Research Methodologies
From WikEd
barbara: i am thinking my opening question (with paula's recommendations) will work for r. townsend. your thoughts? aa
Interview Questions: UCSD TEP 270 - Leadership Seminar
Hmmm...so much for the little box we thought we were getting for
commenting. You also have to put returns in manually, like the
earliest word-processing programs. -bfe
Agustín (Opening Question) “You have taken part in a number of different school reforms. Could you please share with us a few of your more memorable experiences?�?
“Which do you believe were most successful? Why?�?
The question did what I thought it would. I really can't take the credit
for it, bud wrote it. i'll revise to iclude PL's revisions. aa
PL: I wonder if the interview might think that s/he must pick among the most memorable to
discuss the most successful (that is, someone might think about a memorable experience
but that might be memorable for reasons other than success or failure). Perhaps making the
"whole" more apparent in the follow-up: "Of all your different reform experiences, which do you
believe..."?
PL:ORder of the questions: memorable last?
MS: That could work.
“Are there any that stand out as particularly unsuccessful? What, do you think made them unsuccessful?�?
Agustín (Revised Opening Question) “You have taken part in a number of different school reforms. Of all your different reform experiences, which do you believe were particularly unsuccessful? What, do you think made them unsuccessful?�? Could you please share with us a few of your more memorable experiences?�?
SS: I guess she will be talking prior to this; otherwise, I would
be a little wary about beginning the interview w/the negative. But
I don't know Rene...Do you want her to focus on one unsuccessful
experience and talk about what made it so? Does memorable = unsuccessful?
Susan “In this class we've been discussing the process of change within educational institutions. Please think of a significant change that the Preuss School has undergone since you became principal. (such as in the area of curriculum, instruction, support from SDCS). Please describe the process around this change."
I had hoped to uncover some understanding of a needed change
at PS, and the process the school/staff went through in order
to implement that change. Instead, DA explained the re-intro-
duction of a theme by which her staff/students would abide.
Perhaps the info provided is important itself. She seems to
interpret the question as asking about a process she wants
students/staff to use, rather than asking about a process
they have gone through in order to make a CHANGE happen....
BE: I'm not clear how DA didn't address your question. The Am I CLEAR
stuff was a change, and she talked about how they left it behind, even-
tually returned to the theme, now have roving sub..... Are you more
interested in how she develops reform measures (in committee, via mandate
from some donor, by herself...), how she works with those implementing
the change, how she deals with dissenters...?? It would help me think
about your question if I knew more of what you expected.
Susan: for R. Townsend you may want to consider:
“In this class we've been discussing the process of change within educational institutions. Please think of a significant change that you were a part of (such as in the area of curriculum, & instruction) Please describe the process around this change." What worked? What Didn't work? Follow up: "How did this change process compare with others you have experienced?�? aa
Joanne "What factors have impeded changes at Preuss?"
JP: In the last iteration of editing prior to Doris' interview,
Bud had edited the question as follows:
"Were there factors that impeded changes at Preuss? If so,
could you describe these?"
I liked this change as it is more open-ended.
BE: I agree, JP, I like the open-ended version.
JP: I don't know what should replace "Preuss" in this week's question.
Does anyone know? Thanks.
MS: Rene Townsend was superintendant in Vista (must have been 10 years ago) and then went to
Coronado, but I don't know the timeline. Maybe you could ask "Were there factors that impeded
change in either of your positions as superintendant?" or something like that...
Kathy “Schools have many stakeholders. Who are the stakeholders at Preuss? Are they different than in other schools you have led? How do you manage the stakeholders at Preuss School?
Follow up “With regard to these various stakeholders, how do you see larger issues in our society playing out in your school?�?
KK: Question change for R. Townsend
"School districts have many stakeholders. Who were the stakeholders in
your school districts? How do these stakeholders impact your
management and leadership as superintendant?"
Follow-up: "With regard to these various stakeholders, how did you see
larger issues in our society influencing your interactions with them?
Was it different for different stakeholders?"
SS: I wonder if you want her to talk about stakeholders "en masse", or
take one district/setting, talk about the stakeholders, take another
district/setting, talk about the stakeholders...
I am a little unclear about "larger issues in society"; are you
wondering if these issues influence the actual interactions w/
them? Or are you wanting to know if the issues "out there" are
mirrored by the issues "in here". The revised question seems
to have a more/different focus on the interaction...
Any thoughts on the questions would be appreciated. Thanks.
Michael "Could you please describe for us how the people you lead—teachers, other staff, students-- and the school community in general have influenced you as a leader?�?
SS: I think part of this question has an interesting overlap--or
possible overlap w/Kathy's (the community part? Maybe?)
