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How Intra-District School Choice and Competition Among Schools Impacts School Leadership

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How Intra-District School Choice and Competition Among Schools Impacts School Leadership HOW INTRA-DISTRICT SCHOOL CHOICE AND COMPETITION AMONG SCHOOLS IMPACTS SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS by Christopher M. Kohan Liberty University A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University 2018 2 HOW INTRA-DISTRICT SCHOOL CHOICE AND COMPETITION AMONG SCHOOLS IMPACTS SCHOOL LEADERSHIP: A CASE STUDY OF SECONDARY SCHOOL PRINCIPALS by Christopher M. Kohan A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Education Liberty University, Lynchburg, VA 2018 APPROVED BY: Ralph Marino, Jr., Ed.D., Committee Chair Jared Bigham, Ed.D., Committee Member Lisa Ueltzhoffer, Ed.D., Committee Member 3 ABSTRACT The purpose of this qualitative, explanatory case study was to describe how traditional, magnet, and charter school principals in one Delaware school district responded to an environment of total school choice and how they made sense of their roles as a principal in the era of school choice. Hess’s (2010) organizational theory was the theoretical foundation for this study as selective enrollment schools, such as magnet and charter schools, would have direct and indirect effects on traditional schools The research questions for this study were: (a) How do traditional, magnet, and charter school principals make sense of the competition generated by school choice options; (b) how do traditional, magnet, and charter school principals perceive the competition of how school choice impacts their responsibilities as school leaders; and (c) how do traditional, magnet, and charter school principals perceive the competition of how school choice impacts the long-term operations of the school? The results were from 11 individual principal semi- structured interviews, 11 administrative questionnaires, 11 school choice event observations, and artifact analysis were used as gathered data and were analyzed through hand coding and recoding. The participants universally felt that school choice had a nearly immeasurable impact on their job responsibilities. Principals expressed they had distant vision of what school choice policy meant for them and the school they would lead in the future, but they were uncertain if that vision would be attained. Keywords: charter schools, magnet schools, principal leadership, school choice, school leadership, school marketing 4 Dedication It is with a degree of gratitude I could never express that I dedicate this research to my family. While there are a great number of family members that I owe a debt of gratitude, I have to start with those who had the most profound impact on who I am today. Amy and Lauren changed my life forever and changed it for the better. I could not ask for a better wife and daughter, but the changes you have brought have been life altering. Since you have entered my life, you have shown me that living for the benefit of others makes all of life more enjoyable. I also need to thank my parents, John and Patricia Kohan. You always placed an importance on education that gave it the proper place in my life. I wish my mother could have lived to see me complete this journey, but I know she would be proud of me for finally getting it done. I owe a special thank you to my father who supported me through the good, and the bad and has been the strongest, wisest man I have ever met. I know that if I work at it for the rest of my life, I may someday be half the man that you are. In addition, I need to thank the family that I have developed at work that has kept me in line and focused my attention on the areas where it needed to be. Kerri, Mike, Anthony, Sonja, John, Maddie, and Jim have shown me the power of working hard and doing things “the right way” in public education. I mean it when I say that the work you have all done has made you my professional heroes. 5 Acknowledgments I could not have completed this study without the guidance and support of the staff at Liberty University. The instructors of my classes provided a content that allowed me to take on research that I would not have thought I could complete. The patience and understanding that they demonstrated throughout the process allowed me to ultimately complete my dissertation. I would like to personally thank Dr. Scott Watson for the role that he played in allowing me to return to the program after the distractions of life pulled me away for a time. I would like to also than Dr. Ralph Marino, Jr. for his continued patience with me as I worked my way through the proposal phase of my research and led me to my defense. It has made me a better person. I would also like to thank Dr. Lucinda Spaulding for her role in refining my research methods and helping me to clarify the best way to research my topic. I would also like to thank the members of my committee, Dr. Jared Bigham and Dr. Lisa Ueltzhoffer for their valued input and support throughout this process. 6 Table of Contents ABSTRACT .....................................................................................................................................3 Dedication ........................................................................................................................................4 Acknowledgments............................................................................................................................5 List of Tables .................................................................................................................................11 List of Abbreviations .....................................................................................................................12 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................13 Overview ............................................................................................................................13 Background ........................................................................................................................13 Historical Context ..................................................................................................14 Social Context ........................................................................................................14 Theoretical Context ................................................................................................15 Situation to Self..................................................................................................................16 Problem Statement .............................................................................................................17 Purpose Statement ..............................................................................................................18 Significance of the Study ...................................................................................................18 Research Questions ............................................................................................................20 Definitions..........................................................................................................................22 Summary ............................................................................................................................22 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................24 Overview ............................................................................................................................24 Theoretical Framework ......................................................................................................24 Related Literature...............................................................................................................25 7 School Choice ........................................................................................................25 Magnet Schools ......................................................................................................26 Charter Schools ......................................................................................................29 Inter-District and Intra-District School Choice......................................................32 School Leadership ..................................................................................................34 Competition in School Choice ...............................................................................36 Sensemaking ..........................................................................................................40 Delaware ................................................................................................................41 Principalship in Traditional Schools ......................................................................47 School Choice Leadership .....................................................................................49 Magnet School Leadership ....................................................................................50 Charter School Leadership .....................................................................................51 Competition and Marketing in School Leadership ................................................53 Summary ............................................................................................................................55 CHAPTER THREE: METHODS ..................................................................................................57
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