Administrator or Leader: Three Women's Collaborative Self-Study Navigating Their Roles as Administrators in Public Education

• In Event: Challenging the Status Quo Through Leadership, Policy Reform, and Teacher Education

Abstract

In this self-study, three female administrators in varied roles in public education explored how they navigated their lives as novice administrators. They grappled with the difference between administering and leading. They approached their work through a social constructivist theoretical lens and self-study methodology. They created journals and held monthly meetings to make meaning of their experiences. Through the process they noticed a progression of findings emerging as 1) feeling discomfort between their daily tasks and their perception of leadership, 2) identifying types of tasks conceptualized as “technical” in nature (Heifetz & Linsky, 2002), 3) understanding struggles of enacting leadership while completing technical tasks, and 4) learning to value self-care and self-study to maintain focus on leadership in administration.

Authors

• Alicia R. Crowe, Kent State University - Kent

• Christina Collins, Buckeye Local Schools

• Brenda Lee Harper