“Professionalism was associated with teacher supervision, curricular involvement, and taking initiative – not writing reports, hiring janitors, or ordering toilet paper” (Cuban, 1998, p. 61). It is interesting to identify a principal as a person who was hiring janitors and/or ordering toilet paper in the early decades of this century. This situation indicates that the role of principal was not really significant. Besides, many articles have reported that in the 1800s school did not even have a principal. Then, how did the school manage the complicated tasks such as students’ achievement, social control, curriculum, etc.? This paper will answer this question. I will discuss the changing role of the principal in the United States in four main eras: Janitor/Principal Teacher Era (1770-1929), Great Depression Era (1930-1953), Sputnik Era (1954-1980), and Nation at Risk Era (1980-1990). I will also discuss how and why the principal’s roles had evolved.
1. Janitor Era/Principal Teacher Era
It is actually surprising to hear that the principal role was associated with janitorial tasks. However, this actually happened in 1800s. Since, there were no official principals at that time, a head teacher or ‘principal teacher’ performed the necessary administrative, clerical, and instructional tasks (R.H. Goodwin et al., 2005). “Moreover, in addition to teaching and administering the school, the principal often served as town clerk, church chorister, official visitor of the sick, bell ringer for the church, gravedigger and court messenger” [Drue, J.G in R.H. Goodwin et al., 2005). I cannot imagine how busy the principals were at that time. They had to devote their time to the school, society, and family. In this period, the word “principal” was not clearly stated. Instead, they had some terminologies to address this position. Brubaker and Simon (1985) in Noe (1998) reported that in addition to the term head teacher they were also called: headmaster, preceptor, provost, or principal person. What were the functions of the so-called principal teacher at that time?
The era of principal teacher was in 1770 -1929. As I mentioned before, the role of the principal was not really significant in this era; however, they had a lot of duties, either at school or outside school. Brubaker and Simon in Noe (1998) stated that the main function of this person was still teaching, and doing administrative work. In urban schools, however, the role of the principal teacher was larger especially in its many responsibilities. H.R Goodwin et al. (2005) reported that he principals’ duties were based on the Common the Cincinnati Board of Education in 1839: The principal teacher was (1) to function as the head of the school charged to his care, (2) to regulate the classes and course of instruction of all the pupils, whether they occupied this room or the room of other teachers, (3) to discover any defects known to the visitor or trustee of ward, or district, if he were unable to remedy conditions, (5) to give necessary instruction to his assistants, (6) to classify pupils, (7) to safeguard school houses and furniture, (8) to keep the school clean, (9) to instruct assistants, (10) to refrain from impairing the standing of assistants, especially in the eyes of their pupils, and (11) to require the co-operation of his assistants. (Page 2) The duties classified by the Board of Education in Cincinnati covered all details of the teacher principal’s responsibilities, even for the small things such as keeping the school clean. In line with this, as I quoted for the opening of this article, before the effort to change the principal’s duties into professional ones, the person who was in charged of ordering toilet paper was the teacher principal (Cuban, 1998, p. 61). The role of the teacher principal did not have recognition from the society. Nonetheless, “as the schools grew larger and were organized by grades, the principal’s duties expanded to include finance, personnel, and facility management” (Pierce in R.H Goodwin et al, 2005).
The context of this era was rural and there was American Revolution. The main aim of this era was to create the generation of citizens who could understand, participate in and sustain a democracy (Mavrogordato (A), 2012). In this period, the principals had an autocratic function in leading their schools. Then, in 1929 public school leadership moved from the part-time educational evangelists to the professional manager. The principals were obliged to make school management more scientific and business like and more progressive (Beck and Murphy in R.H Goodwin et al, 2005).
2. Great Depression Era
The Great Depression led to the change of the school principal. In the Great Depression Era, because of the fall of the American economy, there were more students and fewer opportunities to improve instruction. Powell et al. wrote that in the Great Depression era, the public sector’s budgets were reduced, and schools were being squeezed. As a result, teachers’ salaries were cut or eliminated, or the worse, they were fired (Powell et al., 1985). In the Great Depression era, the role of the principal became more complicated. Principals should not only focus on administration and academics, but should also be able to act patriotic. The patriotic roles of the principal defined by Beck and Murphy included being a leader on the home front and being a democratic leader (Beck and Murphy in R.H Goodwin et al, 2005). The functions of the principal in this era as, defined by Newsome and Mickelson were to: (1) administer one’s school democratically, (2) carry out the policies and programs established by the administration, (3) provide leadership in setting up an educational philosophy, (4) provide stimulation and leadership in the development of an up-to-date curriculum, (5) provide an effective program of public relations, and (6) professionalize teaching in school. In line with this, Cuban stated that there are three different core roles of principaling: instructional, managerial and political (Cuban, 1998).
