A descriptive study of aspiring principals’ interactions with students

Abstract

Purpose Recent research on principals suggests that they directly affect student learning through their interactions with students. This study aimed to describe aspiring school leaders’ interactions with students in the schools where they interned as full-time administrators. Design/methodology/approach We adopted an exploratory approach to answer our research question. Participants included five aspiring principals serving as full-time administrators in one suburban school district in Texas. We collected data on their interactions with students through observations, interviews, and daily logs. We analyzed the interview and observation data iteratively, using open coding. We analyzed the daily log data descriptively. Findings We identified three types of interactions between aspiring principals and students: discipline-related, check-ins and student-initiated. Disciplinary interactions centered on discipline and included when participants were called in and when they decided to intervene. Check-ins included impromptu interactions and purposeful check-ins with students. Student-initiated interactions tended to resemble the aspiring principals’ impromptu interactions. Originality/value Our findings deepen the field’s understanding of how aspiring leaders interact with students, creating a foundation for future work. We recommend that leadership programs and districts find ways to expose aspiring principals and school leaders to new ways of interacting with students to prepare them for the transition.