A Portrait of School Leadership at Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School

Authors

Travis T. Brady, University of Nebraska-LincolnFollow

Date of this Version

Spring 4-22-2014

Document Type

Article

Citation

Brady, T. (2014). A Portrait of School Leadership at Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School. DPhil dissertation, University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Comments

A DISSERTATION Presented to the Faculty of The Graduate College at the University of Nebraska In Partial Fulfillment of Requirements For the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy, Major: Educational Studies, Under the Supervision of Professor Marilyn Grady. Lincoln, Nebraska: May, 2014

Copyright (c) 2014 Travis Todd Brady

Abstract

As an important symbolic figure and embodiment of the traditions and character of the school, the position of principal in Japan is crucial. Yet societal pressures and an undefined job description are serving to increase pressures of the position. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine school administrative leadership at a private high school, Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School. The central research question was: What is the leadership role of the secondary administrator at Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School?

The sub-questions were: (a) What were the post-war changes implemented in Japanese secondary public and private education? (b) What is the structure of Japanese secondary public and private education? (c) What are the problems facing Japanese education? and (d) How do Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School and its administrators represent the Japanese secondary private education system?

Interviews were conducted with five individuals at Senshu University Matsudo Junior and Senior High School during June and July, 2012. The head principal and four vice principals were interviewed. Four themes emerged from the analysis of the transcripts. The themes were: Societal Demands on Education; A Slow to Respond System; The Do-All Principal; and A Promotion That’s a Demotion.

A society in transition, combined with an education system slow to respond to the pressures these transitions have created, has led to increasing pressure on both the education system and the administration within the system. This study focused on a private secondary school, but called for future research into the role of public school administrators and women in secondary administration.

Adviser: Marilyn Grady