Keywords

personal construct theory, leadership behavior, educational leadership, principals

Abstract

This exploration of the personal constructs of principals was intended to reveal the transparent templates they create and attempt to fit over the realities of their world. This study sought to go beyond externally imposed descriptions of the leadership behavior of principals by exploring their personal constructs to discover the meaning that principals ascribe to their leadership behavior in anticipation and interpretation of events. Kelly's (1955) personal construct theory provided the conceptual framework for this study. The research questions were addressed through qualitative inquiry. Data were collected in a process that began with full context elicitation, laddering, and triadic analysis, and proceeded to full grid quantitative analysis. Findings from this study may increase the awareness level in the professional community of the meaning that principals ascribe to their leadership behavior. It was recommended that results from this study lead to the development of a process that can be implemented in principal leadership preparation and professional development programs to develop more self-aware, productive, and effective principals (Petri, Lindauer, & Tountasakis, 2000).

Notes

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Graduation Date

2005

Semester

Fall

Advisor

House, Jess

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

College

College of Education

Department

Educational Research, Technology, and Leadership

Degree Program

Educational Leadership

Format

application/pdf

Identifier

CFE0000732

URL

http://purl.fcla.edu/fcla/etd/CFE0000732

Language

English

Release Date

January 2006

Length of Campus-only Access

None

Access Status

Doctoral Dissertation (Open Access)

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