Role Identity: At the Intersection of Organizational Socialization and Individual Sensemaking of New Principals and Vice-Principals

Abstract

This study of one mid-sized Canadian school district employed a case study approach to uncover and document the influences of organizational socialization, sensemaking, and perceptions of self-efficacy on the development of administrators’ role identities. Findings describe formal and informal socialization processes experienced by administrators, how administrators made sense of their socialization, and how these processes influenced the development of their role identity and subsequent practice. A new framework for considering the organizational socialization of administrators is presented. This study will be of interest to those responsible for planning succession, professional development, and administrator preparedness programs.