Connecting Personal Change and Organizational Passage in the Transition from Teacher to Vice Principal

Abstract

This article reports on the changes that 15 vice principals experienced in their transition from teaching to administration. In-depth interviews were used to explore the personal change process that occurred, and data were analyzed for recurring themes to create a composite picture of this transition process. The findings illustrate that the novice vice principals experienced an intense socioemotional transition as they crossed organizational and professional boundaries. Former teacher roles and identities were diminished, and administrative identities and perspectives were normalized. The participants identified mediating factors related to change and transition phenomena, vertical and horizontal organizational socialization impacts, and inadequate role training and support. A visual metaphor of transitional epicycles, or cycles within cycles, was used to map the novices’ experience of this transformational trajectory and their changes in perspective.

Conflicting Conceptions of the Purposes of Schooling in a Democracy

“…Having experienced personal academic success they have spent years leading schools that continue to reinforce their unexamined beliefs about democracy and the purposes of schooling. In addition to personal experiences, research (Armstrong, 2012;Matthews & Crow, 2003) indicates that the socialization processes and practices that administrators experience influence their adaptation to, and compliance with, state and district defined administrative roles. Conversely, administrators in low performing schools were struggling to challenge and change entrenched hegemonic structures.…”

Listening to Voices at the Educational Frontline: New Administrators’ Experiences of the Transition from Teacher to Vice-principal

“…Many variables influence administrators' transitional trajectories, among which are individual personalities, the nature and location of their role, and the social, political, and cultural contexts and climates within which their transitions occur (Armstrong, 2009(Armstrong, , 2012. When administrative trajectories take place in environments of deep structural change, they create additional layers of Brock Education Journal, 24 (2), Spring 2015 challenge and uncertainty.…”

“…The literature identifies a number of external change factors such as deep policy and procedural shifts, redefinition of administrative roles and responsibilities, increased accountabilities, and diminished supports which challenge both new and experienced frontline administrators (Armstrong, 2014;Nanavati & McCulloch, 2003;Read, 2012). The vice-principalship has also undergone drastic alterations due to the legal redefinition of vice-principals as managers, downsizing and downloading, and centralizing mechanisms that remove or limit local decisionmaking powers (Armstrong, 2012;Nunavati & McCulloch, 2003Williams, 2001). Furthermore, the removal of school administrators' from teachers' unions has created rigid boundaries between teachers and administrators, generating a climate of uncertainty and animosity.…”

“…For many teachers, the appointment to an administrative post is regarded as an important career achievement because of its association with upward professional mobility and increased organizational influence (Armstrong, 2009). However, although it is a common perception that the transition from teaching to administration is seamless, it is not uncommon for new administrators to experience multiple and ongoing challenges as they adapt to and make sense of their new administrative roles and contexts (Armstrong, 2012;Dotlich, Noel, & Walker, 2004;Marshall & Hooley, 2006). Reports from new and practising administrators have consistently shown that new vice-principals are more and more likely to enter hectic and fragmented working environments where challenge and change are the norm (Armstrong, 2014;Hartzell, Williams, & Nelson, 1994;Marshall & Hooley, 2006).…”

“…They are also challenged by the vagaries and conflicts of their ill-defined middle management role (Armstrong, 2010(Armstrong, , 2014, the complexities of administrative decision making (Olson, 2000;Sigford, 1998), and the political demands of their school, district, and community (Armstrong, 2014;Marshall & Hooley, 2006;Matthews & Crow, 2003). Novice administrators are also shocked to discover the number and variety of responsibilities and demands embedded in their new frontline position and the dramatic psychological effects that it has on their personal lives (Armstrong, 2012(Armstrong, , 2014Marshall & Hooley, 2006).…”