The Influence of Working Conditions on Principal Turnover in K-12 Public Schools

2019 ◽  
Vol 56 (1) ◽  
pp. 89-122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rui Yan
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
School Context ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Principal Turnover ◽  
High Concentrations ◽  
K 12

Purpose: During the past two decades, principal turnover issues have raised nationwide concerns about leadership stability and student performance. With national data from National Center for Education Statistics, this study examines how principal working conditions influence the probability of different types of principal turnover (mover, promoted, demoted, leaver, and retired). Research Method: This study utilizes data from 2011 to 2012 Schools and Staffing Survey and 2012-2013 Principal Follow-up Survey, and performs multinomial logistic regressions with region fixed effects to examine how principal working conditions are associated with principal turnover, while controlling for principal characteristics and school context. Findings: This study finds that principals with beneficial job contracts, tenure system, and higher salary were less likely to transition. Additionally, positive disciplinary environment lowered the odds of principals moving to another school, especially in schools with high concentrations of students of color. Moreover, more influences on determining teacher professional development and budgeting were associated with lower odds of principals leaving education, but more influence on setting performance standards showed the opposite direction. Implications: This study could assist policy makers in providing positive working conditions to support and retain principals for long-term school improvement. Moreover, school districts could facilitate building positive school disciplinary environment to lower principal turnover in underserved schools.

The Principal-Teacher Churn: Understanding the Relationship Between Leadership Turnover and Teacher Attrition

2021 ◽  
pp. 0013161X2110519
Author(s):  
David E. DeMatthews ◽  
David S. Knight ◽  
Jinseok Shin
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Urban Schools ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Principal Turnover ◽  
Leadership Turnover ◽  
K 12 ◽  
The Relationship

Purpose: Principals are critical to school improvement and play a vital role in creating inclusive and high-performing schools. Yet, approximately one in five principals leave their school each year, and turnover is higher in schools that serve low-income students of color. Relatedly, high rates of teacher turnover exacerbate challenges associated with unstable learning environments. Our study examines the extent to which principal turnover influences teacher turnover. We build on past work by exploring how the relationship between teacher and principal turnover differs in urban, high-poverty settings and by examining the effects of chronic principal turnover. Research Methods/Approach: We draw on a student- and employee-level statewide longitudinal dataset from Texas that includes all public K-12 schools from school years 1999–2000 to 2016–17. We estimate teacher-level models with school fixed effects, allowing us to compare teacher turnover in schools leading up to and immediately following a principal exit, to otherwise similar schools that do not experience principal turnover. Findings: Teacher turnover spikes in schools experiencing leadership turnover, and these effects are greater among high-poverty and urban schools, in schools with low average teacher experience, and in schools experiencing chronic principal turnover. Implications: Improving leadership stability, especially in urban schools experiencing chronic principal turnover may be an effective approach to reducing teacher turnover. Principal and teacher turnover and their relationship with each other requires further investigation. The field would benefit from qualitative research that can provide important insights into the individual decisions and organizational processes that contribute to principal turnover.

The Role of the Perceptions of School Climate and Teacher Victimization by Students

2017 ◽  
Vol 35 (23-24) ◽  
pp. 5526-5551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francis L. Huang ◽  
Colleen Lloyd Eddy ◽  
Emily Camp
Keyword(s):  
Special Education ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Climate ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Administrative Support ◽  
The United States ◽  
School Bullying ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Teacher Victimization ◽  
K 12

Violence directed toward teachers in schools is relatively understudied in comparison with other school-based forms of peer aggression (e.g., school bullying). Based on the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) 2011-2012, approximately 10% of K-12 public school teachers in the United States, received a threat in the past 12 months and 6% reported being physically attacked. The effects of teacher-directed violence are far reaching and affect not just the victimized teacher, but the larger community itself. In the current study, we used multilevel logistic regression models with state fixed effects to analyze the SASS data set. The analytic sample consisted of 24,070 K-12 teachers in 4,610 public schools and specifically excluded special education teachers and teachers in alternative settings (i.e., online schools, special education centers, juvenile correction facilities). Guided by authoritative school climate theory, we tested for the beneficial associations of disciplinary structure and administrative support with the reduced likelihood of a teacher being threatened or physically attacked by a student, while controlling for teacher (e.g., gender, years of experience, race/ethnicity), school (e.g., school size, percent minority enrollment), and state-level factors. Results indicated that teachers who felt supported by the administration and worked with others (i.e., the principal and other teachers) who enforced the rules consistently were less likely to be victims of threats of injury or physical attacks. Although school climate has been shown to have a positive effect on student outcomes, the current study also suggests that school climate, characterized by consistent rule enforcement and supportive administrators and teachers, may play a role in reducing the likelihood of teacher victimization.

