Blazing New Trails - Connexions

Navigating the Politics of Change in a Suburban School District: A Phenomenological Study 233
toward personal or group goals (Kaul, 2003). Employees in an organization attempt to gain
support from those higher in the organizational hierarchy using upward influence (Kipnis &
Schmidt, 1988). Upward influence is a standard organizational behavior, even in education
where the systemic hierarchy is more divided than other organizations (Kipnis & Schmidt,
1988).
Power, downward influence, and upward influence have their places in formal
organizations as part of the change process. Fullan (1999) explained that educational change
that is to be embedded and deeply rooted in improvement cannot be mandated, but must
emerge as collaboration between top-down directives and bottom-up energies. A leader must
be able to connect the concepts of upward and downward influence to make system-wide
change.
DESIGN OF THE RESEARCH
A qualitative design was chosen for this research as it allowed the researcher to focus
on a phenomenon as it happened in the natural state. Qualitative researchers attempt to make
sense of and interpret phenomena in terms of the meanings people bring to them (Denzin &
Lincoln, 2008). Hatch (2002) supported this method as understanding the world from multiple
perspectives, and working to interpret the realities that participants create in response to
human experiences. Participants in the study included 60 elementary teacher leaders identified
by campus principals.
Understanding the change process within the political domains of the school district
was the goal of this study. To achieve this purpose, a phenomenological framework was
identified as the most effective way to communicate the experience of a district leader as she
implemented change for teacher leaders’ professional development. CRISD archival data,
observations and field notes, written teacher feedback, and reflective journaling were the
techniques used to uncover the themes and the essence of truth to district-level change of an
established teacher leader model.
Phenomenology
Edmund Husserl, arguably the father of phenomenology, developed the foundations of
phenomenology early in the 20 th century. He introduced the idea that philosophy of
consciousness, while suspending natural attitudes or assumptions, helps to gain understanding
of the essence of a concept or phenomenon (Creswell, 1998). Phenomenologists that
subsequently followed Husserl contested some of his arguments, but essentially, the basis of
phenomenological research can be traced back to his initial theory (Creswell, 1998).
The central purpose of phenomenology is to understand a concept or a phenomenon
(Creswell, 1998). In the case of this research, the concept examined was that of the experience
of change within the political context of a school district. It is important to note that
alternative traditions of inquiry were compared to determine which most closely met the
purpose of the study. Creswell (1998) defined phenomenology as a study where “lived
experiences for several individuals” are described as related to a concept or phenomenon they
have in common (p. 51).
This research diverged from Creswell’s (1998) description of a phenomenological
study. There was no group experiencing the same phenomenon in this research; the
explanations and descriptions came from one of the authors, the district leader who
implemented the change. Therefore, in discussing the results and implications of the research,