Diversity in the principalship: The impact of the formative years

This paper presents the key findings of a recent study into the relationship between first time principals' formative years and their early experiences in the leadership role. The family, school and religion all had a significant influence in shaping basic values and beliefs, and the beliefs and values in turn exercised considerable influence on how new principals carried out their roles. It was evident that the socialization agencies of principals' respective families, workplaces and schools all played a noticeable role in the conception of their ‘self’ and their ‘leadership character’. The study also illustrates the impact of early experiences on the educators even before they took up positions of leadership, and throws light on their aspirations to become leaders and the strategies they employed to work their way up the career ladder. The paper explains how early life experiences, when combined with the historical, economic and cultural context in Singapore, affected the thoughts, attitudes, and actions of the novice principals. Finally, the paper examines some of the things that were perceived by the new principals as either supporting or hindering their practice, and at how they were affected. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.