The essential meaning of self-actualization via principalship: A phenomenological study

Year 2018, Volume: 6 Issue: 2, 9 - 24, 31.07.2018

Gökhan Özaslan

Abstract

According to Abraham Harold Maslow, self-actualization can be defined as using one’s own potential in full. He described it as a higher sort of human need, which must be satisfied to reach healthiness and achieve the full range of desirable personality traits. The aim of this phenomenological study is to reveal the shared meaning of self-actualization in the context of school principalship as derived from the articulated beliefs of a number of public and private school principals. Twelve principals from both public and private schools were interviewed about the meaning of self-actualization as described by literature on the topic. The findings from semi-structured interviews of the participants revealed a consensus that there are five prominent skills which constitute a principal’s fully-realized potential: communication, organization, motivation, empathy, and self-improvement. As a consequence of realizing their individual potential, the participants expressed feelings of happiness, peace, and enjoyment in their work, as well as an increase in their self-confidence and self-motivation. However, the participants expressed feelings of a short-term loss of morale and increased unhappiness whenever they failed to realize their individual potential due to impediments encountered in the field. Possible implications for research and practice are also offered.

Keywords

Self-actualization, Maslow, principals, school administration, phenomenology

Okul Müdürlüğü ile Kendini Gerçekleştirmenin Özsel Anlamı: Fenomenolojik Bir Araştırma

Abstract

Abraham Harold Maslow’a göre kendini gerçekleştirme, kişinin potansiyelini sonuna kadar kullanması olarak tanımlanabilir. Maslow bu kavramı sağlıklı olma haline ve arzu edilir kişilik özelliklerinin her çeşidine ulaşabilmek için karşılanması gereken üst düzey bir gereksinim olarak betimlemiştir. Bu fenomenolojik araştırmanın amacı, kamuya ve özel sektöre ait okullarda çalışmakta olan bir grup okul müdürünün ifadelerine dayalı olarak okul müdürlüğü bağlamında kendini gerçekleştirme kavramının paylaşılan anlamını ortaya koyabilmektir. Bu kapsamda on iki okul müdürü ile kendini gerçekleştirme kavramının anlamına ilişkin yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler yapılmıştır. Görüşmelerden elde edilen bulgular, katılımcılar arasında bir okul müdürünün potansiyelini tamamen gerçekleştirebilmesi için beş temel becerisini kullanması gerektiği yönünde ortak bir algı olduğunu göstermiştir. Söz konusu beceriler, iletişim, organizasyon, motivasyon, empati ve kendini geliştirmedir. Katılımcılar potansiyellerini gerçekleştirebilmeleri halinde mutluluk ve huzur duyduklarını ve işlerinden haz aldıklarını; bunlara ek olarak öz güvenlerinde ve bireysel motivasyonlarında artış hissettiklerini dile getirmişlerdir. Potansiyellerini gerçekleştirmeleri önünde engellerle karşılaştıkları durumlarda ise kısa süreli bir moral kaybı ve mutsuzluk hissettiklerini belirtmişlerdir. Araştırma metni içerisinde bulguların uygulama ve gelecek araştırmalar açısından doğurgularına da yer verilmiştir.

Keywords

Kendini gerçekleştirme, Maslow, müdürler, okul yönetimi, fenomenoloji

References

• Blomqvist, M. & Ziegert, K. (2011). Family in the waiting room’: A Swedish study of nurses’ conceptions of family participation in acute psychiatric in-patient setting. International Journal of Mental Health Nursing, 20(3), 185-194.
• Creswell, J.W. (2003).Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, California: Sage Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry and research design: Choosing among five approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Creswell, J. W. (2003).Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Çetinkanat, A. C. (2005). Self-actualization inventory. Eurasian Journal of Educational Research, 20, 99-112.
• Daniels, M. (1982).The development of the concept of self-actualization in the writings of Abraham Maslow. Current Psychological Reviews, 2(1), 61-75.
• Duckworth, A. L., Eichstaedt, J. C., & Ungar, L. H. (2015). The mechanics of human achievement. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 9(7), 359-369.
• Greene, L., & Burke, G. (2007).Beyond self-actualization. Journal of Health and Human Services Administration, 30(2),116-128. Retrieved from https://digital.library.txstate.edu /bitstream /handle/10877/4089/fulltext.pdf
• Ivtzan, I., Gardner, H. E., Bernard, I., Sekhon, M., & Hart, R. (2013). Wellbeing through self-fulfillment: Examining developmental aspects of self-actualization. The Humanistic Psychologist, 41(2), 119-132.
• Jones, A., & Crandall, R. (1986).Validation of a short index of self-actualization. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12(1), 63-73.
• Kaplan, S. J., & Schoeneberg, L. A. (1984). An Adlerian understanding of Hillel's maxim. Pastoral Psychology, 33(2), 93-95.
• Kennedy, P. (2017). Professionalism and ego Management: Proposed strategies for understanding professionalism and dealing with its current accelerating decline. Journal of Medical Imaging and Radiation Sciences, 48(1), 4-10.
• Koltko-Rivera, M. E. (2006). Rediscovering the later version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Self-transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification. Review of General Psychology, 10(4), 302-317.
• Krems, J. A., Kenrick, D. T., & Neel, R. (2017). Individual perceptions of self-actualization: What functional motives are linked to fulfilling one’s full potential?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 43(9), 1337-1352.
• Larsson, J., & Holmström, I. (2007). Phenomenographic or phenomenological analysis: Does it matter? Examples from a study on anaesthesiologists’ work. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 2(1), 55-64.
• Marton, F. (1981). Phenomenography – describing conceptions of the world around us. Instructional Science, 10(2), 177-200.
• Marton, F. (1988). Phenomenography: a research approach to investigating different understanding of reality. In Qualitative Research in Education: Focus and Methods, Sherman, R.R. and Webb, R.B. (Eds), London: Routledge, pp. 140-160.
• Maslow, A. (1970). Self-actualizing people: A study of psychological health. In Motivation and Personality (2nd ed.). New York: Harper & Row
• Maslow, A. H. (1969). The farther reaches of human nature. The Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1(1), 1.
• Maslow, A. H. (1943). A theory of human motivation. Psychological Review,50(4), 370-396. Retrieved from http://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Maslow/motivation.htm
• Maslow, A. H. (1968). Creativity in self–actualizing people. In Toward a psychology of being (pp. 135–145). New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold.
• Maslow, A. H. (1974). The good life of the self-actualizing person. In T.Covin (ed.) Readings in human development: A humanistic approach (46-53). New York: MSS Information Corp.
• Neher, A. (1991). Maslow's theory of motivation a critique. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 31(3), 89-112.
• Pfaffenberger, A. H. (2005). Optimal adult development: An inquiry into the dynamics of growth. Journal of Humanistic Psychology, 45(3), 279-301.
• Richardson, J. T. (1999). The concepts and methods of phenomenographic research. Review of Educational Research, 69(1), 53-82.
• Sanders, P. (1982).Phenomenology: A new way of viewing organizational research. Academy of Management Review,7, 353-360.
• Shostrom, E.L. (1964). An inventory for the measurement of self- actualization. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 24, 207-218.
• Shostrom, E. L. (1975). Personal orientation dimensions. San Diego: Edits/Educational and Industrial Testing Service.
• Stone, H., Parker, J.D.A., & Wood, L.M.(2005). Report on the Ontario principals’ council leadership study. Ontario, Canada: Ontario Principals’ Council. Retrieved from http://www.eiconsortium.org/reports/opc_leadership_study_final_report.html.