[DSRP Evidence](https://dsrpevidence.org/)

# A Qualitative Study of Assistant Principals' Experiences and On-the-Job Socialization: How Relationship Building, Role Clarity, and Communication Influence Their Career Mobility

Calko, Sheila A., 2024, University of Dayton — Education

Patterns: [Distinctions](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/distinctions), [Systems](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/systems), [Relationships](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/relationships), [Perspectives](https://dsrpevidence.org/pattern/perspectives)

## In short

Our reading: DSRP sits in the interview protocol of a doctoral study rather than in its bibliography, which is a real if modest use – someone chose it as the reflective scaffold for how participants were asked to think. The evidence is thin on its own terms: four participants, one state, and the single published sentence about DSRP does not say which Patterns the questions drew on or how the reflection was structured. Worth a row as instrumentation, not as a finding about DSRP.

## What they found (results)

Four assistant principals were interviewed, two in follow-up. Emergent themes were relationship building, role clarity, communication, and career mobility factors. The participating APs recommended intentional support and targeted training, high-quality mentoring, better one-on-one meeting practice, and coaching fidelity through the Ohio Principal Evaluation System. Findings produced an action plan for onboarding, communications, and mentoring.

## What they set out to do (purpose)

A critical participatory action research study of why Ohio assistant principals leave or stay, built to inform principal pipeline programs. DSRP is built into the data-collection instrument: the interview questions "encouraged interviewees to employ a systems thinking approach and DSRP metacognitive process to reflect."

## In more detail

Ed.D. dissertation, University of Dayton, published through ProQuest LLC. ISBN 979-8-3826-0843-3, 141 pages. ERIC accession ED658033. Method: purposive stratified/cell sampling of APs who had made lateral moves between Ohio districts; semi-structured interviews; critical constructivist grounded theory with initial and focused coding, memoing, and participant input.

## Abstract

Many school districts in the United States struggle to retain assistant principals (APs), thus losing the opportunity to prepare and promote quality internal candidates for the principalship. The purpose of the critical participatory action research study was to add to the limited research on AP experiences and how to support their professional development in a way that successfully leads APs to the principalship. The research aimed to add qualitative data from APs employed in public school districts in Ohio to provide much-needed insight into how to better retain school administrators and create an internal candidate pool of highly qualified school principals. The research questions centered around providing insights into AP on-the-job socialization and experiences that impacted their career path decisions and gathered their recommendations for school districts when creating a principal pipeline program or other intentional supportive professional development opportunities for APs. Purposive, stratified/cell sampling was used to collect data from homogeneous participants who share a geographic location (state) and the same biographical background of making lateral career moves as APs of one school district to another, but are considered representative of various demographic groups. The APs shared their experiences through semi-structured interviews and made recommendations for how school districts could better support APs and prepare them for a future principalship. The questions encouraged interviewees to employ a systems thinking approach and DSRP metacognitive process to reflect. A critical constructivist grounded theory methodology analyzed iteratively collected data through initial and focused coding, memoing, and participant input to uncover common themes. Four APs were interviewed; two participated in follow-up interviews offering recommendations. Emergent themes included relationship building, role clarity, communication, and career mobility factors. The two participating APs recommended: 1) intentional support and targeted training, 2) high-quality mentoring programs, 3) best practices for one-on-one meetings, and 4) coaching fidelity using the Ohio Principal Evaluation System (OPES). Findings led to an action plan improving onboarding, communications, and mentoring to enhance relationship building and role clarity, thereby increasing job satisfaction and retention.

These researchers were not testing DSRP. The finding is theirs; the correspondence to DSRP is drawn by this site.

[Source](https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED658033)