Navigating Community Relations in Macropolitical Turbulence
Open Access DepositedA Basic Qualitative Study of School Principals’ Experiences
The role of the principal has become increasingly complex over time, moving beyond traditional responsibilities such as operations, instructional leadership, and personnel to also include public relations and community building. Political pressure further complicates principals’ responsibilities in public and community relations, particularly as parents, guardians, and community members make concerted efforts to limit or challenge a school’s decision making and processes. Although there has been research about school principals’ perception of micropolitics in the workplace, about specific macropolitical issues affecting school communities, and about turbulence theory, the available research on how school principals navigate community relations during times of macropolitical turbulence has been limited. In this study, I interviewed school principals and asked them to reflect on macropolitical flashpoints in their school community during their tenure. I used Gross’s (2020) turbulence theory, Pepper et al.’s (2010) framework for crisis leadership, Weick’s (1988) sensemaking theory, and Honig and Hatch’s (2004) conceptualization of bridging and buffering as groundwork for my study and interview protocol. In these interviews, I asked principals to reflect on what macropolitical issues generated turbulence during their careers, how they responded to that turbulence, and how they saw the turbulence impacting their leadership and vice-versa.
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