Date

12-19-2024

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

James Sigler

Keywords

education law, legal literacy, phenomenology, principal, school law

Disciplines

Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this hermeneutic phenomenological study is to understand the school principal’s experiences with education while managing their school sites. The study applies Knowles' theory of adult learning to create relevant and practical learning and to produce continuous professional development programs on education law for school principals. The central research question guiding this study is: How prepared are principals when addressing legal issues while managing their schools? This hermeneutic phenomenology research study utilizes a constructivist approach to build an understanding of school principals' experiences with education law based on the insights of study participants. The participants comprised ten elementary, middle, and high school public school principals in the United States. This study employed individual interviews, focus groups, and document analysis to gather and synthesize data. Data analysis included coding, identifying themes, developing textural and structural descriptions, and attaining the essence of participants' experiences. According to this research, school administrators need continual theoretical and practical training in educational legislation. The necessity for a strong legal education to enhance the leadership capacities of principals and the need for districts to have up-to-date legal policies, processes, and support structures for principals are two significant implications derived from this research. Furthermore, this research identifies a pressing need to improve legal literacy among principals through the implementation of specific and practical training to ensure compliance with education law and to cultivate safer and more supportive school environments.

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