Creative insubordination of school principals and the legitimacy of the justifiable

Viewing school principals as street‐level bureaucrats, creative insubordination is the implementation of policies and programmes at the school level in a way that fits the principal′s values, philosophy, and goals. Focuses on school principals′ use of creative insubordination in relationships with the central office, their professional beliefs about discretion, perceptions of role conflict, and their locus of control. Creative insubordination was most frequent among veteran principals who value on‐the‐job competence over completion of degrees and certificates and are thought to be instructional leaders by central office supervisors. Social protection from negative sanctions from central office seemed to be associated with principals′ ability to show that their insubordination was justifiable in terms of the needs of their school, teachers or students.