“It’s more than the money!” How personal and professional attitudes contribute to aspiring school leaders’ career development

Abstract

School principals and perhaps aspiring school administrators are the most misunderstood people in all of education. The general public often believes that these educators leave the classroom for administration because they are burnt out from teaching and/or care about financial rewards or increased salaries (though experienced teachers and assistant principals earn almost equivalent salaries). Arguably, the current research found that aspiring school leaders had profoundly intrinsic rewards for pursuing careers in school administration. More specifically, the research found that self-growth and professional growth had a positive influence on decisions to pursue graduate education, although the effect size of professional growth (β = .34) was higher than that of personal growth (β = .19). In sum, an aspiring future school leader who wants to grow has a desire to learn. With intrinsic motivation, he/she keeps learning and improving because it is the right thing to do and gives them a personal sense of reward. Professional development should be designed to meet the personal and professional needs of educational practitioners.