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 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.

Experiences That Predict Early Career Teacher Commitment to and Retention in High-Poverty Urban Schools

2015 ◽  
Vol 52 (7) ◽  
pp. 799-828 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joan L. Whipp ◽  
Lara Geronime
Keyword(s):  
Urban Schools ◽  
Student Teaching ◽  
Teacher Education Program ◽  
Binary Logistic Regression ◽  
Urban School ◽  
Early Career ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
K 12 ◽  
First Job ◽  
Job Location

Correlation analysis was used to analyze what experiences before and during teacher preparation for 72 graduates of an urban teacher education program were associated with urban commitment, first job location, and retention in urban schools for 3 or more years. Binary logistic regression was then used to analyze whether urban K-12 schooling, volunteer service, and student teaching in a high-poverty urban school predicted urban commitment, employment, and retention for at least 3 years in an urban school. The regressions revealed that all three factors predicted strong urban commitment and that urban commitment strongly predicted first job location and retention.

scholarly journals Effect of Income Inequality on Health Status in a Selection of Middle and Low Income Countries

Equilibrium ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 133-152
Author(s):  
Elnaz Hajebi ◽  
Mohammad Javad Razmi
Keyword(s):  
Public Health ◽  
Health Status ◽  
Panel Data ◽  
Income Inequality ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
The Public ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between the public health status and income inequality has been taken into consideration in the last two decades. One of the important questions in this regard is that whether the changes in income inequality will lead to changes in health indicators or not. To answer this question, life expectancy is used as a health indicator and the Gini coefficient is used as an income inequality indicator. In this study, the relationship between income inequality and the public health has been investigated by panel data in Eviews software during 2000–2011 in 65 low-and middle-income countries. By using panel data and considering fixed effects and heterogeneity of sections, the relationship between income inequality and public health status is a significant negative relationship.

Teacher Turnover in High-Poverty Schools: What We Know and Can Do

2015 ◽  
Vol 117 (3) ◽  
pp. 1-36 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicole Simon ◽  
Susan Moore Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Working Conditions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
School Context ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Low Income Students ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Poor

Background/Context Over the past three decades, teacher turnover has increased substantially in U.S. public schools, especially in those serving large portions of low-income students of color. Teachers who choose to leave high-poverty schools serving large numbers of students of color usually transfer to schools serving wealthier, Whiter student populations. Some researchers have interpreted this trend to mean that “teachers systematically favor higher-achieving, non-minority, non-low-income students.” These ideas have influenced policy analysis concerning high-poverty schools but offered little guidance for those who would address this problem. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study This article presents an alternative explanation for turnover—one grounded in organizational theory and substantiated by an emerging line of research. In doing so, it reframes the debate over what fuels high rates of teacher turnover in high-poverty schools and provides advice for policy makers and practitioners, as well as recommendations for productive possibilities for future research. Research Design This article reviews six studies analyzing turnover as a function of school context rather than as a function of student demographics. Based on the patterns regarding what factors influence teacher departures across these studies, we pursue these predictors by summarizing what is known about them and how each supports teachers’ work. Findings/Results The six overarching studies reviewed here collectively suggest that teachers who leave high-poverty schools are not feeing their students. Rather, they are feeing the poor working conditions that make it difficult for them to teach and for their students to learn. The working conditions that teachers prize most—and those that best predict their satisfaction and retention—are social in nature. They include school leadership, collegial relationships, and elements of school culture. Conclusions/Recommendations The poor working conditions common in America's neediest schools explain away most, if not all, of the relationship between student characteristics and teacher attrition. This is important because, unlike demographic characteristics of students, working conditions can be addressed. Policy makers and practitioners have many options for improving aspects of the school environment, and, although more research can inform this work, much is already known about what matters to teachers as they are deciding whether to continue teaching in their schools.

