformational principals who are devoted to creating a vision and set of instructional goals to
promote growth in student learning. The process of creating a vision and set of goals for the
school year was extremely important for principal 1:
I knew that as a principal I had to create a culture where everyone is on the same
page and we are all working to achieve the same common goals. You have to
create a vision with your staff and make sure you have measurable goals and
outcomes to make sure you know if you are doing well or not. You can’t move a
school unless you know where you want it to go. (Principal 1)
According to Kouzes and Posner (2007), transformational leaders tend to be visionaries and are
able to motivate and inspire others to become committed to and part of the shared vision of the
organization. Creating a vision is a leadership quality that is aligned with transformational
leadership practice. Principals as transformational leaders tend to create a vision that can inspire
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 61
others and are consistently striving to foster common goals within the organization to promote
growth and student achievement.
Challenges principals face as instructional leaders. A school principal’s day-to-day
job is filled by the many demands of administrative functions, which can often conflict with their
role and involvement in instruction. Some of the tasks of principals as instructional leaders
involve visiting classrooms daily, planning effective professional development, coaching and
evaluating teachers and closely monitoring all instructional programs. In practice though there
are significant challenges that hinder principals to effectively carry out their role as the
instructional leader. Interview data revealed that 100% of the principals interviewed agreed that
their role as instructional leader is considerably challenging. Some of the challenges are that
school principals have too many responsibilities outside of their role as an instructional leader.
The two common themes that emerged from the interview data regarding the challenges that
principals face when trying to fulfill their role as instructional leader were (a) a lack of time to
fulfill the instructional role and managerial role and (b) a lack of time and resources to visit
classrooms and support teachers in their practice.
On average, principals spend the most time on administrative activities to keep the school
running smoothly, such as managing student discipline and fulfilling compliance requirements
(Horng, Klasik, & Loeb, 2010). Research also suggests that principals appear to devote the least
total amount of time to instruction-related activities, including day-to-day instructional tasks
such as classroom visits and teacher coaching. To further add to the findings in this study’s
literature review about the challenges principals face as instructional leaders, participants were
asked about some of the challenges they encounter on a daily basis. All of the principals stated
that while their role in instructional activities is critical, it is challenging to effectively carry out
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 62
that role because they are also acting managers and have a responsibility to that role, as well.
Data collected from all principals seemed to align to what is echoed in the literature. Principal 3
spoke about that challenge and expressed concern about her many roles as a principal and how
she deals with that challenge:
Challenges are the day–to-day logistics of running a school. Sometimes I go home
and I think I never got out of my office all day. I do supervision before and after
school and at lunch time and I have to do a thousand different things and it’s just a
challenge to get out of my office and observe classrooms. There just isn’t enough
time to spend on instruction and get out to the classrooms. I do take a lot of stuff
home to free up some of my time during the day so I can go and do a walk through,
but something always comes up and I have to take care of that. (Principal 3)
Principals talked about the distinction between their role as managers and as instructional leaders
and how those roles sometimes clash with one another. According to Valentine and Prater
(2011), day-to-day managerial skills such as effectively organizing tasks and personnel,
developing rules and procedures and providing appropriate information to the staff and students
are vital to successful school operations and cannot be overlooked. Principal 2 echoed what the
literature presented in this study and elaborated on some of the challenges she is faced with on a
daily basis:
The instructional leadership role is the most important thing I need to do and it’s
the hardest thing to do because of time management issues and because of the
traffic that you have to take. It used to be a bad word when they say a principal is
a good manager but it’s like saying a good teacher is a great teacher but can’t
manage the classroom. You can’t say a principal is a good instructional leader but
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 63
doesn’t know how to manage a school. The most important thing is to make sure
teachers are teaching and students are learning, but before you get to that you
have to have student safety, good school climate, happy children and adults, and a
good environment. So you have to have a good grasp on the management part in
order for learning to take place. The urgent stuff is often not the most important
but when you have a parent screaming at you about their child and a teacher, I
have to deal with that but I should be in the classrooms helping teachers and
supporting them become better teachers. The challenge is that when I have
scheduled to go do my walk through and visit classrooms and provide
instructional support for teachers, and something happens and I need to cancel
and give my attention to that. (Principal 2)
Principals on average spend only a little over 10 percent of their day on instruction-related tasks,
roughly equally split between tasks related to day-to-day instruction, such as conducting
classroom observations, and those related to the broader instructional programs, like
implementing professional development for teachers (Horng et al., 2010). Principal 1 described
how she has learned over the years to maximize her role as an instructional leader; however, she
also talked about some of the same challenges which she faces on a daily basis:
The challenge for me is the time and the day-to-day management, day-to-day
problems that come up. Things shut down the whole day and I can’t do what I had
planned to do such as classroom visits or teacher coaching. Student safety first
and everything second. These things are time consuming and take time. Dealing
with teacher issues can also take away from my time as an instructional leader.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 64
My district pushes us to be in the classroom 50% of our day and that is a real
challenge. (Principal 1)
As Valentine and Prater (2011) point out, the day–to-day operations of the school are essential to
overall school success and teachers, and the extended school community must have confidence
that the daily operation of the school will proceed smoothly and realize that consistent
organizational efficiency is fundamental to an effective school. To this premise, even though
principals face challenges when it comes to their role in managerial tasks and instructional
involvement, the issue is finding a balancing between the two roles and making sure attention is
given to both.
Summary of Results: Research Question 1
The results of Research Question 1 are supported in the literature review of this study in
relation to the principal’s role as instructional leader and some of the challenges principals face
as they try to fulfill that role. Principals perceived their role as an instructional leader of their
school primarily to be a resource for the teachers and supporting teachers in their practice. They
placed critical value on the process of building a cohesive leadership team where a shared vision
and goals are developed. As indicated in the literature, instructional leadership is comprised of
principals having a shared vision and developing shared leadership practices, which are essential
steps in improving a school.

