Leadership Tenets of Military Veterans Working as School Administrators

Abstract

This study investigates the leadership tenets informing veterans' work as school leaders. Drawing on 15 interviews and surveys with military veterans working as educational leaders, the study relies on Stake's (2006) case study method to substantiate assertions that veterans: 1) come into education without the support of a transitional program, 2) are committed to taking care of their people, 3) have a strong belief in service, 4) are influenced by leadership that they have witnessed, and 5) are equipped to manage delegating and accountability by virtue of military experiences.

Military Experience and School Leadership Development in North Carolina

“…Principals and assistant principals serve vital roles in K-12 educational settings, including influencing school culture, motivating students and teachers, and affecting student academic achievement (Bolles & Patrizio, 2016;Day et al, 2016;Dutta & Sahney, 2016). As critical as principals and assistant principals are, retaining effective administrators has been a challenge.…”

“…In addition, they had more developed leadership and management skills than teachers who became principals through non-militaryrelated pre-training programs. More recently, Bolles and Patrizio (2016) conducted a multi-case study with 15 military veterans working as educational leaders. Findings indicated that (a) leaders' military and educational experience informed their leadership style, (b) focusing on people was essential, as was (c) having a belief in service, and (d) possessing leadership and accountability (Bolles & Patrizio, 2016).…”