Autoethnographic Method: Implementation in a Research Study

Abstract

The first year of the newly appointed school leader is important because it sets the stage for internalizing the new role and responsibilities. It has been reported that during the first year school principals face numerous challenges and how they deal with such challenges may affect their future career. It is during the first year when the novice principals learn about the school affairs from the leader’s standpoint. Juggling among many new responsibilities, school leaders do not have many opportunities to reflect on their experience; specifically on why they chose this career path, the challenges they faced and how they dealt with them.  In light of the reforms in education it is interesting to look into how new school leaders perceive their roles which in turn affects how they act upon the new tasks. In this regard, this study explored the reasons, which led the participant of this research to choose this career path.  In other words, this study explores the lived experience of the first-year school principal in Kazakhstan. It provides the personal account of this experience from the data gathered in the form of diary entries, personal memories, presentations and electronic mails written during the first year.

 Autoethnography was the method employed to conduct this study. This research method is not widely used in Kazakhstan. Nevertheless, the literature review suggests that it is popular among education researchers.

The findings of this study suggest that the participant of this study chose to become a school principal partially because of his previous work experience but more importantly because of his life experience. Furthermore, the researcher found out that motivating students, making an impact were the reasons why he chose this profession. Other findings suggest that the researcher faced challenges in terms of resistance to change, dealing with the school culture and managing conflicts. He coped with these challenges by minimizing resistance to challenges, studying more about the school cultures and managing conflicts. A number of recommendations are provided for both policy-makers and the first-year school leaders at the end of this research.

Keywords: аutoethnography, school leaders, principal, challenges, career choice, policy-makers, recommendations