Research Question 2: How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional
development programs?
Providing teacher professional development and supporting teachers through their
practice is a critical role for principals as instructional leaders. Professional development is a
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 65
vital part of our educational system today and due to significant societal and cultural changes
over time, school leaders need to understand the importance of professional development and the
need to implement programs effectively and successfully. According to Townley and Schmieder-
Ramirez (2011), professional development promotes an ongoing professional growth through a
cumulative process, and a school leader must commit to providing long-term support to advance
the knowledge and skills of teachers. Research reaffirms the need for principals to approach the
process strategically and to guide the effective planning, facilitating and evaluating of
professional development programs that focus on student learning and teacher practice. Three
themes have emerged from the data analysis from this study that pertain to how principals plan
and facilitate teacher professional development programs and how they approach the evaluation
process to make sure the programs are effective: (a) decisions and plans of professional
development programs are administered through the school instructional leadership team, (b)
data-driven planning and evaluation of professional development programs, and (c) a shift from
old standards to Common Core and how Common Core professional development is
implemented.
Effective Instructional Leadership Team
Leadership work that is focused on the improvement of teaching and learning is generally
known as instructional leadership and a distinction is sometimes made between those leader
behaviors that engage in direct involvement with teachers and more indirect instructional
leadership practices involving organization of curriculum and instruction (Hallinger, 2005).
Direct and indirect involvement of principals in curriculum and instruction and in the planning of
professional development may impact the school differently and may also produce different
results. In their survey responses, 96 percent of principals agreed that planning and facilitating
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 66
teacher professional development is an essential part of their role as an instructional leader. The
interview data revealed that all principals plan and facilitate teacher professional development
through their instructional leadership team and get significant input from their teachers through
their departments. Principal 1 talked about how she utilizes the instructional team and how she
approaches the professional development planning process:
The department chairs come up with the needs of their teachers and bring them to
the leadership team and we plan PD based on those needs and requests. It’s about
how can we make sure students are achieving and progressing. Teachers here
respond well to PD but it has to be a PD that is effective and good. They want PD
that they can take right back in the classroom and use. We make all decisions with
the instructional leadership team. We get input from the department chairs who
are part of the team and they get their input through their departments. Everything
is brought to the meetings and we try to put in place PD that the teachers will
highly benefit from. (Principal 1)
Principal 3 also spoke about the value and the use of the instructional team when planning
professional development:
It’s a team effort. The department chairs are in the team, counselors, assistant
principals and myself. We meet monthly, come up with plans for PD and discuss
what the needs are for the departments and what the teachers would like to see
happen in their PD. Most of the teacher PD happens in their content areas. We
plan all instructional programs and make decisions in our instructional committee.
They decide parameters on what they expect the PD to look like. The departments
have a lot of say as to what they want their PD to be. I don’t plan their PD, but I
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 67
make sure all is tied to instruction. The instructional leadership team sets the
parameters and provides the expectations. Everyone is responsible to carry it out
in their departments and check back. (Principal 3)
The literature review for this study validates the importance of teacher input when planning
professional development. The research demonstrates the importance of schools embracing a
decentralized approach by empowering school leaders and teachers to make important decisions
to improve student performance (Childress, Elmore & Grossman, 2006). School-level
professional development programs that are planned through collaborative measures and with
teacher input have a greater impact, which Denler, Wolters, and Benzon (2006) claim is essential
because programs that are endorsed by teachers generate better outcomes. Principals interviewed
for this study greatly valued teacher input and three of the five principals talked about
empowering their own teachers to facilitate professional development. Principal 2 valued the
perspective of teachers and tried to empower her staff to develop plans for their own professional
development:
I think it’s important to have effective PD but I feel inadequate in that area. I try
to empower teacher leaders within the school and have them lead professional
development. It is hard for me to step back and not micromanage. I have to learn
to trust the teachers. I tell teachers if they are doing a great lesson in their
classroom, to let me know so I can go observe them in their element and I ask
those teachers to facilitate professional development and model those effective
lessons. I have been encouraging teachers to go into each other’s classrooms to
observe each other and see how each one of them teach. (Principal 2)
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 68
Principal 5 spoke about how he utilizes the instructional leadership team to plan teacher
professional development and how he approaches the process:
We have department leaders and not department chairs. They are the ones that
help with PD and roll things out in their departments. The team is the three APs,
Common Core district leaders, and department leaders. We develop PD plans as a
group and try them out and see how it goes. We decide how to get the staff behind
it. Once a month we meet. I facilitate faculty meetings, but when we are doing
real PD we always try to get the teachers involved. It’s mostly teacher led and if
someone wants to share something great they are doing, they are given the
opportunity. We let the leaders and the teachers decide what professional
development they would like to see implemented. (Principal 5)
Part of generating teams and empowering teachers involves principals trusting their teaching
staff and allowing the teachers opportunities to make decisions about their own professional
development. Teacher involvement in planning their own professional development programs
impacts teacher efficacy and participation (Mushayikwa & Lubben, 2009). The authors of this
particular research study claim that teacher-directed professional development not only enables
networking with other professionals but also provides an opportunity for teachers to acquire
content knowledge for their subject discipline and improve their practice. It is clear that
principals in this study have been able to implement professional development through
collaborative measures and have valued teacher input, which research clearly indicates to be
highly effective and greatly significant.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 69
Program Evaluations and Use of Data
Data-driven professional development can assist school leaders in their effort to provide
appropriate and effective development for their teachers (Hayes & Robnolt, 2007). As new
instructional programs are being implemented in schools, there must be a process in place to
evaluate and assess the effectiveness of those programs and the level of impact they have on
teacher practice and student achievement. In their study on school leadership, Marzano et
al.(2005) claim that monitoring and evaluating school-wide instructional programs is one of the
most powerful single modifications that can enhance student achievement. More specifically, the
study illustrates the need for principals to monitor the effectiveness of school practices in terms
of their impact on student achievement and instruction. Continually monitoring and evaluating
the effectiveness of the school’s curricular, instructional and assessment practices are a key
responsibility of the school principal as instructional leader. All principals highlighted the
importance of evaluating professional development programs and the use of data for that process.
Principal 1 talked about the approaches she takes to make sure programs are effective and how
she utilizes the data:
We look at data and plan intervention programs and professional development. I
do surveys every time we have professional development. I follow it up with a
teacher survey. We look at how effective each session was and how useful the
material will be when they are trying to implement those strategies in the
classrooms. Teachers are pretty honest and they voice their opinions about bad
professional development. We look at the teacher survey data and we look at how
we can improve those instructional programs and try to modify them if needed.
For ongoing professional development programs, we wait a couple of years and
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 70
look at student data and, based upon the results, we make decisions moving
forward. (Principal 1)
Principal 2 had a slightly different approach to program evaluation and data use:
The teachers on this campus are pretty vocal. They will let me know how they
feel. I constantly get feedback from the teachers on professional development they
participate in. I have tried doing surveys but the staff is not good at responding
back to surveys. They feel that nothing will change by the results. I can also see if
PD is effective, because I attend most of them. I also evaluate effectiveness of the
material used during our professional development by going to the classrooms to
see if those strategies are being used and if the teachers are able to implement
those strategies and materials in their classrooms. At the beginning of the year we
look at student data from the previous year and try to plan professional
development based on student scores. Departments are encouraged to look at their
own data and plan professional development to address the needs for their specific
content areas. (Principal 2)
According to Townley and Schmieder-Ramirez (2011), there are certain outcomes that
should be measured to evaluate the effectiveness of those professional development programs,
which are teacher reaction and knowledge and an increase student learning. It is recommended
that principals ask for feedback from the staff to rate the value of each program and determine if
those programs are creating a positive change in the school and in the classrooms. Evaluating
professional development programs also enables planning for future training of the staff and
looking into building on those programs that need change and further development. Principal 4
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 71
emphasized that point and talked about how he tries to seek out the perspective of the teachers on
their experience and spoke about the strategies he uses for the evaluation process:
After each professional development session or workshop, I have an exit slip for
teachers on the effectiveness of the program. I also follow it up by sending out a
survey a week later to get more input about the workshops. I generally try to see if
the PD materials and content resonated with the teachers and if they are confident
in using those strategies or lessons in their classrooms with their students. We
have really focused on using data, especially in the past few years for the teachers
to look at their student data when planning their own lessons. We have a data
coordinator who helps teachers pull their data and PD time is provided for them to
collaboratively in their departments analyze their student data. I will also follow
up those surveys with a visit to the classrooms to see how PD is transferring to the
classrooms. (Principal 4)
Elmore (2002) attests to the importance of program evaluation by claiming that professional
development practices require commitment and continuous improvement, which will ultimately
lead to continuous evaluation of those action plans to ensure their effectiveness. Principal 5 also
elaborated on the value of program evaluations especially when for school-level professional
development. He stressed the need for programs to continually be evaluated and “…if teachers
are not benefiting from those programs, changes need to be made.”
Common Core Standards and Professional Development
Classroom instruction and curriculum standards are changing with the new
implementation of the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core standards released in
2010 represent an unprecedented shift away from disparate content guidelines across individual
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 72
states in the areas of English language arts and mathematics (Porter, McMaken, Hwang, & Yang,
2011). With this shift, the principal’s role as instructional leader will significantly be impacted
because they now have the responsibility of guiding the implementation of curricular changes
within the Common Core initiative. Due to this massive shift in educational standards, schools
are seeking to transform the way they plan and implement their professional development
programs to ensure all programs are aligned to the Common Core standards.
Principals interviewed for this study spoke about some of the changes their schools are
going through and how their role has significantly changed in the last year. Discussions with the
principals on professional development resulted in detailed conversations about the new
standards. Principals’ responses centered on different aspects of the Common Core initiative,
how their schools are gearing up for it and some of the challenges they are facing as instructional
leaders through the process. Principal 1 talked about how her role has changed and how she is
supporting her staff to implement these changes:
My role has changed immensely. I am going through training myself with my
staff to make sure I have the knowledge. With the new Standards, my role as an
instructional leader is emphasized greatly. I have to know what I am doing and
how I am doing it to make sure I can provide that support for my teachers.
Teachers are worried because it’s a huge change. The kids have to be better
writers and speakers and most of our kids have difficulty with that. We have a
huge population of English learners and we have to figure out more strategies for
scaffolding. We are giving teachers release time and paid summer PD training.
There are also some changes we see with teachers. Some use the Common Core
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 73
strategies and some don’t. The district is pushing for me to be in the classrooms
daily. (Principal 1)
For principal 1, providing professional development for teachers is the first step in increasing
their pedagogical knowledge and practice to make sure they are confident in implementing the
new standards as the new academic school year begins. Eilers and D'Amico (2012) suggest
school leaders attend learning sessions with faculty and guide them through productive
professional development to discuss all aspects of the Common Core initiative and promote
critical thinking.
Principal 2 talked about some of the challenges she is facing with her teachers and some
of the steps she has taken to minimize the anxiety amongst the staff:
New teachers seem to be more open to the Common Core training and are more
willing to learn and change their practice. The teachers who have been here for a
while, they are resisting the change and they are not going along with the rest.
Getting teachers to do what you want them to do is difficult. Change is hard. It’s
hard for me and it’s hard for the teachers. The professional development training
on the Common Core has been more about the “why” and the “what” but it needs
to be more on the HOW. Some of those trainings have been ineffective and
sometimes I would get out and still be confused about it. The expert trainers are
not trained fully themselves because everyone is on a time constraint and it’s all
moving too fast. Teachers want to know specifically what they need to do
differently. I stopped using Common Core as a term and I replaced it with “21
st