Agustín “Over the last five years, there have been many policies, mandates and legislation enacted in education such as NCLB, the removal of affirmative, action, and the English only initiative. Have these affected the Preuss School? If so, how?�?
The design of this question did not really get to what I was
looking for....I think I was looking in the wrong place...on the
evening we interviewed DA I realized the Prop 209 question was not
context appropriate for the PS. In a very direct way, Prop 209 is why
PS exists...and DA said as much, but I think a better question might
mine for how DA responds(ed)to political winds that often swirl(ed)around
the PS to get a better bead on her management style...thoughts?
comments? aa
MS: It just occurred to me that Rene Townsend will have had a different set of mandates she
dealt with as superintendant. Was she pre-NCLB? What mandates would she have had to attend to
in Vista and Coronado, I wonder?
BE: Rene's supt positions were certainly pre- NCLB, and the bulk
(if not all) of her years in those positions were also pre-209.
So, I think a broader frame is useful.
AA - you might ask her to identify troubling political
mandates, but the BIGGEST challenge in terms of political winds was likely
the religious school board issue in Vista. So...perhaps the question is
not so much about policies and mandates, as responding to community
concerns. Although, I guess that's a whole different qustion. Nevermind.
SS: There are two questions that seem to have some focus on community
(Kathy's and Michael's). It seems like AA's might be getting at the
mandates/policies that influence what happens in that setting. Maybe
asking about which/if any mandates/policies had an impact/most dramatic
(or some other kind of adjective...help?!)impact...what was it? What
type if impact did it/they have?
Barbara “A leader can be defined as one who is willing to make unpopular decisions. Please tell us about a time when you made such a decision. What informed your decision-making?�?
Follow up “If you faced that situation again, would you make the same decision?�?
BE: This question didn't elicit what I had hoped for in several ways.
First, she described three situtations in response to this -1. the third of
Hoover faculty she asked to play leadership role, 2. prompted by Bud, the
health clinic at Hoover, & 3. the union's review of her 1st year at Hoover.
It's interesting to note that the first of these decisions may have been
unpopular, but what she emphasized was that it was the WRONG decision.
The teachers weren't ready for the role, etc.... Does she equate wrong
and unpopular?? The health clinic is a "better" example of an unpopular,
but possibly "right" decision. Secondly, she didn't address the values
underlying her decision - which was my REAL interest. That's why I chose
to ask her that directly for the follow up question. I think I'd like to
rephrase this question to get at the values, core beliefs..... the
"courage of your convictions" moments. Any suggestions on this?
JP: I was wondering if the question could be one that directly connects
the 'values' and 'unpopular' ideas; something like "Please describe a time
when you made a decision based on a value that was important to you but
that was unpopular when implemented." That question probably needs editing
as well, but it gets to the idea of what I was proposing. Also, Barbara,
the "what informed your decision-making" may be a question that is hard to
figure out what kind of information is desired. But then, that may just be
my own reaction to such a question...
BFE: i will jump in on the latter part of JP's comment and offer:
instead of "What informed your decision-making" consider
"How was your decision-making informed" "What choices did you make in
reaching your decision(s)?" aa
MS: I think both Joanne and Agustin have made good suggestions--and I don't think JP's version is bad as written!
Marcia “How would you define “success�? for someone serving in a role such as yours?�?
MS: Since Rene Townsend's role as superintendant is the one I'm most interested in (as I'm assuming is the case with everyone?), I'll change this from "in a role such as yours" to "in the role of a superintendant." Make more sense?
Follow up “What do you consider to be the essential elements for success in such a role?�?
Marcia (Closing Question) “What advice would you offer someone about to assume a position such as yours?
MS: Again, to have this make more sense in the Townsend interview, I'll change to to "about to assume a position as a district superintendant?"
(Clarification if needed) “What must that person do or consider in this job? What should that person be sure not to do?�?
BE: Rene has held lots of leadership roles besides supt. Her current
position with Price, at CSUSM, in supt. search firm, for example. I'm
wondering how much we want to limit the investigation to her leadership
lessons AS and FOR supts., or as a leader in education in general. Maybe
we could even ask her to distinguish among the various roles and their
lessons in some of our questions. ?!?
AA: (Revised Opening Question)
“You have taken part in a number of different school
reforms. Of all your different reform experiences,
which do you believe were particularly
successful/unsuccessful? What, do you think made them
successful/unsuccessful?�? Could you please share with
us a few of your more memorable experiences?�?
AA:(Revised Question)
"Over the last five years, there have been many
policies, mandates, and legislation enacted in
education at the national, state, and local levels.
Can you identify policies, mandates, or legislation
that have affected your ability(ies) as an
educational leader? If so, how did you respond? What
was the political climate at the time you were
affected? How did you react to the issue(s)?"
