مرضیه دهقانی

This study aims to represent how a primary school principal evolved into an effective educational leadership, focusing on their personal and professional background along with the distinctive features of the school and local community. A qualitative approach and narrative inquiry method were used. Initially, in-depth and semi-structured interviews lasting 12 hours were conducted with the principal. Data analysis was performed using Lichman’s model (2013). To validate the narratives, in-depth and semi-structured interviews were conducted with five teachers who had worked under the principal's management and were selected through purposive (criterion-based) sampling. Additionally, self-reflection notes were prepared during the research process. The principal's journey towards efficiency was divided into four episodes: the character formation period, facing discrimination, conflicts and grief, building professional identity, and role modeling. According to the data analysis results, themes of encountering discrimination, economic poverty, and the local community's perception of disadvantaged schools were continuously repeated in the principal's narratives. Based on the narratives, three strategies - managing interactions, continuous professional development, and vision setting - played a crucial role in the principal's evolution towards efficiency. According to the findings, it is recommended that principals of high-poverty schools address teachers' educational deficiencies in the form of suggestions and gradually increase delegation of authority and trust in their measures to ensure improved performance quality. In addition, the principal, by requiring teachers to daily note the challenges and issues faced by students and to identify major and common challenges, aimed to prioritize these challenges and take necessary actions.