century skills.” It has been working better and teachers are responding to it
differently. (Principal 2)
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 74
Some of the challenges principal 2 is facing have been talked about in recent studies and these
challenges have been anticipated due to a lack of resources and time dedicated to professional
development. According to Mellander (2014), a general lack of capacity, combined with
concerns about adequate funding, might create challenges for schools’ implementation plans of
the Common Core State Standards.
Principal 3 talked about how her district has goals for all the schools and for all the
principals, “…who are intended to be at the forefront of the implementation of the Common
Core.” She stressed that the instruction in the classroom “has to meet the new standards and that
is the bottom line.” Some of the challenges for her were lack of time for teachers to meet and
collaborate effectively, and, because she is constantly being trained by the district, she feels she
is unable to provide support and feedback to her staff.
Principal 4 talked about his experience with the implementation of the Common Core and
how his role as an instructional leader is impacted by the changes:
It’s going to be a paradigm shift for the teachers. Common Core has already
surfaced out the principals that are not effective in the instructional leadership
role. To fully implement these standards, the principal has to be effective in
instruction. We wanted to be in the forefront of this Common Core push and we
have been already doing PD for the teachers and have implemented the standards.
Many of the veteran teachers seem to be more reluctant to change their practice
and shift their mindset. It’s tough to roll out Common Core with schools that have
that culture. (Principal 4)
According to Eilers and D'Amico (2012), effective leaders create a prioritized and
proactive structure to reduce anxiety and frustration while ensuring success and implementation
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 75
of the new Common Core standards requires leaders to quickly identify appropriate priorities
based on staff, curricular, and student needs and to respond accordingly to shifts in the
organization as they arise. Principal 5 talked about his inadequacies in his role as instructional
leader and how his school is transitioning to effectively implement the Common Core State
Standards:
The district has been more and more involved in training principals as
instructional leaders because of the new standards. It takes a lot of work to roll out
these new standards and I don’t think I have the capacity to do them effectively.
Curriculum is not my strength and I struggle with that. We have Common Core
site leaders that the district has provided who go through a lot of in-services to
understand Common Core and they train the teachers on the Common Core.
Teacher professional development programs are strictly Common Core training
now and the experts facilitate the meetings. The teachers are apprehensive
because they don’t know what it entails. (Principal 5)
The Common Core standards are the new wave of reform and attempt to ensure that all students
in the United States are ready for college and the workplace. According to Eilers and D'Amico
(2012), implementing any mandate requiring change is a challenge and the Common Core
initiative poses the additional challenge of not providing a blueprint for leaders. Some districts
have been more efficient in providing the resources necessary for their school leaders to
effectively implement the new standards and some districts have been apprehensive and are
lagging behind. Principals in this study revealed the challenges their schools are facing regarding
the Common Core implementation and how they are approaching solutions. As stated by Eilers
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 76
and D'Amico (2012), school leaders are required to chart and modify the courses as needed,
identify the vessels for the journey, and keep everyone on board throughout the voyage.
Summary of Results: Research Question 2
The results of Research Question 2 revealed three overarching themes pertaining to how
principals plan and facilitate teacher professional development programs and the steps they take
when evaluating the effectiveness of those programs. First, principals demonstrated the
importance of making decisions on professional development by creating an instructional team;
Principals spoke about how they promoted shared leadership through the development of
instructional teams, which empowered teachers and department chairs to greatly influence the
planning of their professional development programs. Second, principals valued the use of data
when making decisions about professional development programs, especially for the evaluation
process. As reflected in the literature, program evaluation is a critical process when trying to
improve a school and a necessary step in planning future professional development. Lastly,
principals revealed how their role as instructional leader is evolving with the Common Core
implementation and how their schools are coping with the changes.
Research Question 3: What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when
leading a school organization?
According to Marzano et al. (2005), leadership is considered to be vital to the successful
functioning of many aspects of a school, such as teacher attitude, classroom climate, instruction
and practice, and student learning. Effective school principals make a difference in improving
student learning and instruction. Literature on school leadership is clear about the significance of
the role of a school principal. The third research question is intended to highlight leadership
qualities principals perceive as important when serving as school leader. This question provided
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 77
principals with an opportunity to look at many functions of their role as a school leader. It also
emphasizes some leadership qualities that they felt as necessary to effectively and successfully
carry out their responsibilities as principals. Data analysis from the online surveys and principal
interviews revealed significantly similar qualities are valued amongst all principals. Table 4
demonstrates the common leadership qualities mentioned by all five principals. Table 5
demonstrates the common qualities mentioned by all 29 principals in the survey data.
Table 4
Key Leadership Qualities for Successful Principals – Interview Data
Interview
Participant
Leadership Qualities
Principal 1 Building relationships/team, good listener, visionary, collaborative, trust
Principal 2
Courageous, collaborative, listening, goal oriented, communication,
intelligence, vision
Principal 3
Visionary, courageous, caring, supportive, collaborative/team work,
communication
Principal 4
Good listener, persistence, communication, perseverance, courage, vision,
supportive
Principal 5
Good listener, courageous, nice, collaborative, communication, team
building, supportive

