Understanding the Lived Experience of the School Principal: A Hermeneutic Study

Abstract

In this inquiry the phenomenon of the principalship is opened up to create new understandings of what it means to be a principal. Educational literature hints at the complex and contingent nature of principal leadership, but does not address it sufficiently. This hermeneutic inquiry seeks to understand the always emergent, ambiguous, and contingent nature of being a school principal within a large urban school district. Understanding differently illuminates ways to support the development of principals through professional learning.