Shadowing school principals: what do we learn?

Abstract

While shadowing as a method has been analysed and discussed, these discussions have often been focused on (business) management research as opposed to school leadership research. Additionally, little attention has so far been paid to the parameters of shadowing. Without knowledge of these matters, the validity, merits and difficulties of shadowing and data collected through shadowing are impossible to assess. This contribution aims at tackling these issues. First, it attempts to offer an overview of shadowing. Next, studies on school principals making use of shadowing are analysed, guided by the following research questions: What are the aims of the studies? How is shadowing defined by the author(s)? What are the parameters of the shadowing activities (duration, observers, observed persons)? What are the categories of observation? In conjunction with what other – if any – methods is shadowing used? What – if any – merits or pitfalls of shadowing are discussed? Finally, implications of the current use of shadowing are discussed and suggestions are offered to address desiderata uncovered during the analysis as well as to further develop the method.