Shared leadership: A comparative case study of two first year US principals’ socialization around teacher evaluation policy

New career principals are tasked with many sensemaking opportunities and often rely on their peers to assist with these sensemaking processes, engaging in a form of newcomer socialization. This study investigates how two first year elementary school principals in the US state of Michigan become socialized to their new roles as school leaders by examining how these individuals make sense of new teacher evaluation policies and systems. Findings show these principals relied on their social networks to make sense of the teacher evaluation process. These principals did so in an effort to establish positive and trusting relationships with their colleagues and in an effort to make up for a lack of initial training with these systems. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.