Clerical Turnover in the K–12 Campus Office

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Robert
Keyword(s):  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
First Year ◽  
Turnover Rates ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
High Poverty Schools ◽  
Clerical Staff ◽  
Research Attention ◽  
Suburban School District ◽  
K 12 ◽  
Turnover Costs

Clerical staff in the campus office (secretaries and registrars) perform critical functions essential to the operation of schools, yet do not receive research attention regarding their contributions. This study describes turnover rates of K–12 campus clerical employees in order to establish base information in the field. Eight years of employment data within a large suburban school district in Texas are examined to determine the number of clerks moving to different positions and/or leaving campus clerical employment. Findings reveal that the average clerical employee in this district is female, 50 years old, White or Hispanic, has 11 years of experience, changed positions at least once, and earns $15.61 an hour. The demographics of clerical staff more closely resembles student demographics that of than the teachers within the district. Turnover averaged 22% per year, with 16% representing leavers and under 7% representing movers; 25% of clerks left in their first year. Although teacher turnover is more frequent in high-poverty schools and varies based on level of campus, clerical staff turnover is significantly based on the level of position and pay. Results confirm findings from research on paraprofessionals (who have similar levels of pay) that level of pay and perceived lack of support are reasons for leaving. By providing induction activities and additional training, districts can reduce turnover costs of clerical staff despite the added cost of training.

The Relationship Between Physical Activity and Executive Functions Among Youth in Low-Income Urban Schools in the Northeast and Southwest United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 42 (4) ◽  
pp. 292-306
Author(s):  
Jesse Mala ◽  
Jennifer McGarry ◽  
Kristen E. Riley ◽  
Elaine C.-H. Lee ◽  
Lindsay DiStefano
Keyword(s):  
Physical Activity ◽  
Working Memory ◽  
Multivariate Analysis ◽  
Executive Functions ◽  
Cognitive Flexibility ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Analysis Of Covariance ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Pearson Correlations

The purpose of this study was to examine if physical activity is related to greater executive functions among youth in poverty. Executive functions (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory) and physical activity were measured in participants (N = 149) in the fifth to eighth grade from three schools located in high-poverty districts. Pearson correlations revealed a statistically significant correlation between physical activity and cognitive flexibility (r = .18, p < .05). Hierarchical multiple regressions revealed that physical activity significantly improved prediction for cognitive flexibility, R2 = .09, F(6, 142) = 2.26, p = .041, adjusted R2 = .05, above sex, maturity, and school district. A two-way multivariate analysis of covariance revealed statistically significant differences in working memory in more active youth compared with less active but no statistically significant differences in cognitive flexibility or inhibition (p < .05). Greater physical activity is associated with greater working memory among youth in poverty.

scholarly journals Plastic and Immobile

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily Rauscher
Keyword(s):  
Low Income ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Intergenerational Mobility ◽  
Internal Validity ◽  
Differential Susceptibility ◽  
Parental Income ◽  
Parental Characteristics ◽  
Susceptibility Model ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The Relationship

Contrary to traditional biological arguments, the differential susceptibility model suggests genotype may moderate rather than mediate parent-child economic similarity. Using family fixed effects models of Add Health sibling data, I investigate the relationship between an index of sensitive genotypes and intergenerational mobility. Full, same sex sibling comparisons hold constant parental characteristics and address the non-random distribution of genotype that reduces internal validity in nationally representative samples. Across multiple measures of young adult financial standing, those with more copies of sensitive genotypes achieve lower economic outcomes than their sibling if they are from a low income context but fare better from a high income context. This genetic sensitivity to parental income entails lower intergenerational mobility. Results support the differential susceptibility model and contradict simplistic genetic explanations for intergenerational inequality, suggesting sensitive genotypes are not inherently positive or negative but rather increase dependence on parental income and reduce mobility.

