Catholic Elementary School Principal Induction: An Investigation of Diocesan Supports for Competent, Confident Leadership
Catholic schools play an important role in the United States’ educational landscape, forwarding a model of excellence in education, providing school choice, lowering overall public education costs, and central to their mission, serving as a ministry of the Catholic Church. However, Catholic schools face historically unprecedented challenges, and more than ever require stable, competent and confident leadership at the site level. At the same time, demographics, attrition and turnover are producing a high number of novice principals in the Catholic school ranks. In addition, challenges and stresses of the principalship put all principals at risk of burnout. Effective centralized diocesan induction supports may help assure new principals’ competence, confidence, and success. This qualitative, grounded theory dissertation in practice, based on an analysis of interviews with new principals in a large archdiocese in the Western United States, explored which central support practices were perceived as successful, and produced recommendations for promising practices to be explored, implemented or continued. Practices with particular promise, as described by the study participants, included formal and informal mentorship, the facilitation of an ongoing peer support network, and the assurance of clear and stable policy guidance.
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