Exploring the Principal Perspective: Implications for Expanded School Improvement and School Mental Health

Introduction: Despite principals’ key leadership role within school improvement processes, little is known about their perspectives on what might be needed to strengthen teaching and instruction and promote student learning in the classroom. Researchers, policymakers, and practitioners continue to demonstrate the importance of addressing both non-academic and academic barriers to learning within school improvement processes. It is therefore imperative to understand whether principals’ perspectives on what promotes and/or impedes student learning and staff instruction expands beyond traditional academic learning priorities and includes addressing other non-academic barriers identified as critical for learning and student success (e.g, mental health). Through this case study, we aimed to share specific strategies utilized to engage principals and elicit their perspectives, and to examine whether principal perspectives on teacher/school staff and student needs align with priority areas currently emphasized within expanded school improvement models (e.g., mental health, out-of-school time learning).

Methods: This study took place within the context of a university-school district collaborative partnership. During the Fall 2014, the school district asked the us to conduct a comprehensive districtwide needs assessment that focused on eliciting the perspective of principals within their district. The school district serves 10,200 students and employs 1,300 faculty members across 21 schools. We utilized a sequential mixed-method study design. Specifically, an online survey (10-items) with principals was conducted first. The information gained from the online survey was used to inform questions asked during a more in-depth phone interview. The online survey was designed to assess principals’ perspectives of the greatest unmet needs of students and teachers/school staff within the district. All principals in the district were asked to participate in both the online survey and follow-up phone interview, and all participated in the online survey. Of these participants, thirteen were male and eight were female. Eighteen principals participated in the follow-up phone interview. Quantitative data collected from the principals via the online survey were descriptively analyzed. We deductively analyzed the qualitative data using the three top needs that emerged in the quantitative data as the greatest priority across the district for both students and teachers/school staff. 

Results and Implications: Overall, the top three greatest needs reported by principals about their students were behavioral/mental health (80.9%), social support/mentoring (71.5%), extracurricular opportunities (47.6%), and academics (47.6%). The top three greatest needs reported by principals about their teachers and staff were health/mental health (85.7%), support with parents/ families (71.5%), and training or information about student behavioral/mental health (70.0%). For each of these needs, we highlight common themes that emerged from the qualitative data analysis, and discuss them in terms of expanded school improvement models. Principal voices continue to remain underrepresented in terms of research on expanded school improvement models. Overall, principals in this study identified and described a range of both academic and non-academic needs faced by their students and teachers/school staff. Implications for how these findings align within current expanded school improvement models are discussed.