Ready to Lead, but How? Teachers’ Experiences in High-Poverty Urban Schools

2014 ◽  
Vol 116 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-50 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Moore Johnson ◽  
Stefanie Reinhorn ◽  
Megin Charner-Laird ◽  
Matthew Kraft ◽  
Monica Ng ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Schools ◽  
Student Performance ◽  
Low Income ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Urban District ◽  
Effective School ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
District Administrators ◽  
Inclusive Approach ◽  
Leadership Policy

Background/Context Many strategies to improve failing urban schools rest on efforts to improve leadership within the school. Effective school-based leadership depends not only on the activities of the principal, but also on teachers’ efforts to address school-wide challenges. Research has shown that the principal is pivotal in such ventures, but we know little about how teachers conceive of their role in leadership, how they respond to opportunities provided or denied by their principal, or how they initiate leadership on their own. Purpose We studied how teachers in six high-poverty urban schools participate in leadership beyond their classroom. We asked: What role do teachers in high-poverty urban schools play in their school's improvement? How do principals conceive of teachers’ potential for leadership and how do they act on it? How do teachers respond to the opportunities and constrains they encounter as they seek to exercise leadership in their schools? Research Design We interviewed 95 teachers and administrators in six high-poverty schools of one large urban district (two elementary schools, one K–8 school, one middle school, and two high schools). The schools, which served large proportions of low-income and minority students, had varying records of student performance. Data Collection and Analysis In each school, we interviewed the principal, other administrators, and a broad sample of teachers. We reviewed documents and observed day-to-day practices. After writing a structured, thematic summary for each respondent and school, we coded all transcripts and analyzed themes and practices within and across schools. Findings Teachers were willing and ready to address their school's challenges. They conditionally granted their principal discretion in setting the agenda, based on the perceived authority and expertise of the principal and teachers’ opportunities for engagement as partners. When the principal took an instrumental approach to their contributions, teachers resented it, withdrew to their classrooms, and considered leaving the school. When the principal took an inclusive approach, demonstrating genuine interest in their views and contributions, teachers invested in school-wide reforms. Conclusions/Recommendation Although a principal may develop a strategic plan for improvement, that plan cannot simply be “rolled out.” Doing so without teachers’ contributions and endorsement likely means that the plan is incomplete and will be rejected outright or adopted perfunctorily. District administrators should select and develop principals who take an inclusive approach to teacher leadership. Policy makers and researchers should go beyond assessing the success of specific reforms and study the process of change within schools as reforms are developed and implemented.

Ending Isolation: The Payoff of Teacher Teams in Successful High-Poverty Urban Schools

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (5) ◽  
pp. 1-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Moore Johnson ◽  
Stefanie Reinhorn ◽  
Nicole Simon
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Urban Schools ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Group Behavior ◽  
Shared Responsibility ◽  
Comparative Case Study ◽  
High Poverty ◽  
Wide Range

Background/Context Many urban schools today look to instructional teams as a means to decrease professional isolation, promote teachers’ ongoing development, and substantially reduce well-documented variation in teachers’ effectiveness across classrooms. Recent research finds that teams can contribute to teachers’ development and increased student achievement. However, research also suggests that teams often fail and that most schools are not organized to ensure their success. Therefore, it is important to learn more about how teams function in successful schools, how teachers experience them, and what factors contribute to their success. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study Data for this article were drawn from a comparative case study focusing on the human-capital practices in six successful high-poverty, high-minority schools (traditional, turnaround, restart, and charter), all located in one Massachusetts city. Each school was affected by a distinct set of state and local policies. Here, we focus on the schools’ approaches to professional learning and collaboration among teachers. Did they rely on teams, and, if so, what purposes did the teams serve, and how were they organized? How did teachers assess their experience with teams? What role did administrators play? Were there notable school-to-school differences in how these teams were organized and managed? Research Design/Data Collection and Analysis For this qualitative, comparative case study, we conducted semistructured interviews with 142 teachers, administrators, and other staff in six elementary and middle schools. Interview protocols encouraged participants to discuss their school's approach to teachers’ professional learning and work with colleagues. During school visits, we also observed a wide range of day-to-day practices and collected documents describing school policies and practices. We coded our data with both emic and etic topical codes and used various matrices to analyze responses within and across the sites. Conclusions/Recommendations Five schools relied on teams as a central mechanism for school improvement, dedicating substantial blocks of time each week to teachers’ meetings. Teams focused on matters of content (curriculum, lesson plans, and student achievement) and the student cohort (individual progress, group behavior, and organizational culture). Teachers valued their work on teams, saying that it supported their instruction and contributed to their school's success by creating coherence across classrooms and shared responsibility for students. Factors that supported teams included having a worthy purpose in support of the school's mission; sufficient, regular time for meetings; engaged support by administrators; and facilitation by trained teacher-leaders.

