A Phenomenology of the Development of School Improvement Plans: Experiences of Administrators
Abstract
The purpose of this qualitative study was to describe the lived experience of administrators in developing school improvement plans. The outcome being sought was an informed framework to build the capacity of administrators to strategically plan for school improvement. The central research question for this study was the following: How do secondary school administrators at Magnet ISD develop school improvement plans? The subset questions for this study were the following: a) How do the participants describe their experiences in developing school improvement plans and any associated challenges? a) How do administrators describe the contexts or situations that influenced or affected their experiences in developing the school improvement plan?
This qualitative study was grounded in social learning and educational change theories. Through a phenomenological process, my intent was to describe through an empirical inquiry the development of school improvement plans through the shared and lived experience among the school administrators, the context of their experiences, and how these experiences affected or influenced the development of school improvement plans. Through purposeful sampling, one administrator per secondary school within the Magnet Independent School District was selected on the basis that the administrator was directly in charge of the development of the school improvement plan. The sources of data were texts, interviews, and a research journal. The results of this study aligned to the literature presented that there exists a lack of a systematic process for positive improvement, school administrators might lack strategic skills necessary to enact timely educational reform, and effectiveness of principals must be developed and improved. These results guided the recommendations and the artifact presented as part of this record of study.
Subject
Improvement plansContinuous Improvement
Educational Reform
School Administrators
Administrator Effectiveness
Educational Change Theories
Social Learning Theories
Phenomenology
Citation
Flores, Criselda Rodriguez (2023). A Phenomenology of the Development of School Improvement Plans: Experiences of Administrators. Doctoral dissertation, Texas A&M University. Available electronically from https : / /hdl .handle .net /1969 .1 /199926.