Mrs. Dr. O'Dell: An Ethnographic Case Study of an Elementary School Principal - Handley, Elizabeth Blain (My University, 2007)
School leaders today are faced with many challenges as a result of the changing role of leadership in our country. This ethnographic case study provides an in depth view of Dr. Ruth O Dell, one elementary school principal in south Georgia. I examined her leadership qualities and investigated her leadership style and its impact on school effectiveness. To conduct my study and collect data, I used the process of ethnography, an interpretive, qualitative form of research. I spent 3 years gathering information using interviews, focus groups, and a survey. In addition, I shadowed Dr. O Dell during an entire school day, a shared decision team meeting at her school, and at a Georgia Association of Elementary School Principals meeting. I visited the school in which she was a principal on nine separate occasions. I observed Dr. O Dell at a teacher convocation meeting where she was a keynote speaker. I audiotaped interviews, focus groups, and shadowing experiences. I transcribed each tape and used member checking techniques to check for accuracy and validity. Additionally, I used field notes and journals to record my personal observations and questions throughout the study. Six main topics were prevalent during interviews and focus groups when discussing Dr. O Dells leadership skills. These included (a) work environment, (b) shared decision making, (c) she listens, (d) its hard to say, No,(e) support for the teachers, and (f) communication. While analyzing data to determine the emergent commonalities, 9 themes emerged: (a) caring leadership, (b) building community, (c) relationships, (d) professional development, (e) school culture, (f) effective leadership, (g) programs, (h) parental involvement, and (i) energy.
CHAPTER PAGE List of tables ............................................................................................... vii List of figures ........................................................................................... viii Acknowledgements .................................................................................... ix Dedication ....................................................................................................x Prologue ..................................................................................................... xi I INTRODUCTION .......................................................................................1 Overview of the study ..................................................................................1 Purpose of the study .....................................................................................2 Relevance of the study .................................................................................5 Research considerations ...............................................................................6 II CONTEXTS OF STUDY ............................................................................8 Personal context ...........................................................................................8 Legal context ................................................................................................9 Ethical context ...........................................................................................10 Literary context ..........................................................................................11 Shortage of principals ......................................................................11 At risk student population................................................................14 Failing schools .................................................................................19 III METHODOLOGY ....................................................................................25 Research design .........................................................................................25 Setting ........................................................................................................27 Participants .................................................................................................35 Research questions .....................................................................................37 Subjectivity ................................................................................................39 Data collection ...........................................................................................40 Data analysis ..............................................................................................42 IV A DAY IN THE LIFE OF DR. O DELL ..................................................47 At school ....................................................................................................47 In the community .......................................................................................68 V DR. O DELL AS SEEN BY OTHERS .....................................................71 Work environment .....................................................................................71 Shared decision making .............................................................................74 She listens ...............................................................................................77 Its hard to say, No .................................................................................78 Support for the teachers .............................................................................79 Communication ..........................................................................................82 Results of survey ........................................................................................83 In the future ................................................................................................84 VI DR. O DELL INTERPRETED IN THE CONTEXT OF THE LITERATURE ON LEADERSHIP....................................................................................85 Caring leadership .......................................................................................85 Building community ..................................................................................88 Relationships ..............................................................................................88 Empowerment ............................................................................................92 Professional development ..........................................................................94 School culture ............................................................................................94 Effective leadership..................................................................................102 Programs ..................................................................................................107 Parent involvement ..................................................................................109 Energy ......................................................................................................111 Relationship between effective leadership and school improvement ......112 Conclusions..............................................................................................113 VII IMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICE AND FURTHER RESEARCH .....115 Reflections on leadership .........................................................................116 Recommendations for administrators ......................................................120 Need for further research .........................................................................122 EPILOGUE ..............................................................................................123 REFERENCES ........................................................................................125 APPENDICES .........................................................................................139
Keywords: Elementary School; Dr. O'Dell