Superintendents’ Perceptions of the Principal Shortage

Abstract

The research literature on the principal shortage is inconsistent regarding the actual scope of the shortage and a clear articulation of factors contributing to the successful recruitment and retention of today’s school leaders. Often, critical data related to the principal shortage are ignored, including the number of younger principals overlooked in a candidate job search or the number of credentialed principal candidates who ultimately withdraw from a search. This study is based on a survey of 197 superintendents concerning their views on the principal shortage and factors associated with influencing the recruitment and retention of school leaders. Some major findings are that superintendents often underestimate the principal candidate applicant pool in their own districts, compensation continues to be the primary method of attracting qualified principal applicants, and rural schools are at a distinct disadvantage compared with urban and suburban schools in their search for new school principals.

Factors influencing Jordanian and Saudi Arabian teacher decisions to pursue the principalship: a comparative study

“…It can be concluded that educators view the principalship as extremely stressful with unrealistic time and accountability expectations. These findings are supported by Pijanowski, Hewitt, and Brady's (2009) study that also identified testing/accountability pressures, job stress and time commitment as the top three reasons for not becoming a school administrator. The highly stressful nature of the job is mentioned frequently in the literature as a deterrent to entering the principalship (Cushing, Kerrins, and Johnstone 2003;Ferrandino, 2001;Hargadine 2002;Howley, Andrianaivo, and Perry 2005).…”

“…Research has identified sustained quality school leadership as the primary component of successful schools. There has been increasing attention as to who will lead our schools in the twenty-first century, and what are the factors that motivate and discourage educators in pursuing the principalship (Pijanowski, Hewitt, and Brady 2009). Better understanding of what motivates and deters educators to pursue the principalship is vital for making decisions about recruitment and retention of educational leaders in the future.…”

“…Items for the survey were mainly developed from literature related to the subject (e.g. Pijanowski, Hewitt, and Brady 2009;Cranston 2006Cranston , 2007Hancock, Black, and Bird 2006;Howley, Andrianaivo, and Perry 2005;Shen, Cooley, and Wegenke 2004;Cushing, Kerrins, and Johnstone 2003;Cusick 2003;Hargadine 2002;Ferrandino 2001;Gilman and Lanham-Givens 2001;McCreight 2001;Harris et al 2000;Malone, Sharp, and Thompson 2000;Olson 1999). The survey consisted of two parts: motivating factors and deterring factors.…”

“…The most frequent reason identified by educators for not applying for the principalship is the lack of sufficient compensation: many principal candidates believe it just does not pay enough (Cranston 2006(Cranston , 2007Cushing, Kerrins, and Johnstone 2003;Cusick 2003;Ferrandino 2001;Gilman and Lanham-Givens 2001;Hancock, Black, and Bird 2006;Hargadine 2002;Howley, Andrianaivo, and Perry 2005;Malone, Sharp, and Thompson 2000;McCreight 2001;Olson 1999;Shen, Cooley, and Wegenke 2004). Research by Pijanowski, Hewitt, and Brady (2009) suggests that money is not enough to compensate for the stress and working conditions for the job.…”

The Experiences of Teacher-Assistant Principals in Catholic Elementary Schools: Boundary Spanners and Player Managers

“…Complicating these issues even further is the critical shortage of qualified school principals in both the public (Loeb, Kalogrides, & Horng, 2010;Pijanowski, Hewitt, & Brady, 2009) and Catholic school sectors (Ozar, 2010).…”