Dr. Pam Sedlacek

The purpose of this study was to gain an understanding of how teachers experience and react to changes in their professional lives when confronted with a reassignment or transfer. This study utilized a qualitative research design based on the phenomenological paradigm which assumes that reality is socially constructed through individual or collective definitions of the situation. Information was gained through 24 personal interviews and a follow-up survey. The data were systematically coded and analyzed with three concurrent flows of activity: data reduction, data display, and conclusion drawing/verification. Descriptive and comparative statistics were used to analyze the survey information. This study has significance for administrators, transfer teachers, and the research community. This research will further appreciation and discernment of the naturalistic paradigm by elucidating an alternative methodology. In educational administration, this study will provide insights into impact themes that will assist individuals, principals, management teams, and school district personnel in policy making, leadership training, and staff development. Because this type of research is based on the notion of context sensitivity with the conclusions logically argued from empirical evidence, the analysis and propositions formulated will be applicable to similar situations, thus enabling the practitioner to manage the transfer experience with a minimum of stress and dysfunctional reorientation. Major themes inductively derived through triangulation across data sources included: factors influencing transfer, perceptions associated with the process, first-year experiences, and stress indicators. Frameworks were developed to analyze the literature, and these analyses were incorporated into general propositions and implications specific to the transfer population.