Table 5
Key Leadership Qualities for Successful Principals – Survey Data
Leadership Qualities
Listening
Collaborative/Team work
Courage
Communication
Organized
Knowledge of Pedagogy
Building Relationships
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 78
Marzano et al. (2005) establish clear guidelines for principals and how principals need to
adapt leadership style to the demands of the current situation of the school and use appropriate
leadership behaviors. Interview and survey data revealed building a team and setting vision and
goals as leadership qualities that are critical for principals. Principal 1 talked about how even
though the district has goals and the school’s goals have to align to the district’s, it’s important
for the principal to “motivate and empower” the staff to believe in setting their goals and
together working toward those goals as a team. Most of the principals interviewed stated that
principals can never change a school by themselves and they can never move a school without
the help and support of other stakeholders, especially the teachers and other leaders of the
school. Principal 3 elaborated on that point by stating that “building a team and collaborating
with the teachers and other leaders” is a critical quality for principals to have because “this job is
not meant to be carried out by one person.” The literature on school leadership does emphasize
the need for principals to establish a team-oriented school culture. Effective principals build the
leadership skills of others, distribute leadership responsibilities to individuals, and facilitate the
collaborative decision-making process (Foley, 2001). Leadership has a profound impact on the
effectiveness of the leadership team.
As asserted by Northouse (2007), leadership is the central driver of team effectiveness;
therefore, effective leaders are committed to the team’s goals and ensure healthy collaboration
within the team to make shared decisions. When planning and implementing instructional change
and reform, effective school principals need to develop a well-organized and efficient
instructional team that collaboratively plans and implements effective teacher professional
development. Effective leaders are able to combine a moral purpose with a willingness to be
collaborative and promote collective decision-making amongst colleagues through teamwork
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 79
(Harris, 2002). Interview and survey data also revealed the importance of principals to be
collaborative. “Communication” and “collaboration” were mentioned 24 times (83%) in the
online survey as important leadership qualities for principals to possess. Four out of five
principals interviewed mentioned the value of collaboration and communication. Principal 5
further elaborated on the importance of these two leadership qualities.
The principal has to have open lines of communication. I have an open door
policy and encourage all my staff to walk in anytime and it has been effective in
building communication. I feel that there is less anxiety and stress with open and
constant communication. Collaboration is also important because everyone is part
of the process in making the school better. You really can’t get anything done if
the principal doesn’t put structures in place that promote collaboration and
communication. (Principal 5)
One of the key qualities mentioned in the survey data as demonstrated in Table 4 was
the principals’ need to have pedagogical knowledge of teaching practices. Research on the
principal’s role as instructional leader validated the need for principals to have pedagogical
knowledge. In order for principals to be able to make decisions about teacher professional
development and be able to help teachers through guidance and instructional support, they need
to have significant content knowledge themselves (Fink & Resnick, 2001). The principal as
instructional leader needs to have knowledge of instruction and curriculum and be the primary
advocate for teachers in supporting them to improve their practice through effective professional
development programs. The survey allowed participating principals an opportunity to elaborate
on this open-ended concept of qualities of effective principals. Many participants mentioned that
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 80
if a principal is not educated and informed of the new instructional and curriculum changes, they
will not be effective and impactful on the school organization as a whole.
Survey data also revealed that “good listening” is a key quality of effective school
principals. An overwhelming number of principals stressed the importance of listening in the
survey data, and the interview data corroborated those findings. In the interview data, “listening”
was mentioned 25 times (86%) as a key quality to possess as a principal and four out of five
principals who were interviewed (80%) talked about the importance of listening as a necessary
quality of principals. Principal 4 elaborated on the importance of learning to listen to the staff:
One of the most important things I can do to learn and respond and be supportive
is to listen to what the needs and concerns are of each individual. I have an open
door policy that allows all staff members to feel comfortable to walk into my
office and talk to me. You always have to keep your ears open. Sometimes you
hear more than you want to but that’s just the way it is. Especially in my first year
as a new principal, I knew that in order to get the support of my staff, I had to
listen and observe without making too many changes. (Principal 4)
Another key quality of effective principals cited by survey respondents was “courage.”
The word “courageous” was mentioned 22 times (75%) in the survey as a key quality to have,
and four out of five principals (80%) also mentioned that being courageous is very important.
Principal 2 elaborated on this point:
Courage is very important for principals because it’s really hard to look in the eye
of someone and tell them that they are not cutting it. I don’t like it but I have to do
it. We are in the business of making students learn but we have to deal with adults
who are sometimes ineffective and principals sometimes have to make those hard
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 81
decisions to let go of someone but it takes courage to do that. Sometimes
principals are not willing to rock the boat. (Principal 2)
Interview and survey participants perceived leadership qualities that were very similar
and related. As stated by Foley (2001), leadership skills such as the ability to listen, provide
support, and empower others with authority and resources are often cited as strengths of effective
school leaders.
The Four-frame model of Bolman and Deal (2003) was used as a theoretical framework
to guide this study of principals and how their role is utilized within school organizations. The
four-frame model has been used by various practitioners to help better understand organizations
and to identify leadership behaviors that can maximize efficiency and effectiveness. To gain
greater insight on the role of the principal as a school leader, all principals were asked about the
four frames and which frame they tend to manage within. The four-frame model has commonly
been used by school principals in addressing organizational problems and changes. Most school
leaders primarily rely on the human resource and structural lenses in dealing with leadership
challenges; however, when principals reframe, they can see new possibilities and their responses
will become more effective and versatile (Bolman & Deal, 2003). Principals in the interview
process were asked whether they utilize the four-frame model and with which frame they mainly
tend to lead. Four out of five principals said that they lead more from the human resource frame.
Table 6 provides a summary of the findings from the interview data.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 82

Table 6
Four-Frame Model – Interview Data
Interview Participant Mostly Manage Within
Principal 1 Human Resource Frame
Principal 2 Structural Frame/Structural Frame
Principal 3 Human Resource Frame
Principal 4 Human Resource/Structural Frame
Principal 5 Human Resource Frame

