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Promoting a lifelong reading habit: A phenomenological study of the leadership role of the high school principal
Abstract
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to develop an understanding of the role of a principal in fostering a lifelong reading habit in high school students. The beliefs, attitudes and personal reading habits of the principals were studied in order to understand how the principal models and promotes the practice of reading for pleasure and as a lifelong skill. The focus of the study included an overview of the research on reading, the importance of acquiring and using reading skills and the dangers of aliteracy. The study employed two purposeful samples. In the first sample, sixteen principals of high schools that have received more than one designation as a Blue Ribbon School by the U.S. Department of Education between 1982 and 1992 were the subjects of the research. The second purposeful sample was made up of four principals of schools who have reputations of having high academic standards. All principals in these two samples were asked to complete data forms and to participate in telephone interviews. The interviewer asked the principals to share their experiences as readers, to describe their personal reading habits, to describe how they model reading for their students and to describe how they promote reading in the high school. Data were collected primarily from January through March, 1994. Data collection strategies included telephone interviews and on-site visits. The interviews were tape-recorded. These recordings were transcribed and the responses were coded and studied in order to find common themes and patterns. These themes and patterns were used to provide a portrait of high school principals who recognize the importance of reading, the importance of lifelong reading skills and the importance of their role in promoting lifelong reading skills in their students. A summary, conclusions and a plan for future research were included in the final chapter.
Subject Area
School administration|Literacy|Reading instruction
Recommended Citation
Reinert, James Marvin, "Promoting a lifelong reading habit: A phenomenological study of the leadership role of the high school principal" (1994). ETD collection for University of Nebraska-Lincoln. AAI9510977.
https://digitalcommons.unl.edu/dissertations/AAI9510977