Newly hired school leaders are confronted by the weight of tradition and prior practice (Hartzell, Williams, & Nelson, 1995; Marshall, 1992). They are frequently counseled to adopt “old” norms about priorities and decision-making. Some find that to gain acceptance they must adhere to values and leadership behaviors counter to those that attracted them to school leadership or were espoused in their preparation (Hartzel et al., 1995; Marshall, 1992).
This paper reports on an investigation of the impact of socialization on new assistant principals, particularly women graduates of a redesigned school leadership preparation program in North Carolina. The subjects of this study were women, therefore the investigation also explored the impact that gender-associated leadership preferences had on their socialization.