Description
Leading a school is a multi-faceted and complex endeavor. The moral obligation and public expectation to provide students with a high quality education creates significant pressure for principals to continuously improve the educational program despite obstacles such as an ever-changing economy and parameters placed on workload due to job descriptions and union contracts. The reality of teaching is that educators cannot be bound by the limitations of these documents. Consequently, it would benefit a principal to nurture a school culture that embraces a mentality of going above and beyond. Formally known as Organizational Citizenship Behavior (OCB), this construct explains discretionary behavior that may or may not be formally recognized by a supervisor and which ultimately leads to the more effective functioning of an organization. This research study examined the role of the principal in motivating or inspiring OCB among teachers. Using a phenomenological approach and its subset, the Critical Incident Technique, the specific actions and behaviors of one principal at a high performing urban school with high levels of OCB were collected using semi-structured interviews. The data revealed eight critical incidents leading to teachers' desire to engage in citizenship behaviors: showing interest and concern for personal life of staff, giving encouragement, consistently being visible and accessible to staff, providing resources, inviting staff to her home, giving recognition and appreciation, having a vision, and thinking like a teacher. Further analysis of these eight critical incidents elucidated that the principal's interpersonal skills were at the core of her ability to inspire OCB.
