Is It Better to Be Good or Lucky? Decentralized Teacher Selection in 10 Elementary Schools

Abstract

In this article, the authors explore how school-based hiring reforms play out among schools serving different students in different locations within a single district. In particular, they consider how the intersection of school-based capacity and local school context affect teacher selection practice and outcomes. The analysis is based on a qualitative field study that describes recruitment and interview practices in 10 elementary schools in a large, decentralized urban school district. In addition to conducting interviews with school and district personnel, the authors observed a district-run training session for school-based interview teams and examined district and school documents, including district administrative data on vacancies and assignments for the 2006-2007 school year. All of the schools followed a common hiring procedure, but the authors found striking differences in the extent to which the schools actively recruited teachers and articulated consistent hiring priorities. The authors argue that these differences and the schools’ subsequent hiring outcomes are contingent on a complex interaction of school-based knowledge, resource constraints, and each school’s relative standing in the district’s internal labor market.The article highlights contingencies that offer an important caveat to the premise that school-based hiring will, by virtue of empowerment alone, lead to more effective teacher recruitment and selection.

Stimulating teachers’ team performance through team-oriented HR practices: the roles of affective team commitment and information processing

“…To stimulate teacher team performance, therefore, a combination of ability-, motivation-and opportunity-enhancing team-oriented HR practices is needed. Consequently, we propose that it is important to study associations between multiple HR practices and team performance simultaneously instead of examining the impact of single HR practices, as is usually done in studies on HRM in the educational context (DeArmond et al, 2010;Runhaar & Sanders, 2015) and the medical sector (Buljac-Samardzic, Dekker-van Doorn, van Wijngaarden, & van Wijk, 2010). This would enable the distinct effects of HR practices and possible interactions between these practices to be examined, which would help researchers to further understand the complex relationship between team-oriented HR practices and team performance.…”

“…First, we aim to provide new insight into the potential effects of team-oriented HR practices in the educational context. This is needed because, although HR practices are increasingly implemented in schools (Runhaar & Sanders, 2013), research on HRM in this context is still relatively limited, which has as a consequence that insight into the effectivity of HRM in schools is largely missing (DeArmond, Gross, & Goldhaber, 2010). Second, we aim to identify the mechanisms that link team-oriented HR practices with team innovation and team efficiency.…”

The role of VET Colleges in stimulating teachers’ engagement in team learning

“…To stimulate teacher team performance, therefore, a combination of ability-, motivation-and opportunityenhancing team-oriented HR practices is needed. Consequently, we propose that it is important to study associations between multiple HR practices and team performance simultaneously instead of examining the impact of single HR practices, as is usually done in studies on HRM in the educational context (DeArmond et al, 2010;Runhaar & Sanders, 2016). This would enable the distinct effects of HR practices and possible interactions between these practices to be examined, which would help researchers to further understand the complex relationship between team-oriented HR practices and team performance.…”

“…It is therefore recommended that future research on HRM in the educational context continues to focus on multiple HR practices and HRM systems. So far, such a focus is often absent because contemporary research on HRM in the educational context tends to focus on single HR practices, such as professional development (DeArmond et al, 2010;Runhaar & Sanders, 2016), which makes it impossible to compare the effectiveness of different HR practices. This recommendation is particularly relevant for research in the VET context, because VET colleges are increasingly investing in team development and implementing more comprehensive HRM systems, as was discussed in Chapter 1 .…”

“…First, we aim to provide new insight into the potential effects of teamoriented HR practices in the educational context. This is needed because, although HR practices are increasingly implemented in schools , research on HRM in this context is still relatively limited, which has as a consequence that insight into the effectivity of HRM in schools is largely missing (DeArmond, Gross, & Goldhaber, 2010). Second, we aim to identify the mechanisms that link team-oriented HR practices with team innovation and team efficiency.…”