Principals may study the four-frame model by Bolman and Deal (2003) to understand the
many demands of school leadership and understand the different perspectives of leadership.
Leaders have the ability to learn about the four frames and apply leadership styles that best fit
their organization and situations. Principals talked briefly about their leadership styles and how
they manage within Bolman and Deal’s four-frame model. Principal 1 talked about her
leadership styles and what she values as a school leader:
I think that you cannot move a school forward if you do not have good
relationships with your staff. I generally manage within the human resource
frame. I pay attention to the people and I care about the people. Relationships are
important to me. The staff is given a survey yearly to rate my effectiveness as a
principal, and they seem to like that I take the human relations approach with
them and that I care for them. (Principal 1)
Principals can also benefit from managing within the structural frame by effectively building a
team that is cohesive, with policies and procedures that are aligned to the overall goals of the
school organization. According to Bolman and Deal (2003), problems arise when structure is
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 83
poorly aligned with existing circumstances and rules and policies are not clearly organized and
carried out. Principals who operate from this frame tend to be vigilant about setting clear goals
and expectations and making sure the organization has a well-developed vision. Townsend
(2011) suggests school leaders adopt a plan that includes a sense of direction, discovery and
destiny. Effective leaders establish clear goals for the organization and are able to communicate
those goals to the staff in order for them to share the same sense of purpose. Principal 2
mentioned that she primarily manages within the human resource and structural frames and
explained her rationale for her leadership style:
I mostly look at situations and circumstances and try to apply my leadership styles
to those circumstances. I highly value relationships and I care for the people who
work with me. People first, that is important. Sometimes I have realized that there
may be negative aspects of me being so friendly and caring so I also have to make
sure that expectations are set and the vision and goals are clear for everyone. I
have learned to balance structural and human resources to make sure people know
I care for them but at the same time, we have a job to do. (Principal 2)
Principal 3 stated “teachers will not work hard for you when they think you don’t care.” She also
values relationships and manages within human resources frame. Principal 4 shared the same
values as principal 2 and said that “the staff needs to know that you care for them and that you
are on the same ride as them and will go all the way with them.” He also mentioned “principals
have to show that they care but at the same time hold high expectations and make sure everyone
is delivering.”
Some of the deficiencies of the human resource frame may be related to principals’ lack
of control of their environment and principals’ lack of focus on the vision of the school. Principal
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 84
5 spoke about some of the challenges he encounters because of his management skills and
leadership styles:
I mostly operate from the human resource frame. You have to learn to know
people and build relationships. I can tell you something personal about every
single person here. I like to get to know them on a personal level and let them
know that I care. It’s important to me. People first. There are pros and cons to
that. People may like that but sometimes they see you as a weak principal. So
with kindness comes a backlash of weakness and they think that you don’t have a
backbone. But I still have to make tough decisions and sometimes let people go
because of enrollment or ineffectiveness in the classroom. (Principal 5)
It is apparent that the human resource frame is highly utilized by the participating principals.
There can be challenges when leadership styles are not appropriately matched with certain
situations and circumstances.
Summary of Results: Research Question 3
The results from the interview and survey data revealed several key leadership qualities
that principals perceived as critical for school principals to have. Survey data revealed that
principals valued the following leadership qualities and skills: listening, collaborative,
courageous, communication, organized, knowledgeable and builds relationships. Interview data
revealed several common leadership practices that survey participants mentioned. Some of the
qualities mentioned by the interview participants included: setting clear vision, good listener,
building relationships, teamwork, courageous, collaborative and supportive. Principals as school
leaders may need to develop some of these qualities that research also confirms to be effective.
Principal interview data also revealed that most of the principals managed within the human
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 85
resource frame, primarily because they value building relationships and showing that they care
for the people they work with. As suggested by Bolman and Deal (2003), leaders may gain great
insight on their leadership styles by understanding the four-frame model and will be able to
adjust and balance their leadership styles based on these four different perspectives.
Summary
This chapter examined the results of online principal survey data and interview data to
discover how principals perceived their role as an instructional leader, some of the challenges
they face in fulfilling that role and what perceived leadership qualities are essential for principals
to possess as leaders of school organizations. The findings for Research Question 1 suggest that
principals value their role as an instructional leader and two common themes emerged from the
mixed data. First, the principals perceived their role as an instructional leader as someone who
supports teachers with instructional needs and provides effective teacher professional
development. Second, principals highly valued building cohesive instructional teams to carry out
the instructional vision of the school. The interview data also revealed that lack of time and
balancing the managerial and instructional roles are some of the challenges facing school
principals today.
Data analysis for Research Question 2 revealed three significant findings related to how
principals plan and facilitate teacher professional development programs and the steps they take
when evaluating the effectiveness of those programs. First, principals valued the formation of
instructional teams and making decisions pertaining to teacher professional development within
that team. Second, principals approached professional development program planning through
the use of data, and they utilized further data to identify areas of improvement to ensure
effectiveness of such programs. Lastly, the principal’s role as instructional leader is changing
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 86
due to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards and there are significant
challenges facing school principals today as they prepare and move their schools forward.
Data analysis for Research Question 3 revealed several key leadership qualities that
principals perceived as critical for school principals. First, survey data suggests that principals
valued leadership qualities such as listening, being collaborative, courageous, communicative,
organized, knowledgeable and relationship builders. Some of the leadership qualities revealed by
the interview data were: setting clear vision, good listener, building relationships, teamwork,
courageous, collaborative and supportive. Principal interview data also revealed that most
principals managed within the human resource frame, primarily because they value building
relationships and showing that they care for the people they work with.
Summary, conclusions and further implications for this study are presented in Chapter 5.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 87

