Abstract
Purpose: To explore what books school principals are reading and to determine how those books influence principals’ professional practices. A comprehensive literature review was cross-referenced with in-depth interview (IDI) results from 20 currently practicing building principals conducted at both the elementary and secondary levels. Methods: This qualitative study might be best described as a census in which 20 of the 24 principals employed in a hybrid rural/ suburban school district during the 2022–23 school year participated in the IDI process utilizing a pre-interview checklist and a semi-structured interview protocol. The data were analyzed according to Saldaña’s (2021) Codes to Theory model. Findings: In the first section, I explore the book recommendations of school principals, which included 122 unique book titles and 204 total recommendations. In the second section, I examine how books influence school principals’ professional practices through the lens of professional learning, including self-study, principal professional development (PPD), book studies, and shared books. Discussion: The following three conclusions emerged from this research: (a) books inform professional practices; (b) what gets read gets implemented; and (c) professional learning permeates many other influences on professional practices. This study holds significant implications for all PPD supervisors and all those who facilitate professional learning for principals at both the elementary and secondary levels, particularly when considering the ongoing need to differentiate reading resources for principals at various stages of their careers. In addition to implications, the conclusion includes sections on areas for further research and limitations of this research study.
Degree
EdD
College and Department
David O. McKay School of Education; Educational Leadership and Foundations
Rights
https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/
BYU ScholarsArchive Citation
Hamm, Jeffrey D., "Instructional Readership: A Narrative Case Study Examining How Books Influence the Professional Practices of School Principals in one Rural/Suburban School District" (2024). Theses and Dissertations. 10717.
https://scholarsarchive.byu.edu/etd/10717
Date Submitted
2024-04-09
Document Type
Dissertation
Handle
http://hdl.lib.byu.edu/1877/etd13553
Keywords
instructional leadership, mentoring, networking, principal preparation programs, principal professional development, student learning, supervision
Language
english