Exploring the leadership journey as a novice principal: a multiple case study of six primary school principals in the Harry Gwala District.

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to explore the leadership journey of six novice principals within the Harry Gwala District. The study aimed to address, what do novice primary school principals perceive and experience their leadership and management roles to be? Two sub-research questions were utilised to unpack the main research question, what do novice school principals perceive to be their leadership role and how do primary school novice principals experience their leadership roles? The study was guided by Karl Weick’s Sensemaking Theory and Ronald Heifetz’s Adaptive Leadership Theory. The study was located within the interpretive paradigm. In addition, the multiple case study research method was used as it allowed for the selection of more than one case that shared a common characteristic. I generated data by using semi-structured interviews which were then analysed using the thematic analysis method. The findings revealed that novice principals were still in their learning phases, and they had different perspectives of their roles. In addition, findings also found that novice principals experience challenges which restricted their leadership role. They also required training and support in their new journey, however they found some survival strategies that assisted them.