Observational Research on the Work of School Principals

Abstract

This chapter, like the others in this book, is designed as a resource for instructors and students studying education research methods. It provides an example of how one research team worked through social, political, economic, and research issues to problematize and eventually utilize observations as a data collection method to study principals' work. The contribution of this chapter lies in the area of research method, specifically the use of and the structuring of observation, rather than in the area of research paradigms. Nevertheless, given the charter of the book, the opportunity is taken to reflect on the research paradigm that applies and its implications. The chapter is about the study of principals' work and compares two different observation approaches.