Date of Degree

2024

Degree Name

Ed.D. (Doctor of Education)

Department

Department of Leadership, Educational Psychology, and Foundations (LEPF)

Director

Creed, Benjamin

Co-Director

Summers, Kelly

Committee Members

Burton, Brett

Keywords

Principal, Mentorship, Tight, Loose, Leaders, Relationships, Structure, Systems

Abstract

This dissertation explores the advantages and disadvantages of both tightly and loosely defined principal mentorship programs from the perspective of secondary principals, focusing on how they assess the effectiveness of these programs during their inaugural year. The dissertation is divided into three distinct papers. Paper One reviews existing literature on mentoring, teacher mentorship, principal mentorship, and principal turnover. Paper Two presents an empirical study that investigates how first-year principals view the effectiveness of different mentorship program structures. Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 first-year principals; 8 participated in the Illinois Principals Association mentorship program, while 4 had a mentor but experienced a looser form of mentorship. Paper Three provides recommendations based on the findings. Although principals recognized the value of mentorship, two primary themes emerged from the discussions regarding principals' perceptions of their mentorship experiences: the importance of structures/systems and the significance of relationships. The results suggest that all first-year principals should benefit from a robust multi-tier support system provided by experienced principals both within and outside their organizations.

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses and dissertations are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors, unless otherwise indicated.

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