0.5 Barton, l. (september 2011). moving to the dark side or into  (Page 8/14)

In order to better discriminate among the written responses and analyze each journal entry as a whole, seven discrete themes were identified: leadership skills; internal motivation; external motivation; leadership and internal motivation; leadership and external motivation; internal&external motivation; and leadership, internal, and external motivation. Each will be discussed individually.

Leadership skills

About half of the aspirants mentioned their leadership skills or experiences as influencing their decision to enroll in the program; comments like, “I have recently been given two leadership opportunities at my district and those have made me realize how much I would like to be in administration” and “I have a gift of leadership and I intend to seek to use it as needed - I know that as I learn I will be an influential campus leader” were typical of those describing why they chose to pursue administrative credentials. Just over 10 percent of all aspirants, 10 of 83, only mentioned their leadership qualities and skills without any reference to internal or external motivation; among these aspirants half taught in elementary schools and 10 percent in high schools. All other demographic characteristics were nearly the same between all aspirants and those mentioning leadership skills as a motivating force in their decision to enroll in an administrative credential program. In discovering his own strengths and leadership potential, one aspirant wrote

Why me? The simple answer to this is: why not me? There was a time in my life when I thought an administrative position was beyond my talents and that I could never do what “they” do. As I’ve traveled down the professional path however, I’ve discovered that my strengths are greater than I originally thought.

Another aspirant described her sense of potential to lead through experiences she had while wondering about her future in the classroom.

I suppose it was inevitable that I pursue an admin[istrative] credential. I have always ‘stepped up to the plate’ when tasks, jobs, opportunities arose, especially in my current school. The atmosphere has always been one of becoming an expert or leader if you wanted. After 6 years of teaching, I have been team leader for 4 of those, been on the district report card committee, assessment committee, literacy coach, head of social committee (4 yrs), teacher representative for school site council, disaster plan coordinator, and the list goes on. I love being involved in all aspects of education but I wonder if my life will be spent solely in a classroom or are there other avenues. Perhaps this is why pursuing an administrative credential seems logical – will it be a good fit?