Sink or swim: The quest to prepare principals for Title I program implementation

The purpose of this qualitative study was to broaden understanding of Title I principals’ training and support needs from the college and local levels. Whereas there is research exploring the instructional leadership of a principal serving a campus with a high percentage of economically disadvantaged students, currently there is no research exploring this from a compliance perspective. This study explored this gap further to identify the extent of the problem to inform policymakers who are responsible for developing the principal standards and designing educator preparation programs and build capacity of Title I principals. The Normalization Process Theory (NPT) was used to guide the study to understand and identify the breakdown that occurs in Title I policy implementation. Data collection for this phenomenological study involved electronic surveys disseminated to all Title I principals and assistant principals working within a West Texas education service center’s (ESC) geographic region, followed by interviews of various stakeholders involved in the preparation of the Title I principals. The study found that whereas some Title I principals feel supported through their LEA and ESC, there is a large number who did not receive sufficient Title I training in their Educator Preparation Program, whose LEA did not provide induction or ongoing Title I support, and who are unaware of the Title I services and support available through their education service center. It is crucial that all Title I principals and assistant principals receive sufficient initial training and on-going and continuous support in Title I program implementation by agents who are highly knowledgeable about the program. The findings, implications, and recommendations provided in this study provide a basis for understanding the training and support needs for Title I principals and assistant principals in order to equip principals with the capacity to strengthen compensatory programs and ultimately improve academic and non-academic outcomes for students.