Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine first-year principals' sense-making about two potentially conflicting demands as they take over low-performing urban schools: the demand to exert control over their teachers' practice, and the need to build their teachers' trust, collegiality, and commitment. Design/methodology/approach: This study…

This qualitative study examined the instructional leadership perceptions of four first-year principals. Findings illuminate five themes drawn from the data: definitions of instructional leadership, challenges that first-year principals faced, how these principals addressed these challenges, how the novice principals plan to enact their…

The transition from the comfort of a familiar role, that of teacher, to the discomfort of a new role, that of school administrator, is a transformative process. Transforming oneself requires leaving what is known and venturing into the unknown. Researchers have illuminated women's struggle to attain school leadership positions, but the…