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Introduction
The role of the school principal has changed drastically over the past few decades.
According to Blome and James (1985) there have been numerous reforms and legislations that
have impacted the role of principals as school leaders and have placed greater accountability on
them as instructional leaders. Many of those demands require school principals to oversee all
instructional plans and operational functions, which is a challenge in itself. Regardless of the
many responsibilities of school principals, according to Anderson and Togneri (2003), districts
hold principals accountable for their role as instructional leaders, which includes supporting
teachers with their instructional needs. Many districts expect principals to spend much of their
time in the classroom observing and supporting teachers; however, many principals face
challenges when trying to fulfill that role.
Traditionally, the role of the principal has been to oversee some of the functions of the
school; primarily their job entailed managerial and organizational duties. In recent decades,
drastic changes have taken place in the education system, which has caused many of the
decision-making processes to be shifted to the school level. With each new legislation or reform,
the role of the principal has become more critical and these changes triggered immense
accountability on school leaders to produce better results in a shorter amount of time (Blome &
James, 1985). Some of the demands require principals to oversee all school operational
functions, develop community relations, ensure a safe environment for students and teachers, and
support and supervise classroom teachers (Richter et al., 2012). Districts expect principals to act
as the primary instructional leader at the school site and provide necessary support to teachers
(Anderson & Togneri, 2003). Today, principals as instructional leaders are compelled to
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 88
frequently visit classrooms, provide staff development, utilize data analysis to improve student
performance, and introduce innovative research-based strategies to enhance teacher knowledge
and classroom instruction. Twenty-first century school leaders need to incorporate new
leadership strategies and behaviors to be able to effectively implement teacher professional
development and, at the same time, meet the expectations and demands of state and federal
governments.
Principals have substantial influence and authority to reform schools. One of the most
significant aspects of the principal’s role as an instructional leader is to be able to transform a
school and bring about necessary instructional change (Carlisle & Berebitsky, 2010). The
principal as instructional leader has to be involved in the curriculum development process and
have an immense knowledge base in classroom instruction. School principals have to be
recognized as catalysts for school instructional reform and they need to be supported in the
process. The pressure to improve student performance is more significant today than ever before
because the accountability requirements are greater.
No Child Left Behind Act has influenced the role of the principal and has made a great
impact on the principal’s role as instructional leader. Finkel (2012) asserts that principals have to
embrace the role of instructional leadership in order to meet the demands of the school district
and the state. One of the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders is to promote
the success of all students by advocating and sustaining a school culture and instructional
programs that are conducive to student learning and staff professional development (Commission
on Teacher Credentialing, 2013). School principals are responsible for ensuring that teachers
receive effective professional development, which potentially may lead to higher student
achievement and produce better outcomes.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 89
This research aims to add to the growing scholarly literature on the topic of instructional
leadership and how principals utilize their role when making decisions about instructional
programs. Another prospect of this study is to add to the existing studies on leadership qualities
and qualities utilized by secondary school principals that can be effective and appropriate. This
chapter provides a summary of the study, which includes the statement of the problem, purpose
of the study, review of current literature on the topic, methodology utilized, summary of the
results of each research question, implications and recommendations for future study and closing
statements.
Statement of the Problem
The school leadership role has been greatly impacted due to changing public policy as
well as the growing accountability measures that have been put in place by the state and federal
government. It is a critical role and one that impacts all functions of a school. One of the
fundamental functions of the role of the principal as an instructional leader is to plan and provide
quality teacher professional development. With the implementation of the Common Core State
Standards, the principal’s role as an instructional leader is changing. Principals are under the
scrutiny of the state and the school district, which puts an immense amount of pressure on them
and their role as school leaders. Instructional leadership has long been the primary responsibility
of school principals and a critical part of that role is to make sure that the instructional programs
implemented are effective. It is imperative to understand what that role entails and what some of
the expectations are for school principals as instructional leaders.
Research suggests that effective teacher professional development programs can
potentially lead to student improvement (Cantrell & Hughes, 2008). Principals are the primary
vehicle in ensuring that teachers participate in effective professional development that can
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 90
potentially enhance student learning and achievement. In order to understand the role of
principals as instructional leaders, it is important to look at how principals make decisions when
it comes to school-wide professional development and how they approach that process.
Principals as school leaders have different leadership styles and qualities and they approach that
process uniquely and differently.
This research study also focuses on some of the leadership qualities that principals utilize
when making tough decisions. According to Blase (1987), school principals possess different
leadership qualities when it comes to making decisions on management, operations, building
relationships and setting a clear vision for the school. According to Fink and Resnick (2001),
when looking at the role of principals as instruction leaders, the emphasis has to be on the
principals’ leadership style and not just the specifics of instruction. Principals often utilize
leadership styles that may produce a negative result. According to Harris (2002), it is critical and
often necessary for principals to match their leadership style to situations and circumstances in
order to achieve a positive outcome.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study is to understand the role of principals as instructional leaders.
The purpose of the study is to also determine how secondary school principals perceive their role
as instructional leaders and how that role is utilized when planning for teacher professional
development. Lastly, the study also investigates leadership qualities that principals perceive as
necessary in order to be effective school leaders. Instructional leadership is one of the most
frequently mentioned educational concepts according to Marzano et al. (2005), but the term has
not been defined or well grasped in the field of research. There is a missing link between what
the role of the principal is as an instructional leader and how principals perceive their role as
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 91
instructional leaders themselves. Planning and implementing teacher professional development is
a vital component of their role as instructional leaders. Research demonstrates the need for more
investigation into how principals actually utilize their leadership role to effectively provide
professional development for teachers to enhance the instructional programs of their schools.
The purpose of this study is to also investigate and understand leadership qualities that principals
perceive as important when leading any school organization.
Research Questions
The research questions are designed to understand the role of a school principal as
instructional leader and how principals utilize that role to effectively plan and implement teacher
professional development. The questions guiding this study will shed light on the instructional
role of principals as well as how principals perceive their role as instructional leaders.
1. How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are some of the
challenges of that role?
2. How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional development
programs?
3. What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when leading a school
organization?
Review of Literature
Even though there is an abundance of research out there on school leadership and the role
of school principals as instructional leaders, there is very little on how principals perceive their
role and how they utilize their role when it comes to teacher professional development.
According to Marzano et al. (2005), effective leadership is critical to the successful functioning
of many aspects of a school, and effective principals are a necessary precondition for an effective
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 92
school. Instructional leadership primarily encourages school principals to enhance the
instructional programs of the school to ensure that all teachers are equipped to teach effectively
and to ensure that all students are learning. According to Louise and Robinson (2012),
accountability-driven improvement requires principals to intervene to improve teacher practice
so that student performance can come close to accountability targets set by the state. Frequently
principals’ time is filled by managerial and operational functions which leaves little time for
them to get involved with instructional functions. According to Marzano et al. (2005),
involvement in curriculum, instruction and assessment is one of the primary responsibilities of
school principals and it is considered critical to the concept of instructional leadership. This role
requires school principals to be directly involved with the design and implementation of
instructional programs at the school level.
According to Hallinger (2005), there is a great distinction between those leaders who are
highly involved with curriculum and teacher professional development and those leaders who are
more indirectly involved. Teacher quality and professional development has been a central focus
point, especially with the No Child Left Behind legislation. Teachers now more than ever are
expected to provide quality learning for students and some districts have mandated that student
achievement outcomes be tied to teacher yearly evaluations. Adams (2010) asserts that increased
teacher and student motivation often are indicators for student achievement and effective
professional development, and coaching does boost teacher capacity and skills. Principals have a
profound impact on student achievement according to Marzano et al. (2005). As demonstrated by
various studies, it is necessary for school principals as instructional leaders to establish a culture
that creates opportunities for teachers to engage in activities where they can develop their
teaching pedagogy and enhance their practice on an ongoing basis.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 93
According to Marzano et al. (2005), carrying on important decision-making processes
requires school principals to utilize effective leadership skills and traits. Townsend (2011)
suggests that school principals should adopt a plan that includes a sense of direction for the
school, discovery and destiny. School principals can benefit from utilizing transformational
leadership practices and behaviors to improve teaching and learning (Thooner et al., 2007).
Research demonstrates that the use of transformational leadership practices by principals can
highly impact school culture and can create a positive change for any school organization (Silins
et al., 2002). Transformational leaders are more likely to be visionaries who have the capacity to
motivate and inspire others to become committed to the mission and vision of the organization,
which is consistent with the five fundamental practices recommended by Kouzes and Posner
(2007).
Methodology
This research study utilized qualitative and quantitative research methodology. The
purpose in using mixed methods is triangulation, which involves using methods as a check on
one another and making sure that methods with different strengths and limitations all support a
single conclusion (Maxwell, 2013). To ensure consistency of the findings and ensure validity and
reliability, mixed methods was the optimum option for this study. This study incorporated a
quantitative phase, which was followed by a qualitative phase. First, an email invitation was sent
out to 80 principals within three large urban school districts in Southern California asking them
to participate in the study. The online survey was designed to assess principals’ perceptions of
their role as instructional leaders and how that role is utilized in planning and implementing
teacher professional development. The survey was also designed to assess individual principals’
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 94
understanding of effective professional development programs and how they determine the
instructional needs of their teachers.
The online survey was used to identify respondents who were willing to participate in an
interview process. Principals who expressed willingness to participate in an individual in-person
interview were contacted for the qualitative phase. The purpose of the interviews was to further
explore the instructional role of principals and how they utilize that role when planning or
implementing teacher professional development programs.
Results of Findings
Research Question 1: How do principals perceive their role as instructional leader and what are
some of the challenges of that role?
As demonstrated in the literature, there are immense challenges tied to the role of a
principal as instructional leader. Principals perceived their role as instructional leader as
challenging due to lack of time and resources. The findings suggested that principals value their
role as an instructional leader and two common themes emerged from the collected data. First,
principals perceived their role as instructional leader as someone who supports teachers with
instructional needs and provides effective teacher professional development. Second, principals
highly valued building cohesive instructional teams to carry out the instructional vision of the
school. The interview data also revealed that lack of time and balancing the managerial and
instructional roles are some of the challenges facing school principals today.

Research Question 2: How do principals plan, facilitate and evaluate teacher professional
development programs?
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 95
Three themes emerged from Research Question 2, which pertained to how principals plan
and facilitate teacher professional development programs and the steps they take when
evaluating the effectiveness of those programs. First, principals emphasized the importance of
making decisions about professional development by creating an instructional team. Principals
valued shared leadership practices through the development of instructional teams, which they
claimed empowered teachers school-wide. Second, principals valued the use of data when
making decisions about professional development programs, especially for the evaluation
process. Lastly, principals revealed how their role as instructional leaders is evolving with the
Common Core implementation and expressed that the future in uncertain due to lack of research.

