Letting Go of Outlived Professional Identities: A Study of Role Transition and Role Strain for Principals in Restructured Schools

Restructuring in schools has become one strategy for making significant changes in education. This article takes a preliminary empirical look at role transitions and role strain resulting from restructuring initiatives in schools in four districts. General support was found for role transition theory. The interview data provided evidence that these twenty principals had learned to deal with role transitions and the effects of role strain. Cognitive restructuring and environmental factors were important factors which moderated the effects of role strain. Experience, tenure in position, traditions of trust among staff, congruence of personal leadership style with role changes, school-level autonomy, and leadership and support from the superintendent and school board affected role strain intensity. The data also revealed that restructuring had resulted in a change in how these principals viewed their own leadership in schools: from managers in charge to facilitators on call.