Three Newly Appointed Vice-Principals' Perceptions Of
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Three Newly Appointed Vice-Principals’ Perceptions of Their Identity Formation and Interaction With School Culture: A Qualitative Study of the VP Role Transition Sarah Jo Pereira, BA (Hons), B.Ed Department of Educational Studies Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Education Faculty of Education, Brock University St. Catharines, Ontario © Sarah Jo Pereira 2020 Abstract This generic qualitative study explored the process of administrative identity formation from the perspective of 3 newly appointed secondary school vice-principals. It also explored participants’ perception of how vice-principals influence and are influenced by school culture. Data were collected through face-to-face semi-structured interviews. Findings suggest that in their first years of transitioning into the role of vice-principal participants faced challenges in forming new identities. With respect to their ability to influence school culture, participants found that other responsibilities of the job consumed their time and subsequent abilities to make changes. Participants revealed their duties, responsibilities, and the ways in which they both prepared for their role and were supported within them. Participants found that their VP experiences upon appointment and within the first years of transitioning largely focused on the various challenges they faced in assuming the new responsibilities, navigating the changing dynamics amongst staff, and managing the vast quantity of work in limited time restraints. Despite these challenges participants continued to work towards finding a balance in their management of the VP role, where with time and experience they might further develop their administrative identity formation, and may impact school culture as a whole. ii Acknowledgements The completion of this project would not have been possible without the guidance and support of many important people. Firstly, I would like to extend my appreciation to my advisor, Dr. Renée Kuchapski for your mentorship throughout this journey. Many thanks to Dr. Vera Woloshyn, Dr. Michael Mindzak, and Dr. Coral Mitchell for your assistance and feedback throughout the process of completing this project, through which you have all provided me with invaluable insights. Thank you to my family and friends for your unwavering love and support. My parents, Connie and Joe, my sister, Rebecca, and my partner, Antoni, have all played a significant role in this project. I have the best support system in the world. To you, I am forever grateful. To those in my family for whom pursuing higher education was not a possibility, through you I was encouraged, and for you, I was successful. Thank you. To my participants: thank you for sharing your stories with me. This experience was more than I ever expected, and your insights mean more to me now as an educator, than I ever knew they would when I began this journey. Your passion, dedication, and commitment are admirable. iii Dedication To my grandmother, Maria Pereira, who passed during the completion of this project, thank you for supporting everything I ever ventured to do. iv Table of Contents Page Abstract ................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................... iii Dedication ............................................................................................................. iv CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY ..................................... 1 Background of the Problem ......................................................................... 3 Statement of the Problem Situation ............................................................. 9 Purpose of the Study .................................................................................... 10 Research Questions ..................................................................................... 11 Theoretical Framework ............................................................................... 11 Importance of the Study .............................................................................. 15 Scope and Limitations of the Study............................................................. 16 Outline of the Remainder of the Document ................................................ 18 CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW ....................................................... 19 Administrator Personal Identity .................................................................. 19 Administrator Professional Identity ............................................................ 21 VP Identity Formation ................................................................................. 22 VP Role Transition ...................................................................................... 24 Role and Responsibilities of VPs ................................................................ 27 Challenges Surrounding the Roles of School Administrators ..................... 34 School Climate ............................................................................................ 45 School Culture ............................................................................................. 46 Comparing School Climate and Culture...................................................... 47 VP Influence on School Culture .................................................................. 48 VP Interaction With Existing School Culture ............................................. 51 School Culture Impact on VP Identity ........................................................ 54 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 55 CHAPTER THREE: METHODOLOGY AND PROCEDURES ........................ 56 Method ......................................................................................................... 56 Site and Participant Selection ...................................................................... 60 Data Collection ............................................................................................ 61 Data Analysis............................................................................................... 62 Dependability and Credibility ..................................................................... 65 Methodological Assumptions ...................................................................... 66 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................. 67 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 70 CHAPTER FOUR: PRESENTATION OF RESULTS ........................................ 72 VP Role Transition ...................................................................................... 72 Duties Assigned to the VP ........................................................................... 78 Insider Perceptions of VP Experiences ....................................................... 87 VP Identity and Lived Experiences ............................................................. 92 v Relationships ............................................................................................... 103 School Culture ............................................................................................. 121 Chapter Summary ........................................................................................ 134 CHAPTER FIVE: SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ................................................................................. 135 Summary of the Study ................................................................................. 135 Discussion.................................................................................................... 135 Recommendations ....................................................................................... 151 Conclusion ................................................................................................... 162 References ............................................................................................................. 164 Appendix: Interview Guide ................................................................................... 174 vi 1 CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY My interest into the role of the vice-principal (VP) first began when I was a student in a teacher education program. I developed an interest in the VP role through a few different experiences. One was early on in this program, when one of my professors introduced himself to the class and brought us through his teaching experiences to explain how he became a VP. Through this story of his transition from teaching to the VP role, I was surprised at the new knowledge I had learned surrounding this critical change, its subsequent effects on his identity, and how what I perceived about this role was not what was lived. The challenges associated with this transition were new to me, not having ever realized this in my experiences as a student, volunteer, or teacher candidate. This professor explained his love of teaching, and how his motivation as a teacher was always student-centered, causing him to be involved in many different aspects of the school, ultimately contributing to its culture. However, in his transition to the VP role, he lost this passion and his sense-of self. He became less people-focused,