Research Question 3: What leadership qualities are necessary for principals to possess when
leading a school organization?
Interview and survey data revealed several key leadership qualities that principals
perceived to be of importance when leading a school. Survey data revealed that principals valued
the following leadership qualities and skills: listening, collaborative, courageous,
communication, organized, knowledgeable and builds relationships. Data from the sit down
interviews revealed several common leadership practices that were consistent with the survey
data. Leadership qualities mentioned by the interview participants included: setting clear vision,
good listener, building relationships, teamwork, courageous, collaborative and supportive. The
theoretical framework that was utilized for this study guided Research Question 3. As stated by
Bolman and Deal (2003) and described in their four-frame model, most leaders primarily rely on
the human resource and structural lenses in dealing with leadership challenges and the results of
the principals’ interview data corroborated their findings. As suggested by Bolman and Deal
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 96
(2003), leaders may gain great insight into their leadership styles by understanding the four-
frame model and will be able to adjust and balance their leadership styles based on these four
different perspectives.
Implications for Practice
The results of this study unveiled different issues pertaining to the topic of principals as
instructional leaders and how they utilize that role when planning for teacher professional
development. The findings are expected to contribute to current literature and research studies on
school leadership in conjunction with instructional leadership. While this study revealed several
important themes pertaining to the instructional leadership role of school principals, due to the
limited scope of research, it is certainly important to continue to learn more about this topic. In
the world of education, accountability measures are changing and more demands are being made
of school principals, which can only compel researchers to continue to study the role of school
principals as instructional leaders.
Even though there is an immense body of literature on the topic, school principals often
feel misguided and adrift due to the changing demands of their role. This topic is more than
timely and more research is certainly necessary because of the heightened accountability
requirements for school principals. More importantly, principals need to be supported in their
role as instructional leaders and this study may generate interest in future research that may
encourage focusing on the training and coaching of principals. While administrative
credentialing programs have developed a rigorous curriculum, there is a lack of focus on the
instructional leadership of principals. This study and other studies that have been conducted may
shed light on the importance of credentialing training programs to develop stronger curriculum
that emphasizes the importance of instructional leadership.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 97
Finally this study may offer some guidance to aspiring school principals or current
principals who strive to be effective leaders. This study may provide school principals a
perspective on school leadership and their role as instructional leaders. The study will also offer
school principals insight into a variety of leadership qualities that school principals utilize while
making important decisions. Successful school leadership is only possible when principals are
knowledgeable about strategies and qualities that have been found to be effective in school
leadership.
Recommendations for Future Research
The results of this study unveiled some of the challenges of the role of the school
principal as instructional leader and how that role is utilized when planning and implementing
teacher professional development. The findings are expected to contribute to the existing body of
literature on the school principal’s role as instructional leader, and hopefully will serve as a
conceptual framework for future administration training programs. The following
recommendations are based on the overall findings of this study:
• Future research should replicate this study with a larger sample of survey and interview
participants. A larger sample may provide more concrete results.
• Future research should further examine administrative training programs to investigate
how much emphasis is put on the role of principals as instructional leaders.
• Future research should seek to understand the relationship between school principals and
their school districts and how much support and coaching principals are provided in order
for them to be effective instructional leaders.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 98
• Future research should also seek to understand the relationship between the principal and
their leadership team. It will be interesting to see how principals work and guide their
leadership team.
• Future research should seek to identify leadership skills that effective school principals
possess that have led them to successfully change and maintain a positive school
organization and culture.
• Future research should look at how the role of school principal as instructional leader is
changing, as the Common Core State Standards are being implemented nationwide. It
will be interesting to see how principals are dealing with the challenges of the rollout and
how their role changed as instructional leaders during that process.
Conclusion
The role of school principal has immense challenges and with the growing accountability
measures, the demands are changing and increasing. It is important for school principals to
become more knowledgeable about their role as instructional leaders and how they can navigate
through that role to improve instruction and teacher practice. It is necessary for principals as
instructional leaders to have knowledge of instruction and curriculum and be the primary
advocate for teachers in supporting them to improve their practice through effective professional
development programs. In order for principals to be able to make decisions about teacher
professional development and be able to support teachers, they need to have significant content
knowledge themselves (Fink & Resnick, 2001). As demonstrated in the literature and through the
data collection, principals feel that there is more time spent on their role as managers than as
instructional leaders; however, the district has placed greater emphasis on the instructional role.
There are effective school leaders who have established and developed a balanced system that
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 99
works for them and their school. There are principals who have found a balance between their
managerial role and their instructional role. The emphasis has to be on instruction, because
principals as instructional leaders need to improve student learning and create a sustainable
environment that allows teachers to grow in their practice.
Teacher professional development is of great focus when discussing the principal’s role
as the school’s instructional leader. Many principals admit, however, that this is not one of their
strengths. It may be time for school districts to venture out and investigate how the principal’s
role as instructional leader impacts teacher professional development. If principals feel
inadequate in planning and implementing effective professional development programs for
teachers, perhaps there is a knowledge gap and district have to redirect support to coach
principals on becoming successful instructional leaders. If principals are passionate about
instruction, teachers will be passionate about teaching and students will more likely be
passionate about learning.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 100

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PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 108

APPENDICES
Appendix A: Principal Survey
1. Principal’s primary role is to be an instructional specialist and an instructional leader.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

2. It is critical for school principals to have extensive knowledge and skills in the area of
instruction and curriculum.
Agree
Disagree
No Opinion

3. I have had training on my role as an instructional leader and I know what is expected of me to
fulfill that role.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 109
4. When I was going though the Administrative Credentialing Program, there was great emphasis
on the role of the principal as an instruction leader and knowledge and training was provided to
be able to fulfill that role.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

5. Planning, providing, implementing and facilitating teacher professional development programs
school wide is an essential part of the role of the principal as an instruction leader.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

6. I am currently being trained on the New Common Core State Standards and I know what my
role is as an instructional leader to support the teachers in the process.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

7. What leadership qualities do you possess that help you when planning and implementing
teacher professional development programs? Can you please list up to five leadership qualities
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 110
and/or skills that you think are necessary to have when involved in teacher professional
development.

8. It is critical to evaluate professional development programs that have been implemented to
make sure those programs are effective.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

9. How do you determine what professional development programs are effective? What
strategies do you use to evaluate such programs?

10. Teacher professional development is not one of my professional strengths as a principal.
Agree
Disagree
No opinion

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 111
Appendix B: Principal Interview Guide
Research
Questions

Interview
Questions

1.
How
do
principals

perceive
their
role
as

instructional
leader
and

what
are
some
of
the

challenges
of
that
role?

1. How
do
you
define/perceive
your
role
as
an
instructional

leader?
Is
it
a
critically
important
role
in
comparison
to
all
the

other
responsibilities
or
roles
that
you
have?

2. Do
you
think
you
have
adequate
knowledge
to
fulfill
your

role
as
an
instructional
leader
and
carry
out
responsibilities

that
is
asked
of
you?

3. Does
the
district
you
work
for
provide
training
or
PD
for
you

to
build
your
knowledge
as
an
instructional
leader?
How

often?

4. Did
you
go
through
an
administrative
credentialing
program?

Was
there
great
emphasis
on
the
role
of
the
principal
as
an

instruction
leader?

5. What
are
some
factors
that
hinder
you
from
being
a
great

instructional
leader
and
utilizing
that
role
to
its
fullest

potential?

2.
How
do
principals
plan,

facilitate
and
evaluate

teacher
professional

development
programs?

6. As
an
Instructional
leader,
do
you
think
planning
or

implementing
teacher
professional
development
is
a
critical

part
of
that
role?

How
so?

7. How
do
you
decide
what
professional
development
programs

to
implement
school
wide
and
who
is
involved
in
that

process?
Is
it
a
team
effort?

8. Do
you
evaluate
PD
programs
that
have
been
implemented

for
effectiveness?
What
approaches
do
you
take
to
make

sure
PD
is
effective?

