Contextual Factors Related to Elementary Principal Turnover.

Abstract

Purpose of the Study The issue of school leadership instability and how it affects schools and student achievement has been studied. The question of how to predict turnover of the remains an unknown. The purpose of this research was to search for possible relationships between certain contextual variables and turnover and to test the independent variables as predictors of turnover frequency. It was believed that exploring the relationships of eight contextual variables associated with of turnover might provide needed information for the field of educational leadership and for superintendents and boards of education. The eight contextual variables studied were: superintendent turnover rate, building enrollment, student attendance, student mobility, pupil-teacher ratio, teacher attendance, student achievement in reading, and student achievement in mathematics. Theoretical Perspective The theoretical basis for the present study is the key role the plays in school reform (Hipp, 1997; Kowalski, 1999; Oberman, 1996; Ogawa & Hart, 1985). The idea that stability is related to school improvement is based on the following beliefs: that for reform to be meaningful, it must take place at the school level (Fullan, 1991, 1993; Hall & Hord, 2001); that change at the school level involves a cultural dimension (Deal & Peterson, 1990; Peterson & Deal, 1998; Stolp, 1994); and that a change in school culture takes time. Estimates of the time required for significant school reform at a given school are five to seven years (Deal & Peterson, 1999; Fullan, 2001; Villa, Thousand, Meyers, & Nevin, 1996). For these reasons, it is important to understand the of changes in who is the principal. The literature refers to changes in the principalship as succession or turnover. In the present study, turnover refers, as it does in the literature (e.g., Grusky, 1960; Hart, 1993; Miskel & Cosgrove, 1985), to the change from one to another principal. Grusky (1960), a social scientist, was one of the first to recognize that leadership turnover promotes instability in an organization. That turnover is seen as an important event is evidenced by some calling it a succession crisis (Grusky, 1960). Principal turnover differs subtly, but importantly, from turnover frequency. The term turnover connotes a broader phenomenon that involves the change of a as well as the with which this occurs. When leadership is transferred frequently, the impact on the organization and its performance may be different than from a single succession. For example, Macmillan and Meyer (2003) studied school districts that routinely move principals. They conducted a six-year study based on Michael Fullan's (2001) idea that to institute a change initiative in secondary schools requires six years. They asked Is institutional rotation different from unplanned succession? and Does teachers' experience with administrative turnover, whether this turnover is mandated or otherwise, affect their perceptions of the principalship and the school's culture? (MacMillian & Meyer, p. 3). Their results have not yet been completed. The study reported here focused on the of turnover. The term principal turnover frequency refers to the with which principals in Ohio public schools were replaced over a sevenyear time span. Principal succession is examined in schools for the consequences on school personnel, programs, culture, and student achievement. Although considerable research has been conducted on the effects of turnover, little is known about factors or conditions present within schools and school districts which may contribute to high or low turnover. Because a school administrator's work is specific to the building (Kowalski, 1995), it is important to understand the context within which succession occurs as well as the effect (Fauske & Ogawa, 1987; Grusky, 1960; Hart, 1993; Rosenholtz, 1989). …