How Context Matters in High-Need Schools: The Effects of Teachers’ Working Conditions on Their Professional Satisfaction and Their Students’ Achievement

2012 ◽  
Vol 114 (10) ◽  
pp. 1-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Johnson ◽  
Matthew A. Kraft ◽  
John P. Papay
Keyword(s):  
Student Achievement ◽  
Minority Students ◽  
Working Conditions ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Effective Teachers ◽  
Teacher Turnover ◽  
Teacher Satisfaction ◽  
Career Plans ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Conditions Of Work

Background/Context Educational policy makers have begun to recognize the challenges posed by teacher turnover. Schools and students pay a price when new teachers leave the profession after only 2 or 3 years, just when they have acquired valuable teaching experience. Persistent turnover also disrupts efforts to build a strong organizational culture and to sustain coordinated instructional programs throughout the school. Retaining effective teachers is a particular challenge for schools that serve high proportions of low-income and minority students. Although some interpret these turnover patterns as evidence of teachers’ discontent with their students, recent large-scale quantitative studies provide evidence that teachers choose to leave schools with poor work environments and that these conditions are most common in schools that minority and low-income students typically attend. Thus, mounting evidence suggests that the seeming relationship between student demographics and teacher turnover is driven not by teachers’ responses to their students, but by the conditions in which they must teach and their students are obliged to learn. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study We build on this body of work by further examining how working conditions predict both teachers’ job satisfaction and their career plans. We use a broad conception of the context of teachers’ work, paying attention not only to narrowly defined working conditions but also to the interpersonal and organizational contexts in which teachers work. We also extend Ladd's analysis describing the relationship between the work context and student achievement. Advancing our understanding of this relationship is particularly important, given the increasing emphasis legislators place on evidence of student achievement when evaluating education policy. Specifically, we ask three research questions: (1) Do the conditions of work in Massachusetts public schools affect teachers’ satisfaction with their jobs and their career plans? (2) Are schools with better conditions of work more successful in raising student performance than schools with less supportive working conditions? (3) If the conditions of work are important, what elements of the work environment matter the most? Research Design In this article, we combine a statewide survey of school working conditions (MassTeLLS) with demographic and student achievement data from Massachusetts. We examine three primary outcomes: teacher satisfaction, teacher career intentions, and student achievement growth. From different items on the MassTeLLS, we construct a set of nine key elements that reflect the broad-based conditions in which teachers work. We fit standard regression models that describe the relationship between each outcome and both overall conditions of work and each element separately, modeling this relationship according to the properties of our outcome variables. Findings/Results We found that measures of the school environment explain away much of the apparent relationship between teacher satisfaction and student demographic characteristics. The conditions in which teachers work matter a great deal to them and, ultimately, to their students. Teachers are more satisfied and plan to stay longer in schools that have a positive work context, independent of the school's student demographic characteristics. Furthermore, although a wide range of working conditions matter to teachers, the specific elements of the work environment that matter the most to teachers are not narrowly conceived working conditions such as clean and well-maintained facilities or access to modern instructional technology. Instead, it is the social conditions—the school's culture, the principal's leadership, and relationships among colleagues—that predominate in predicting teachers’ job satisfaction and career plans. More important, providing a supportive context in which teachers can work appears to contribute to improved student achievement. We found that favorable conditions of work predict higher rates of student academic growth, even when we compare schools serving demographically similar groups of students. Conclusions/Recommendations In short, we found that the conditions of teachers’ work matter a great deal. These results align with a growing body of work examining the organizational characteristics of the schools in which teachers work. Together, these studies suggest strongly that the high turnover rates of teachers in schools with substantial populations of low-income and minority students are driven largely by teachers fleeing the dysfunctional and unsupportive work environments in the schools to which low-income and minority students are most likely to be assigned. If public education is to provide effective teachers for all students, then the schools those students attend must become places that support effective teaching and learning across all classrooms.

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