scholarly journals The State of Education in Alabama’s K-12 Rural Public Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ronald A. Lindahl
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
School Districts ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Rural School ◽  
Effect Sizes ◽  
Lower Percentage ◽  
Rural School Districts ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Standardized Examinations

The purpose of this study was to compare Alabama’s rural school districts with its city, suburban, and town districts. Descriptive statistics were used for this population study, with effect sizes calculated using Cohen’s d. Findings indicated Alabama’s rural school districts serve slightly less affluent student populations, with a lower percentage of minority students, than their counterparts. They are funded at slightly lower levels than their counterparts in other categories, yet spend approximately the same percentage of their budgets on administration and on instruction. They spend a considerably higher percentage on transportation. Although rural district dropout rates are similar to those of their counterparts, from the third to the eleventh grade, student performance on standardized examinations falls gradually behind that of the students in other locale categories.  

scholarly journals Does No Child Left Behind Place a Fiscal Burden on States? Evidence from Texas

2006 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 217-246 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Imazeki ◽  
Andrew Reschovsky
Keyword(s):  
No Child Left Behind ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Limited English Proficiency ◽  
Performance Standards ◽  
Left Behind ◽  
Federal Mandate ◽  
Additional Costs ◽  
Race Ethnicity ◽  
K 12 ◽  
New Student

The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) requires states to establish goals for all students and for groups of students characterized by race, ethnicity, poverty, disability, and limited English proficiency and requires schools to make annual progress in meeting these goals. In a number of states, officials have argued that increased federal education funding is not sufficient to cover the costs imposed by the new legislation. In this article, we use data from Texas to estimate the additional costs of meeting the new student performance standards. We find that these costs substantially exceed the additional federal funding. The article concludes with a discussion of whether NCLB should be considered an underfunded federal mandate and a brief discussion of the appropriate federal role in the financing of K–12 education.

Teacher Working Conditions in Charter Schools and Traditional Public Schools: A Comparative Study

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yongmei Ni
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Charter Schools ◽  
Charter School ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
School Type ◽  
School Teachers ◽  
Teacher Working Conditions ◽  
Teachers Perceptions ◽  
Traditional Public Schools ◽  
K 12

Background/Context Teachers affect student performance through their interaction with students in the context of the classrooms and schools where teaching and learning take place. Although it is widely assumed that supportive working conditions improve the quality of instruction and teachers’ willingness to remain in a school, little is known about whether or how the organizational structure of charter schools influences teacher working conditions. Purpose/Research Question This article compares teacher working conditions in charter and traditional public schools and among various types of charter schools. In doing so, it seeks to understand whether the different working conditions are influenced by the intrinsic institutional features of charter schools such as autonomy and competition, or by the extraneous factors such as measureable school and teacher characteristics. Research Design This study utilized data from the 2003–2004 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the nation's most extensive survey of K–12 schools and teachers, both for charter schools and traditional public schools (TPSs). This article is a quantitative analysis that involves three main steps. First, based on the responses to the SASS teacher questionnaire, confirmatory factor analysis was performed to generate multiple factors corresponding to key dimensions of teacher working conditions. Second, propensity score matching was used to pair charter schools with TPSs that are similar in terms of school location, educational level, school type, and student demographics. This matching process mitigates the confounding effects of these extraneous factors on teachers’ perceptions of working conditions. Finally, a series of weighted Hierarchical Linear Models were utilized to compare teachers’ perceptions of working conditions between charter and traditional public schools, controlling for teacher and school characteristics. Conclusions/Recommendations The results show that charter and traditional public school teachers perceive their working conditions to be similar in many regards, including principal leadership, sense of community and collegiality, classroom autonomy, opportunities for professional development, and adequacy of instructional supplies. However, charter school teachers perceive that they have significantly more influence over school policies, but a heavier workload than traditional school teachers. Among charter schools, district-granted charter schools show consistently more supportive working environments than charters granted by other organizations. This implies that state policy can have some indirect influence over charter school working conditions by providing substantial administrative support and oversight to charter schools authorized by independent organizations other than the established structure of school districts.

