Living With Paradox: Accountability Enacted in Principals' Day-to-Day Practices

• In Event: Understanding the Principal Workday: Methods and Focus

Abstract

This qualitative study investigates 1) how school leaders make meaning of and enact accountability in their day-to-day work and 2) how school leaders respond when confronting ethical dilemmas under competing accountabilities? Data were generated through ethnography snapshots accompanied with interviews and focus groups over the course of a school year. The analysis showed that the participants perceived accountability as a virtue as well as a control mechanism in leadership practices. They encountered multiple dilemmas, but these dilemmas were resolved only temporarily and paradoxes coming from multiple accountability demands exist over time. The findings of this study expand our theoretical understanding of accountability by providing insight into the ways school leaders understand accountability in everyday practice.

Author

• Taeyeon Kim, University of Nebraska - Lincoln