Understanding the Role and Capacity Building of Midlevel District Leaders

Spencer-Poitras, Nancy

Understanding the Role and Capacity Building of Midlevel District Leaders

dc.contributor.advisor	Friesen, Sharon
dc.contributor.author	Spencer-Poitras, Nancy
dc.contributor.committeemember	Spencer, Brenda L.
dc.contributor.committeemember	Brandon, Jim
dc.contributor.committeemember	Friesen, Sharon
dc.contributor.committeemember	Jacobsen, Michele
dc.contributor.committeemember	Wimmer, Randolf
dc.date	2020-06
dc.date.accessioned	2020-01-02T19:20:25Z
dc.date.available	2020-01-02T19:20:25Z
dc.date.issued	2019-12
dc.description.abstract	The purpose of this exploratory case study was to investigate the understanding of the role of the midlevel leader in two rural school districts, and how these leaders build their own professional capacity. As school districts are being recognized as a necessity for improved student achievement, the role of the midlevel leader has become pivotal, linking district policy directives to everyday leadership practices. However, there is limited knowledge about the role of midlevel district leaders, and how they build their capacity. Two rural school districts with a total of ten participants, including two superintendents, two midlevel leaders, and six school principals, participated in this study. The superintendents and midlevel leaders were interviewed individually, and the principals were divided into two focus groups of three principals each (representing the elementary, middle, and high school divisions). The first of two research questions asked, How is the role of the midlevel leader understood in the school district? Based on the analysis of the data, three findings emerged: 1) the role of the midlevel leader is understood differently by different members of the school division personnel and this leads to confusion when those leaders are implementing, monitoring, and evaluating district priorities, initiatives, and policies; 2) understanding of school context is seen as crucial for the midlevel leader to support principals to become effective in leading learning. Building a strong relationship between the midlevel leader and the principal is important for school and system success; and 3) although the role of the midlevel leader is important in the organizational structure of the district, the role is understood very differently at the various levels of the organization. The second question asked, How does the midlevel leader build their professional capacity? Analysis of the data identified one finding: although the role of the midlevel leader is seen as important to the organizational structure, there is no focus on developing their capacity at the district level. A conclusion was that more concentrated effort needs to be given to the development of the midlevel leader’s professional capacity.	en_US
dc.identifier.citation	Spencer-Poitras, N. (2019). Understanding the Role and Capacity Building of Midlevel District Leaders (Doctoral thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.	en_US
dc.identifier.doi	http://dx.doi.org/10.11575/PRISM/37383
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/1880/111406
dc.language.iso	eng	en_US
dc.publisher.faculty	Werklund School of Education	en_US
dc.publisher.institution	University of Calgary	en
dc.rights	University of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.	en_US
dc.subject	District Midlevel Leaders	en_US
dc.subject	District Leadership	en_US
dc.subject	Role and Capacity Building Midlevel District Leaders	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education	en_US
dc.subject.classification	Education--Administration	en_US
dc.title	Understanding the Role and Capacity Building of Midlevel District Leaders	en_US
dc.type	doctoral thesis	en_US
thesis.degree.discipline	Education Graduate Program – Educational Research	en_US
thesis.degree.grantor	University of Calgary	en_US
thesis.degree.name	Doctor of Education (EdD)	en_US
ucalgary.item.requestcopy	true	en_US