A phenomenological study of leadership: Developing a shared school vision.

Abstract

Identified principal behaviors supported empowering the vision, modeling support for the vision, building vision coherence, and monitoring vision. This study seeks to examine these behaviors from the perceptions of the interviewed principals' lived experiences, and to offer improved understanding about the research question, "What aspects of school leadership contribute to the development of a shared school vision?"

The purpose of this research was to examine how school administrators currently lead the development of a shared school vision. In examining the challenges surrounding the creation of a shared vision, several issues became evident. Firstly, while school leaders understand the need for a school vision, they do not know how to develop and sustain a shared vision. Secondly, school leaders need to focus the development of a shared vision in light of multiple expectations on them and their schools, increasing diversity of their communities, and a variety of voluntary and involuntary initiatives. Thirdly, for a school's vision to be truly shared, school leaders need to know how to involve multiple stakeholder perspectives in its development and share leadership in its successful execution. Finally, school leaders are challenged to intentionally restructure and re-culture their schools to diminish isolation and foster meaningful collaborative venues aimed at school improvement.

Utilizing a phenomenological inquiry, interviews of the lived experiences and perceptions of seven elementary school principals developing a shared vision are described. The findings detail the principals' leadership behaviors, which corroborate support for structures associated with professional learning communities.