The School Principalship course, candidates were required to participate in leading and facilitating a School/Family/Community (SFC) Partnership evaluation. This key assignment allowed candidates to actively work with their mentor, colleagues, parents, community and business owners in support of student learning. Candidates created a communication plan to address stakeholders needs, analyzed the SFC evaluation and facilitated stakeholders in reviewing and identifying an area of student need. Stakeholders worked collaboratively to develop a school/ family/ community partnership to meet the identified need. As part of their SFC evaluation report, candidates provided a reflection on the impact of their experiences in facilitating the SFC evaluation project.

Research Question

This qualitative study focused on the following research question: What is the impact of principal candidates’ facilitation of a school family community partnership evaluation process on their perceptions of their leadership skills development?

Methodology

The methodology for this study utilized constant comparative analysis focusing on candidates’ reflections on the impact the S/F/C Partnership activities had on their leadership skills development. Textual data revealing candidates’ reflective responses aligned to identified leadership skills represented in six distinct themes. Descriptive statistics were applied to describe participant demographics as well as the frequency of themes identified from candidates’ reflections.

Themes related to candidates’ perceptions of their leadership skills development included

•       Leadership

•       Build Relationships with Internal and External Stakeholders

•       Communication

•       Collaboration

•       Knowledge, Skills, Mindset

•       Data-driven Decision Making

Candidates’ reflections and comments provided information regarding the impact their participation in the S/F/C Partnership activities had on their growth as aspiring leaders. Sample candidate comments are provided below:

"I gained confidence in this course. I’ve learned how to be a collaborative leader and I am very thankful to have been given this opportunity to grow."

"I will make sure that when I am in my leadership role that I remember to consider the thoughts and ideas of everyone involved from the families, teachers, and the community.  After taking this course it has opened my eyes to communication and the importance of it."

"My recommendation to other schools who want to include families and communities to improve communication and student learning is that it is important to listen to what stakeholders have to say. Their input is valuable, and it is important to have their buy-in in the process."

"I learned a lot from the SFC Committee process and will continue to learn. My leadership qualities have evolved, and my communication skills have gotten stronger."

Conclusions

The following conclusions represent candidates’ experience leading the SFC partnership:

•       Candidates indicated facilitating the School/Family/Community partnership impacted their development of leadership skills.

•       Candidates discovered fostering and implementing a collaborative process in communication among stakeholders was important in enabling the success of the partnership.

•       Candidates’ responses revealed communication with stakeholders was an important aspect of facilitating the SFC partnership project.

•       Candidates indicated that stakeholder involvement in the campus culture and planning process were important.

•       Candidates’ reflective comments indicated taking a leadership role in facilitating the SFC partnership project increased their confidence as aspiring leaders.

Presented by Dr. Thomas Harvey, Dr. Donna Azodi, and Dr. Cynthia Cummings at the National Social Science and Technology Virtual Conference on April 5-7, 2020.