Abstract

Elementary school principals are often the only administrator in their building; therefore they are left to face the adverse circumstances of their job without the support of an administrative colleague at their school. However, U.S. nationwide data suggests that school districts are more frequently hiring elementary assistant principals. This paper explores perceptions of elementary principals about the nature and dynamic of their relationships with their full-time assistant principals, including accompanying benefits and challenges. This qualitative inquiry utilizes an exploratory, descriptive, phenomenological approach and features the results of in-depth interviews with 20 elementary school principals in two large suburban public school districts in Utah. Key findings include principal perceptions about support the principal–assistant principal relationship can provide, dynamically intertwined working relationships, and the positive and negative aspects of those relationships. One of this study’s key contributions is the expanded understanding that principals’ relationships with full-time assistant principals not only positively contribute to their levels of career resilience but also indirectly impact their levels of internal personal resilience and improve the adverse circumstances of their job. Another contribution is the understanding that principals and assistant principals accomplish their work together through a combination of dynamically intertwined mentoring, sharing, and relying tasks.

Degree

EdD

College and Department

David O. McKay School of Education; Educational Leadership and Foundations

Rights

https://lib.byu.edu/about/copyright/

Date Submitted

2026-04-03

Document Type

Dissertation

Keywords

elementary school, principal, assistant principal, relationships, resilience, work patterns

Language

english

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