Field experience b: principal interview
Talking with current school leaders about what motivated them to pursue leadership roles and their experiences related to how they address legal dilemmas, select appropriate methods of communication and how handling discipline issues can be beneficial for developing one’s own professional practice.
Allocate at least 3 hours in the field to support this field experience.
Interview three administrators (at least one of whom is a principal) about the following:
- What inspired you to become an administrator?
- What steps did you take to become an administrator at this school?
- What training and support did you receive as a new principal?
- What ongoing support do you receive?
- How are you notified about changes in district, state, and federal laws/policies?
- How do you provide moral direction for the school, and promote ethical and professional behavior among faculty and staff?
- What are the most common legal dilemmas you face as an administrator?
- Explain your methods for communicating decisions to internal and external stakeholders. Do your methods change if you know that the decision will not be a popular one?
- Explain an instance where you had to reverse a decision you made due to unintended outcomes or consequences.
- Any other pertinent questions.
Use any remaining field experience hours to observe and/or assist the principal mentor in tasks not related to working with students .
Complete a 250-500 word summary highlighting key aspects of your interviews and describe how you will ethically handle the responsibilities of a school administrator in your future professional practice. Incorporate PSEL Standard 2 and/or Standard 9 into your summary.
While APA style format is not required for the body of this assignment, solid academic writing is expected, and PSEL standards should be referenced using APA documentation guidelines, which can be found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.