A Systematic Review of Principal Time Use Research: Examining Methodology, Constructs, and External Validity

• In Event: 16.062 - Poster Session 2
  In Poster Session: 16.062-1 - School Leadership and Principals' Management Practices

Abstract

Since the professionalization of the principalship at the turn of the twentieth century, researchers, policy makers and educators have been interested in how principals spend their time. Historically, research seems to suggest that modern day principals spend their time similarly to their predecessors. In 1921, McClure found that elementary principals spend 43% of their day on administrative activities. Almost 100 years later, Grissom, Loeb, & Mitani (2010) observed similar results. From a distance, these data may indicate consistency across time, however closer inspection of principal time use studies reveal grave methodological flaws that question the validity of the findings and researchers’ ability to compare data across studies.

Authors

• Abby S. Mahone, Lehigh University

• Craig Dennis Hochbein, Lehigh University

• Sara Catherine Vanderbeck, Centennial School of Lehigh University