| Bureaucratic structures provide the necessary systems to prevent disorder and encourage efficiency for organizations of all sizes. Schools operate like bureaucracies due to their policies, practices, and hierarchical structures. Enabling School Structures (ESS) are the formalized processes and hierarchical structures that enable teachers to do their jobs successfully. A principal's leadership style plays an integral role in the development and sustainability of enabling school structures, as principals are responsible for creating and implementing policies and hierarchies that either hinder or enable. This phenomenological study examined data obtained through the interviews of 10 secondary school principals in school districts of Los Angeles County. Principal participants were identified by the superintendents of their respective school districts as principals who display the following characteristics of enabling school structures: (a) Create and foster trust between the principal and teaching staff; (b) create and foster collegial relationships between the leadership team and the teaching staff; (c) create and foster policies and procedures that encourage differences in opinions, foster two-way communication, and enable teachers' ability to problem solve; and (d) minimize teachers' perception of truth spinning and deception. Data were transcribed and coded for common patterns. Three themes emerged as practices these principals employ to create and sustain enabling school structure: Theme 1: "Trust as the foundational component for creating and sustaining enabling school structures," Theme 2: "Blending leadership styles to support enabling school structures," and Theme 3: "Strategizing as a process to sustain mindfulness." The essence principals experienced is further discussed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research are delineated. |
