It is well established that principal turnover is of grave concern in the U.S. (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Levin et al., 2020) and may have been exacerbated due to the pandemic (Steiner et al., 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study explored the experience of women principals at P-12 schools in the U.S. who voluntarily left their roles during the pandemic. Data was collected from five participants through two semi-structured interviews and a visual representation of their experience. The essence of this phenomenon was: the pandemic allowed for reflection which intensified the need for women principals to feel in harmony with their workplaces; when they did not have an alignment of values, they moved on. I conclude that, for women principals to stay in their role, they need to feel alignment with their organizations.
","abstract_html":"<p>It is well established that principal turnover is of grave concern in the U.S. (Goldring & Taie, 2018; Levin et al., 2020) and may have been exacerbated due to the pandemic (Steiner et al., 2022). This transcendental phenomenological study explored the experience of women principals at P-12 schools in the U.S. who voluntarily left their roles during the pandemic. Data was collected from five participants through two semi-structured interviews and a visual representation of their experience. The essence of this phenomenon was: the pandemic allowed for reflection which intensified the need for women principals to feel in harmony with their workplaces; when they did not have an alignment of values, they moved on. I conclude that, for women principals to stay in their role, they need to feel alignment with their organizations.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Urbaniak, Jessica A."],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Ed.D.","degree_level":"Dissertation in Practice","degree_discipline":null,"degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Lolita A. Tabron","Erin Anderson","Starla J. Sieveke-Pearson"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2023,"date_issued":"2023-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2023-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:39Z","subjects":["Principal retention","Principal turnover","The great resignation","Values alignment","Women principals","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Outdoor Education"],"languages":["English (eng)"],"rights":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.du.edu/etd/2327","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Lolita A. Tabron","Erin Anderson","Starla J. Sieveke-Pearson"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Urbaniak, Jessica A."]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Dissertation in Practice"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Ed.D."]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Principal retention","Principal turnover","The great resignation","Values alignment","Women principals","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Outdoor Education"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:language","label":"Dc Language","values":["English (eng)"]},{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["Copyright is held by the author. User is responsible for all copyright compliance.
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"],"dc:subject":["Principal retention","Principal turnover","The great resignation","Values alignment","Women principals","Education","Educational Administration and Supervision","Educational Leadership","Elementary and Middle and Secondary Education Administration","Outdoor Education"],"dc:title":["A Phenomenological Study of Women Principals Who Resigned During the Pandemic"],"thesis:degree_level":["Dissertation in Practice"],"thesis:degree_name":["Ed.D."]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T02:01:39Z"}