Churn: The High Cost of Principal Turnover

This new report challenges the myth that developing a strong principal pipeline is where America should be focused. CHURN reveals the multitude of signicant impacts principal turnover has on schools and school systems -- including teachers and students, and highlights the cost implications of a typical system in churn. This report shows that investing in the backend of principal retention will carry front-end pipeline investments much further, proposing specific solutions to reverse the current flood of leadership out the door

Principal Turnover in Illinois Public Schools, 2001-2008

Analyzes trends in turnover among public school principals in 2001-08 compared with 1987-2001, school-based and personal reasons for the moves, characteristics of their new positions, and the role of school accountability pressures. Examines implications

Exploring Principal Turnover in Oklahoma

Schools that maintain the same principal for 5 or more years report increased student achievement, increased teacher retention, and a positive school culture. The problem is that over 70% of principals will not remain in the same school for 5 years and the average principal turnover rate in the United States is 22%. The purpose of this quantitative study was to explore principal turnover in Oklahoma from 2011–2024 by answering the following research questions: What is the average principal turnover rate for principals in Oklahoma? Is there a significant difference in elementary and secondary principal turnover rates? Is there a difference in principal turnover rates before and after the COVID-19 pandemic? Are race, gender, salary, and experience predictors of principal turnover? This quantitative study used a combination of analyses including one-way ANOVA, Tukey posttest, chi-square test, and binary-logistic regression to analyze 13 years of historical data with a sample of over 1,700 school principals throughout Oklahoma. The results contribute to the overall literature on principal turnover in the following areas: (1) the principal turnover rate between 2011 and 2024 in Oklahoma is 21.6%, (2) there is a statistically significant difference in elementary and secondary principal turnover, (3) the COVID-19 pandemic did not have a significant impact on principal turnover, (4) salary and educational experience are predictors of principal turnover, and (5) race and gender are not accurate predictors of principal turnover. The results encourage district leaders in Oklahoma to consider exploring situational leadership theory when leading principals as school level, salary, total educational experience, and other contextual factors determine if the principal will remain at the school long enough to make a positive impact on student achievement, teacher retention, and school culture. Future research could focus on identifying specific reasons for principal v turnover, the type of experience, and adding variables such as school size and setting when considering predictive factors of principal turnover. Keywords: principal turnover, elementary principal, secondary principal, K-12 principal, quantitative, principal stabilit

Relational Trust as a Determinant of Principal Turnover: A Quantitative Analysis

The issue of principal turnover in American schools has gained greater attention over the last twenty years due to the trend of double-digit annual principal turnover rates. The connection between principal turnover and school climate has largely been focused on how changes in the principal position negatively affects school climate. No research, to this point, has examined the correlation between relational trust between teachers and their principal and principal turnover rates. This study achieves this goal by addressing the question: What, if any, is the relationship between relational trust and principal turnover? This study employed a quantitative methodology supported by secondary data sources. The sample population included 696 Illinois PK-12 public schools that administered the 5Essentials Survey in six consecutive years (2013-2014 to 2018-2019). The Teacher-Principal Trust measure score from the 5Essentials Survey represented the measurement of relational trust. Principal turnover first appeared as a metric on the Illinois report cards during the 2013-2014 school year. The time frame which principal turnover is relevant is from the 2013-2014 school year through the 2018-2019 school year, matching the years that Teacher-Principal Trust was examined. The researcher’s analysis sought to determine the extent to which a relationship exists between Teacher-Principal Trust scores and principal turnover rates in six distinct areas. Ultimately, this study found that schools with relational trust issues have a high rate of principal turnover, that principal turnover issues transcend urbanicity, and that school-level demographics largely do not affect principal turnover rates. The findings from this study provide needed perspective on relational trust as a measure directly correlated to principal turnover rates. Additionally, this study provides insight on a new typology of principal more susceptible to vacating their position: principals who struggle to form relational trust with teachers

Location Matters: A Geospatial Analysis of Principal Turnover in the Denver Metropolitan Area

Research indicates that principals leave their school on average every three years. Additional research is needed to understand factors that are related to principal turnover. In this study I used geographic information systems to examine the geospatial variance between school characteristics, student achievement, and principal turnover in the Denver metropolitan area. I found that principal turnover is an issue in both urban and suburban areas, with suburban areas in the Denver metropolitan area experiencing similar trends in principal turnover. In this study I also highlight the importance of understanding local context when examining principal turnover patterns

A Phenomenological Study of Teachers’ Lived Experiences Working in Schools Influenced by Principal Turnover

