Broken Bridges: Examining the Underlying Relationships Between Principal Supervisors and Principals

• In Event: Filling a Critical Leadership Gap: Developing Principal Instructional Leadership Through Principal Supervision

Abstract

Objective
This study uses social network analysis to examine the underlying relationships between principal supervisors and principals. Principal supervision is a central office strategy to not only develop individual capacity but to strengthen organizational capacity and coherence. Yet there are many assumptions that empirical data can help to inform as far as the role that these supervisors play in supporting principals, especially for principals in more challenging contexts and as principals move in and out of their positions over time. This paper explores to what extent principal supervisors play a “bridging” role within the district’s leadership network, which principals (grade level, school type, etc) are more likely to be connected to supervisors, and whether supervisor-principal connections change over time.

Theoretical framework
The study is guided by organizational learning and social capital theories. Organizational learning is the process of detecting and correcting problems to improve organizational effectiveness (Argyris & Schön, 1996). Principal supervisors serve a critical role in this organizational learning process by providing principals with expertise and advice around their practice and by connecting them with new forms of knowledge. A social capital lens helps us to focus directly on the underlying relationships between principals and principal supervisors to consider whether these facilitate leadership development. Social capital is a theory that helps us to understand how individuals are embedded in social relations that provide individuals with resources (Nahapiet & Ghoshal 1998).

Context, Methods, and Data Sources
Our study takes place in a large urban district that serves 130,000 students from linguistically, ethnically, and economically diverse backgrounds. The district is divided into eight clusters, with approximately 20 schools loosely organized by geography and led by an Area Superintendent who serves as the principal supervisor in this district.

We administered an online survey to all principals and central office leaders (n=305) in the district at three time points over three years (82% response rate). Our survey included demographic data, organizational learning and trust scales, as well as social network data. The survey data allowed us to examine both the strength and quality of ties in several areas between principals and principal supervisors as well as consider the overall structure of ties across the entire leadership network and how these changed over time.

Results
Our preliminary results suggest that while most principal supervisors play a bridging role between principals and central office staff, they are less likely to connect principals with instructional leaders compared with other central office staff. Also, most principal supervisors engaged in limited and inconsistent bridging for principals in lower performing schools, and principal supervisor churn disrupted the relationships between leaders inhibiting organizational learning over time.

Significance
Organizational stakeholders enacting change can benefit from a better understanding of network structures and the role of principal supervisors in connecting principals and district leaders, as these may be leveraged to better use and diffuse knowledge and innovation. Better understanding the social ecosystem that surrounds principals and their supervisors holds the potential to improve organizational learning and reduce social capital costs from churn.

Authors

• Kara S. Finnigan, University of Rochester

• Alan J. Daly, University of California - San Diego

• Christina C. Leal, University of Rochester