Changing Our Selves, Our Schools, and Our School System: Students Take on the New York City Quality Review Process

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (13) ◽  
pp. 171-188
Author(s):  
Shamika Parham ◽  
Aravis Mcbroom
Keyword(s):  
New York ◽  
New York City ◽  
Public Schools ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Student Voice ◽  
York City ◽  
School System ◽  
Review Process ◽  
Quality Review ◽  
K 12

This chapter focuses on student voice in the school evaluation process. The New York City Department of Education conducts annual Quality Reviews of K–12 public schools to evaluate their effectiveness. Throughout the two- or three-day school visit, reviewers meet with school leaders, teachers, students, and parents and observe classrooms. The review results in a final score and a report, which are both shared with the public. In 2012, as members of the Student Voice Collaborative (SVC), we were given the opportunity to participate in Quality Reviews as the first student shadows ever. This initiative was part of SVC's yearlong effort to answer the question, “What is student voice?” through first-hand research. In this chapter, we explain how we used the results of our research to design a student voice rubric to help guide our collaborative school improvement work. We share how our rubric informed and was informed by our shadowing experiences, and we detail the ways in which our involvement in SVC has impacted us, our schools, and the school system, particularly as we recommended changes to the Quality Review process.

Alternative Assessment for Music Students with Significant Disabilities

2019 ◽  
pp. 224-241
Author(s):  
Donald DeVito ◽  
Megan M. Sheridan ◽  
Jian-Jun Chen-Edmund ◽  
David Edmund ◽  
Steven Bingham
Keyword(s):  
Public School ◽  
Music Education ◽  
Students With Disabilities ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Alternative Assessment ◽  
Performance Outcomes ◽  
General Music ◽  
Significant Disabilities ◽  
School Music ◽  
K 12

How is it possible to move beyond assessment for the purposes of evaluating teacher proficiency and student performance outcomes and instead to consider assessment for understanding student musical experiences and preferences for the purpose of promoting lifelong musical engagement? This chapter includes and examines three distinct music education approaches that have been taken at the K–12 Sidney Lanier Center School for students with varying exceptionalities in Gainesville, Florida. Megan Sheridan illustrates inclusion and assessment using the Kodály approach. David Edmund and Jian-Jun Chen-Edmund examine creative lessons developed for exceptional learners in a general music setting. Steven Bingham and Donald DeVito illustrate adaptive jazz inclusion and performance for public school and university students with disabilities. This collaborative development in qualitative music assessment has taken place through (1) developing methods of communicating recognition of student engagement and affective responses during inclusive engagement in public school music education settings, specifically in Kodaly-based music instruction, K–12 general music classes, and secondary jazz ensembles; (2) using students’ interest and engagement as a means of curriculum development and assessment in inclusive public school music settings; and (3) building collaborative relationships with parents and the community for post-school lifelong music learning.

scholarly journals Scaling standards-aligned instruction through teacher leadership: methods, supports, and challenges

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Amy Cassata ◽  
Elaine Allensworth
Keyword(s):  
Public Schools ◽  
Teacher Leadership ◽  
Collective Efficacy ◽  
Teacher Leaders ◽  
Contextual Factors ◽  
Collaborative Work ◽  
School Context ◽  
School Level ◽  
Instructional Change ◽  
Teacher Leader

Abstract Background The Common Core Standards for Mathematics and Next Generation Science Standards were adopted by states with the goal of preparing students with knowledge and skills needed for college, careers, and citizenry. Adopting these standards necessitated considerable changes in instructional practice. While teacher leadership is known to be important for instructional change, there is little research that articulates the processes through which that influence occurs, and how contextual factors constrain or support those processes. This paper provides a case study of efforts in the Chicago Public Schools to promote widespread instructional change around standards reform through a teacher leader model using retrospective from 2013 to 2017 interviews with 16 math and science teacher leaders serving grades 6–12, along with quantitative analysis of district-wide data showing patterns of change and professional learning. It builds off prior research to articulate a framework of how teacher leaders promote instructional change. Findings There were five patterns of teacher leader action: inspiring others, sharing with colleagues, working in collaboration, advocating for change, and providing individual support, and an interplay between teacher actions and school-level contextual factors, with some contextual factors more important than others for different types of actions. In particular, sharing and collaborative work were facilitated in schools with designated collaboration time, trusting relationships, and colleagues who were also trained and knowledgeable about the new standards. The degree of collective efficacy the teacher leaders felt seemed to be driven mostly by the presence of other knowledgeable change agents in the school. Conclusions and implications The study adds to the existing literature on teacher leadership by articulating the mechanisms through which teachers exert influence around instructional improvement of their school peers and providing examples of each. Further, the study illustrates how these mechanisms are facilitated or constrained by the larger school context. Together, the articulation of mechanisms and contexts, along with illustrative examples, provides a guide for supporting instructional change through teacher leadership in schools and districts.

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