The purpose of this transcendental phenomenological study was to understand teachers’ experiences with principal turnover. Julian Rotter’s locus of control theory is the theoretical foundation for this study. He has proposed that people either believe that they have control over what happens to them or that external factors determine their fate. Currently, most research has highlighted the negative consequences of principal turnover; however, there are studies that highlight positives as well. This study sought to dig deeper into the phenomenon of principal turnover to gain an understanding of how teachers experience a change in leadership. The central research question for this study asked, “How do teachers describe their lived experiences working in schools that have had principal turnover?” Participants were teachers in various schools across the state of Virginia who had experienced principal turnover within the previous two years. The data collection processes included one-on-one interviews with teachers, focus groups, and letters written by participants. Data analysis for this study involved the use of Moustakas’ four-step process of epoche, phenomenological reduction, imaginative variation, and synthesis of meanings and essences. Steps for increasing data trustworthiness included researcher bracketing, data triangulation, member checks, and the use of an audit trail. There were five themes that emerged during data analysis: adjusting to new leaders, adapting to or resisting new visions, turnover impact on students, teachers’ emotions surrounding turnover, and what teachers wanted from incoming leaders. These findings highlight both positives and negatives that teachers have experienced during times of principal turnover

Leadership for the Long-haul: The Impact of Administrator Longevity on Student Achievement

The average turnover of the principal position at public schools in the state of Texas is 3 ½ years (Fuller, Young, & Shoho, 2010). This fact raises a number of important questions. Perhaps the most important of which is also the simplest – So what? Does principal turnover matter? What is the impact of high principal turnover? Does this leadership shuffle lead to lower test scores? This study was conducted in order to find out

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationEver-increasing pressures from federal and state accountability policies and the aging and retirement of the baby boom generation have been accelerating principal turnover in K-12 schools during the past decade. This phenomenon has raised nationwide concern about school stability and student performance. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the factors that influence principal turnover in order to support and retain principals for school stability and success. Based on data from the 2011-2012 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) and the 2012-2013 Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS) sponsored by National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), this study comprehensively examines what factors influence the probability of different types of principal turnover. These turnover categories include moving to another school, leaving the school system/changing roles to become a teacher, getting promoted to the district central office, and retiring. With the guidance of a conceptual framework from Microeconomic Labor Market Theory, this study categorizes factors from both the supply side (principal) and demand side (school and school district) in the principal labor market. With multinomial logistic regressions with region fixed effects, this study examines to what extent the supply sideâ€"principal characteristics and principal instructional leadership practices, and the demand sideâ€"school context and working conditions can predict the probability of different types of principal turnover. In terms of principal characteristics, this study found that principals who attended aspiring principal programs or had a license/certificate in school administration were less likely to change roles or leave the education system. In terms of school contextual factors, principals in secondary schools, in larger school districts, in schools that did not make Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), and/or in schools with a higher proportion of students of color were more likely to move to another school. This study also fills a research gap by focusing on the influence of both principal instructional leadership practices and working conditions on principal turnover. Principals who were highly focused on enhancing student academic performance and academic incentive programs were less likely to move to another school. Principals who spent higher proportions of time on curriculum and teaching related tasks or internal administrative tasks were more likely to move or leave. Additionally, higher salaries, beneficial job contracts, tenure systems, professional development, fewer student disciplinary problems, and more influence on evaluating teachers were all associated with lower odds of principal turnover. These findings could assist policy makers in understanding different types of principal turnover and what factors could influence various turnover behaviors. This understanding could allow policy makers to provide adequate resources and to create positive working environments in order to develop, support, and retain strong instructional leaders for school success

Frequency of Principal Turnover in Ohio’s Elementary Schools

One remedy for Ohio schools that fail to meet the state’s test score criteria for “effectiveness” is to force a change in the principalship. Concerns have been raised that such a remedy may simultaneously undermine the organizational stability of the school. The researchers in this study examined the frequency with which elementary building principals in 109 southwest Ohio schools changed during the 7-year period of 1996-1997 (FY 1997) through 2002-2003 (FY 2003). The researchers found that urban and rural schools had a significantly higher turnover frequency than did suburban schools. Ways to counter frequent principal turnover while, at the same time, generating improved principal leadership, pose great challenges for those at the helm of many Ohio districts

Principal Turnover: Are There Different Types of Principals who Move From or Leave Their Schools?

The purpose of this study is to investigate the extent that there is a typology of principals who depart from their schools in the U.S. using the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey and the 2008-09 Principal Follow-up Survey. Prior principal retention research has focused on identifying factors that predict principal turnover, however this research has not focused on understanding the extent to which there may potentially be different subgroups of principals who depart. This study uses Latent Class Analysis to identify and better understand the types of principals who exit their schools and discusses the implications of such findings. Keywords: principals, principal turnover, principal retention, latent class analysis, schools and staffing survey, principal follow-up survey, surveys, mixture modelin