School principals: Problem solvers of nonroutine problems in bilingual immersion schools

This case study focused on principals as problem solvers of nonroutine problems in bilingual immersion schools. Eight present and former elementary school principals of the French, Japanese and Spanish bilingual immersion schools in a Northwest city reflected on nonroutine problems that they faced at the schools, and described their problem-solving processes.; Five data collection procedures were used in this study: questionnaire surveys, individual interviews, participant observations, a focus group interview, and document analysis. The individual interviews also asked for metaphors and adjectives. Inductive data analysis was used to identify themes from patterns in the data.; The study revealed that nonroutine problems involved intercultural communication, interlingual communication, curriculum development and equity of teachers' workload, administration of immersion schools, and the administration of twinned schools that share space and resources. The underlying cause of many of these problems involved misunderstandings and controversies that arose from the interplay within and between competing world cultures and the school culture. Principals used mostly a collaborative democratic problem-solving style to solve these problems.; The study revealed three problem-solving sub-processes: (a) a linear, step-by-step sub-process, (b) a personal-emotional sub-process, and (c) a cultural sub-process. The personal, emotional-style process can be explained in terms of Gardner's intrapersonal and interpersonal intelligences theory. Group and intergroup theories help to explain the conflicts between the English-speaking team and the target-language team in each bilingual immersion school.; Recommendations for school administrators, district administrators, and university administrative licensure programs call for more theoretical and practical preparation in the areas of bilingual immersion education, school management, and organization development. Also, the findings of this study argue for more collaboration among teachers to achieve the mission of immersion schools through cultural understanding and mutual respect.