| The process of planning for school principals has become more difficult in recent years because of a shift from simple administrative duties to management duties. Evidence suggests that many school principals lack the resources, training, and guidance to meet and sustain federal planning standards. This problem is important to district administrators and all campus stakeholders because planning directly impacts school improvement. Guided by constructivism and other theories of learned stimulus response, this study created a planning model with a handbook to improve principals’ adherence to national leadership standards concerning the planning process for shared vision. The guiding research question sought principals’ perceptions on their awareness of national planning standards, the training needed to implement the standards, and the resources to document them. A collective case study design was employed to examine the planning process of 6 school principals at different sites. Extensive interviews, a card-sort questionnaire, planning documentation, and observations were all analyzed for common themes. The findings showed that the principals understood the planning process but did not consistently use a specific planning model, especially with respect to sharing vision in planning. The results have implications for positive social change. It is anticipated that this standards-based planning model may create more streamlined, effective processes for school principals. It may also provide a path for grassroots level school improvement in a manner that fosters synergy and shared ownership by diverse stakeholders. Changes that better address local concerns and directly improve the learning environment may positively impact the whole learning community—administrators, teachers, parents, and students—as well as academic and professional performance outcomes. |
