Supporting School Transitions for Veteran Principals

School principals are moved from one school to another because of retirements, resignations, or school divisions’ rotation policies. Leadership transitions can be challenging for the principal and the school community given that the leaders have little to no knowledge of the new school, its culture, and its staff and no established relationships. Another challenge with principal turnover is its impact on student outcomes. The main objective of this mixed-methods research study was to identify the factors that served to support transition success for veteran school principals. Using purposive sampling, a survey was completed by principals from a large urban school division (N = 53). There were three sections of the survey instrument: (1) the Leader Efficacy Questionnaire (LEQ) developed by Hannah and Avolio (2013), (2) questions on the principals’ transition experience, and (3) questions about principals’ professional learning experiences that supported them during the transition and also served to build their competence and confidence as principals. After the survey, using criterion sampling, semistructured interviews were conducted with eight school principals. The data were coded and grouped into three themes: (a) self-leading, (b) leading others, and (c) balcony view. The findings of this research study suggest that peer support networks are essential components of support for principals. Given its importance, the creation of support systems should not be left completely up to the individual or to chance. Senior administrators need to consider ways of engaging principals in meaningful network opportunities and providing one-to-one support. The findings also revealed ways that principals managed their school transitions successfully. The most prevalent factors included understanding the school’s history, engaging in open and clear communication, being in service to the community, and leveraging staff strengths

Mother Ocean

Painting of artist\u27s mother encircled by sea creatures, shells and ocean. Medium: Acrylic paint on canvashttps://pilotscholars.up.edu/quinn_soleia_exhibit/1005/thumbnail.jp

Exploring Principal Effect on Organizational Well-Being: Looking at Perceptual Congruence Between Self and Other Ratings

The purpose of this study was to explore how principals and teachers in urban public schools perceived principal influence on organizational well-being and to determine the degree of perceptual congruence between principals and teachers in relation to organizational well-being outcomes. In schools with high principal-teacher perceptual congruence and reported positive organizational well-being, principals were interviewed about their leadership. Quantitative and qualitative data were gathered in two districts in a metropolitan area in Alberta, Canada, through a threephased explanatory sequential mixed-method research design (Creswell & Creswell, 2018). The School Culture Triage Survey (Wagner, 2006), the Teacher Well-being Scale (Collie, 2015), and the Authentic Leadership Questionnaire (Avolio et al., 2007) were used with open-ended items to document perceptions of organizational wellbeing and authentic leadership behaviors of principals. In total, 47 principal and 147 teacher participants completed full surveys. Seven principals were interviewed. Perceptions of school culture and aspects of well-being were predominantly positive. There were no statistically significant differences when looking at the entire group of respondents between teacher and principal responses. Qualitative data reflected an emic, insider perspective of school culture by teachers and an etic perspective, outsider perspective, by the principal. A lack of reciprocity in the teacher-principal relationship was noted, where teachers receive support, resources, care, and time from the principal, and the principal gives. The results of this study have implications for principal practice and systemic considerations in support of well-being and to develop vi principal awareness. Finally, there is a need for systemic feedback structures that allow principals access to consistent information to develop their external awareness

The Rose That Grew From the Tree

When I saw this rose, I thought of Tupac Shakur\u27s poem titled The Rose That Grew From Concrete, a poem all about survival. “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature\u27s law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.” Tupac\u27s poem talks about how a rose that grew from the crack in the concrete overcomes all laws of nature; this is especially true in our neoliberal and capitalist society. Industrialization makes it so all beautiful plants are manufactured and planned meticulously. The rose in the picture and Tupac\u27s poem truly makes me realize that to survive in the natural environment is an act of rebellion. Theme: Nature and Survival: How is the natural environment a place of survival? How do you see resilience and survival in the outdoors? Medium: Digital Photography.https://pilotscholars.up.edu/sustainability_photovoice_exhibit/1007/thumbnail.jp

Survival in nature

I saw this cluster of mushrooms growing on a fallen tree branch outside of my house. I find fungi to be one of the most magnificent examples of survival in nature. They function as the trash collectors of the forest by breaking down decaying materials like rotting wood as we see in the picture. They absorb the nutrients of the decaying wood and find life out of something that is no longer fulfilling its original purpose. We can learn a lot from mushrooms from the perspective of reusing and recycling for survival purposes. As humans, we produce an immense amount of waste and tend to normalize buying new things over reusable ones. Nature demonstrates that there are sustainable ways to live and gain from what has already been utilized. Theme: Nature and Survival: How is the natural environment a place of survival? How do you see resilience and survival in the outdoors? Medium: Digital Photographyhttps://pilotscholars.up.edu/sustainability_photovoice_exhibit/1012/thumbnail.jp

Exploring Gendered Barriers to Higher Education Leadership for Women in Midlevel Student Affairs Roles

This qualitative case study explored the perceived barriers to leadership for female-identifying student affairs professionals at the midlevel who aspire to, but have not yet attained, a senior student affairs officer role. Women hold 71% of all student affairs positions in higher education compared to men; however, that majority shrinks to 56% for senior-level positions (Pritchard &McChesney, 2018). Thus, a study designed to explore gendered barriers to leadership was warranted. The research questions were designed to explore what barriers, if any, have participants experienced regarding their ability to move into a senior student affairs officer role and to what extent, if at all, participants experience higher education institutions as gendered organizations. A theoretical framework of gender role theory and gendered organizations was used to explore the research questions. The study was conducted in two phases; Phase 1 included a questionnaire in which participants (n = 32) responded to a series of statements about perceived barriers to leadership and gendered workplaces in student affairs. In Phase 2, follow-up interviews were conducted on a random selection of participants (n = 8) from Phase 1. This study used a theoretical framework that combined the theories of gender role congruity (Eagly & Karau, 2002) and gendered organizations (Acker, 1990), which provided the context for investigating the role structures of the organizations in which participants worked and how social roles impact women’s paths to leadership within student affairs. Findings from the study indicated three themes related to personal barriers, which were impostor syndrome, work-life conflict, and showing emotion is unacceptable. Findings also revealed sociological barriers that included the nature of student affairs work, saying yes to everything, and religion’s influence on gender roles. Implications for practice, as suggested by participants, were a move to more flexible policies about work hours and locations, providing networking and mentoring opportunities, teaching men to be allies to women, and professional development opportunities focused on developing leadership skills

Hemp-based, Sustainable, Compostable, and Affordable Menstrual Pads for Underserved Communities

Over the summer, I worked in a chemical engineering lab at OSU. We looked at different menstrual hygiene pads currently on the market and compared them in terms of compostability and absorbency. Additionally, we looked at the absorbency ratio of hemp compared to cotton. Further studies will be done on the properties of hemp.https://pilotscholars.up.edu/ase_internships_2021/1010/thumbnail.jp