The Great Depression era (1930-1953) was the starting point of the principal becoming more democratic. Yet in this era the principals needed to defend the educational practices of the age, during which the principal roles were actually declining. The economic condition at this time forced principals also to take care of the kids’ lunches, medical examinations, and clothing.
3. Sputnik Era
The launch of Sputnik (Russian space satellite) caused significant change in the roles of principals. Sputnik indicated that the American educational system needed to be improved. All citizens in America needed to work hard; students, teachers, and principals should improve their roles in order not to be left behind with other countries. In describing how hard the roles of the principals were in this era, Beck and Murphy used metaphorical language to suggest that school leaders took a ‘head in the sand’ attitude, ignoring the more complex, problematic issues (Beck and Murphy in R.H Goodwin et al., 2005). In the era of Sputnik the awareness of the importance of the education system was increased in society. Segregation was eliminated; funds for mathematics, science, and foreign language were increased; and the roles of principals were getting more challenging.
The function of principals during the Sputnik era as described by Beck and Murphy were as community leader, definer and conveyer of meaning, facilitator of positive relationships, and juggler of multiple meaning-terms which were interesting in a complex time of change (Beck and Murphy in R.H Goodwin et al., 2005). R.H Goodwin et al., then reported that in the 1970s two federal actions required the principal to perform new duties. The school leaders had to assure that the school setting was free from gender distinction and segregation. More specifically, R.H Goodwin et al. defined the function of the principals as follows: Principals were mandated to assure that due process was accorded to handicapped students, to facilitate the placement of handicapped students in the general program and to participate in the development and implementation of individual education plans (p. 6). The era of Sputnik (started in 1954) ended in 1980. This period was changed through three waves of school reform (A National at Risk, A Nation Prepared and Time for Results). The calls for reforms that were driven by fiscal crises gave rise to strong influences from business and industry and to the expectation that the schools’ function was to promote the economy (Beck and Murphy in R.H Goodwin et al., 2005). R.H Goodwin et. al., continued that the consensus of the literature mandated that the principal was the agent of school reform, and was commonly called “instructional leader”.
4. Nation at Risk Era/ Professional Era
One of the waves of the education reform in 1980s was precipitated by the publication of A Nation at Risk (R.H Goodwin et al., 2005). The Nation Commission on Excellence in Education (1983) wrote, “Our nation is at risk. Our once unchallenged preeminence in commerce, industry, science, and technological innovation is being overtaken by competitors throughout the world” (page 112). Before the Nation at Risk was published, America faced some crucial problems, such as losing sight of the basic purposes of schooling, the importance of discipline and high expectation. Therefore, to keep up with other nations, some actions needed to be undertaken. One of the efforts to fix educational problems is by reforming the role of the principal. Boyer emphasized the involvement not only teachers, but also parents, students, and community members in site-based management. This obviously has led to higher expectations toward principals. The principals in this phase were expected to be able to become facilitators who helped others identify and give solutions collaboratively (Boyer in R.H Goodwin et al., 2005).
This era (1980-1990s) was the beginning of the complexity of the principal role; principals experienced increased pressure to focus on results. The principals faced increased expectations for school improvement, demanding social pressures, and conflict between the roles of instructional leader, organizational leader, community leader, and strategic leader (Goodwin et.al in R.H Goodwin et., 2005). In this period, the roles of the principal found their golden era. The same right between male and female principals was established, the applicant of the principal should meet some requirements, and the principals’ tasks became more professional.
All in all, as the conditions in the United States have been changed from the eighteenth century to the twentieth century, the roles of the principals needed to evolve in order to maintain the quality of schools as well as the quality of education. In every period, the roles of the principals seem to be changed in order to be harder and more complicated. However, in every period every principal found that in their era there had always been some challenging roles that they should overcome.
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Cuban, L. (1988) Principaling: Images and roles. The managerial imperative and the practice of leadership in schools. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
Goodwin, Rebecca H., Michael L. Cunningham, and Teresa Eagle. (2005) The changing role of the secondary principal in the united states: An historical perspective. Journal of Educational Administration and History 37(1) (2005): 1-17. ERIC. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Mavrogordato, Madeline. (B). (2012) The evolving practice of school leaders. A class presentation. Michigan: Michigan State University. National Commission on Excellence Education. (1983).
A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform. The Elementary School Journal, 84(2), 112-130
Noe, Loretta Jane. (1998). The developing and changing role of the principal. Tennessee State University. United States -- Tennessee: ProQuest Dissertations & Theses (PQDT); ProQuest Dissertations & Theses A&I. Web. 4 Oct. 2012.
Powell, A.G., Farrar, E., & Cohen, D.K. (1985) Origins. The shopping mall high school: Winners and losers in the educational marketplace (pp.233-308). Boston, MA:Houghton Mifflin Company. .. . . . .