9. How
is
your
role
changing
as
an
instructional
leader
with
the

implementation
of
the
New
Common
Core
Standards?

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 112
3.
What
leadership

qualities
are
necessary
for

principals
to
possess
when

leading
a
school

organization?

10. What
leadership
qualities
do
principals
need
to
have
in
order

to
be
effective
leaders?
What
characteristics
are
important?

From
the
Four
Frames,
which
frame
you
tend
to
operate

from
mostly?

Appendix C: Information Sheet
University of Southern California
Rossier School of Education

INFORMATION/FACTS SHEET FOR EXEMPT NON-MEDICAL RESEARCH

TITLE OF RESEARCH STUDY
“The Secondary School Principal’s Role as Instructional Leader in Teacher Professional
Development”

You are invited to participate in a research study. Research studies include only people who
voluntarily choose to take part. This document explains information about this study. You should
ask questions about anything that is unclear to you.
PURPOSE OF THE STUDY
The purpose of the study is to look at the instructional role of secondary school principals and
how they utilize that role when planning and implementing teacher professional development
programs. The study focuses on how principals perceive their role as an instructional leader and
what leadership qualities do they possess when facilitating and fostering teacher professional
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 113
development programs. Lastly, the study is intended to identify approaches taken by principals
when evaluating programs that have been implemented to assess effectiveness.
The impact of principal’s role as an instructional leader and its potential influence and
impact on teacher professional development is important. The study will benefit school
principals, teachers and instructional coaches and further the discussion on the issue. The study
will also explore approaches taken by principals when evaluating effectiveness of teacher
professional development programs and further the discussion on how principals are fulfilling
their role as an instructional leader.
The study helps us define the role of the principal in planning teacher professional
development and how they determine the needs of their staff before developing instructional
programs. In addition, the study will provide insight on the perspectives of principals and the
leadership qualities they possess to foster effective professional development programs for their
staff. Finally, conclusions, implications and recommendations in this study will help provide a
basis for educational researchers to further the debate on the role of the principal as an
instructional leader and how that role reinforces teacher professional development.
PARTICIPANT INVOLVEMENT
If you agree to take part in this study, you will be asked to take an online survey and participate
in a one time independent sit down interview that will last approximately 30-minute. The
interviews will be recorded and later transcribed to ensure accuracy when recalling information.
If you don’t want to be taped, handwritten notes will be taken. You do not have to answer any
questions you don’t want to. The interview results will be used for the sole purposes of this
study. All tapes will be transcribed exclusively by the researcher. No other person will have
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 114
access to the audio tapes in an effort to guarantee participants’ confidentiality at all times. The
audio-tapes will be destroyed once they have been transcribed.
The identities of participants are confidential and secure. The participation in the study is entirely
voluntary and participants reserve the right to withdraw from the study at all times.
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 115

CONFIDENTIALITY
There will be no identifiable information obtained in connection with this study. Your name,
address or other identifiable information will not be collected. The data will be stored on a
password-protected computer in the researcher’s office for three years after the study has been
completed and then destroyed. The identities of participants are confidential and secure. The
participation in the study is entirely voluntary and participants reserve the right to withdraw from
the study at all times.
The members of the research team, the funding agency and the University of Southern
California’s Human Subjects Protection Program (HSPP) may access the data. The HSPP
reviews and monitors research studies to protect the rights and welfare of research subjects.
INVESTIGATOR CONTACT INFORMATION
Researcher:
Romela Khachikyan
University of Southern California
rkhachik@usc.edu
818-425-0122

Chairperson:
Pedro E. Garcia, Ed.D
University of Southern California
pegarcia@usc.edu

IRB CONTACT INFORMATION
University Park Institutional Review Board (UPIRB), 3720 South Flower Street #301, Los
Angeles, CA 90089-0702, (213) 821-5272 or upirb@usc.edu
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 116

Appendix D: Recruitment Letter

Dear Principal ______,

My name is Romela Khachikyan and I am a doctoral candidate in the Rossier School of
Education at the University of Southern California. I am conducting a research study as part of
my dissertation, which examines the role of the secondary school principal as an instructional
leader in relation to teacher professional development.
You are cordially invited to participate in the study. If you agree, you are invited to
participate in a personal and independent sit-down interview that will take about 30 minutes.
Participation in this study is completely voluntary. Your identity as a participant will remain
confidential at all times.
If you have questions or would like to participate, please contact me at rkhachik@usc.edu
or at (818)-425-0122.

Thank you for your consideration to participation in this study.

Romela Khachikyan
Romela Khachikyan, MA
Doctoral Candidate - Rossier School of Education
University of Southern California

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 117
Appendix E: Graphic Summary of Online Survey Responses to Questions 1-10

The charts below show the responses from the 29 participants who answered questions 1-
10 (excluding questions 7 and 9, which were open-ended responses).

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

75.86% 22

Disagree

20.69% 6

No opinion

3.45% 1

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 118

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

100.00% 29

Disagree

0% 0

No opinion

0% 0

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 119

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

93.10% 27

Disagree

3.45% 1

No opinion

3.45% 1

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 120

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

28.57% 8

Disagree

53.57% 15

No opinion

17.86% 5
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 121

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

96.55% 28

Disagree

0% 0

No opinion

3.45% 1
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 122

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

96.55% 28

Disagree

0% 0

No opinion

3.45% 1

PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 123

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

100.00% 28

Disagree

0.00% 0

No opinion

0.00% 0
PRINCIPAL’S ROLE IN TEACHER PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT 124

Answer Choices

Responses

Agree

17.86% 5

Disagree

75.00% 21

No opinion

7.14% 28

Abstract (if available)

Abstract This research study seeks to understand the role of the secondary school principal as instructional leader and to explore some of the challenges they encounter when fulfilling that role effectively. This study also investigates how secondary principals perceive their role as instructional leaders when planning for school-wide teacher professional development. Lastly, this study explores some of the leadership qualities that principals think are essential when leading a school organization. ❧ This research study utilized qualitative and quantitative research methodology where surveys and interviews were used to collect data. Data analysis revealed that principals perceived their role as instructional leaders to be challenging due to time and lack of resources. ❧ Findings suggested that principals value their role as instructional leaders and they perceive their role as someone who supports teachers with instructional needs and professional development. The value of forming a cohesive instructional leadership team was evident and principals emphasized that to a great extent. The study also revealed that principals often feel inadequate in teacher professional development and, due to uncertainty with the introduction of the Common Core Standards, they feel their role is shifting and they are compelled to become stronger instructional leaders. ❧ The study also provided great insight into leadership qualities and characteristics. The study validated the importance of possessing effective leadership skills and qualities such as listening, and being collaborative, courageous, communicative, organized and knowledgeable.

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University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

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Asset Metadata

Creator Khachikyan, Romela (author)

Core Title The secondary school principal's role as instructional leader in teacher professional development

School Rossier School of Education

Degree Doctor of Education

Degree Program Education (Leadership)

Publication Date 03/10/2015

Defense Date 02/23/2015

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag instructional leadership,leadership qualities,OAI-PMH Harvest,Principal,secondary school principal,teacher professional development

Format application/pdf (imt)

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor García, Pedro Enrique (committee chair), Castruita, Rudy Max (committee member), Love, Laurie (committee member)

Creator Email rkhachik@usc.edu,romelakhachikyan@aol.com

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c3-538495

Unique identifier UC11297585

Identifier etd-Khachikyan-3226.pdf (filename),usctheses-c3-538495 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-Khachikyan-3226.pdf

Dmrecord 538495

Document Type Dissertation

Format application/pdf (imt)

Rights Khachikyan, Romela

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA