Investigating the Professional Experiences and Development of Early-Career Assistant Principals: A Phenomenology of First-Year Socialization Practices

Abstract

A comprehensive socialization plan for newly hired assistant principals is important not just for the assistant principal but also for the school division. This qualitative phenomenological study aimed to better understand the socialization experiences of first-year public school assistant principals. The research questions guiding this work were from the assistant principal and mentoring principal's perspectives: (1) What is the lived experience of socialization for first-year assistant principals? (2) How do first-year assistant principals describe the practices, relationships, and conditions that shape their socialization into the role? and (3) How do principals perceive and make meaning of assistant principals' socialization into the role? This dual perspective is important because the researcher intends this study to support first-year assistant principals and those who create and engage in their socialization. Demographic questions were asked at the start of the semi-structured person-to-person interviews to understand the perspective and experience of each assistant principal and principal regarding the professional development and socialization needs. The interview protocol and open-ended questions were created to allow each participant to reconstruct their experience. Data were collected and analyzed to identify common themes through similar phrases and experiences. The results of this study are expected to provide insights for policymakers and education leaders when considering how to best support first-year assistant principals.