Award Date

5-15-2026

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Psychology, Leadership, and Higher Education

First Committee Member

Bradley Marianno

Second Committee Member

Miguel Gonzales

Third Committee Member

Megan Griffard

Fourth Committee Member

Iesha Jackson

Number of Pages

138

Abstract

Despite increasing calls for equity and instructional leadership development, the role of the assistant principal (AP) remains inconsistently structured across schools. Research suggests that APs are frequently assigned managerial responsibilities, while access to instructional leadership experiences associated with principal preparation may vary (Goldring et al., 2021; Gonzales et al., 2022; Pollock et al., 2017). Grounded in the Learning-Centered Leadership (LCL) framework, this study examined how leadership responsibilities are prioritized and distributed among secondary APs in Nevada’s Clark County School District (CCSD) and whether assignment patterns vary by AP and school characteristics.

Survey data from principals and APs were analyzed to examine leadership task prioritization, levels of involvement, and autonomy across instructional and operational responsibilities. Principals identified which tasks best support APs in learning leadership practices associated with the eight LCL dimensions, while APs reported their involvement and autonomy across assigned responsibilities. Predictive analyses indicated that operational responsibilities were more consistently associated with AP characteristics and school context, while instructional leadership responsibilities were less systematically assigned. These patterns provide empirical insight into how leadership responsibilities are distributed within administrative teams.

Keywords

Assistant Principal Task Assignments; Instructional Leadership; Leadership Development; Learning-Centered Leadership; Principal Preparation; Role Ambiguity

Disciplines

Education | Educational Administration and Supervision | Educational Leadership

File Format

PDF

File Size

2200 KB

Degree Grantor

University of Nevada, Las Vegas

Language

English

Rights

IN COPYRIGHT. For more information about this rights statement, please visit http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/

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