The Influence of Salary in Attracting and Retaining School Leaders

This article examines the salary trajectory of teachers as they move up the career ladder into leadership positions. The issue of compensation is set in the context of a principal shortage that has been widely reported and discussed in the literature. Urban schools are shown to experience the principal shortage differently from rural schools. District size and school type show significant differences in the additional compensation offered for moving from teaching to various leadership positions. The influence of salary is discussed in concert with the changing role of the principalship and candidate’s concerns about increasingly less desirable working conditions for school leaders.

[1]  D. Pounder,et al.  Job Desirability of the High School Principalship: A Job Choice Theory Perspective , 2001 .

[2]  Frank Papa,et al.  Why Do Principals Change Schools? A Multivariate Analysis of Principal Retention , 2007 .

[3]  Kerry J. Gruber,et al.  Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the United States: 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey. E.D. TAB. NCES 2006-313 Revised. , 2006 .

[4]  Superintendent Perceptions of Quantity and Quality of Principal Candidates , 2003 .

[5]  Michael F. Dipaola,et al.  The Principalship at a Crossroads: A Study of the Conditions and Concerns of Principals , 2003 .

[6]  J. Wyckoff,et al.  The Attributes and Career Paths of Principals: Implications for Improving Policy , 2002 .

[7]  Francis L. Bacon,et al.  National Association of Secondary-School Principals , 1942 .

[8]  L. Darling-Hammond,et al.  School Leadership Study : Developping Successful Principals , 2005 .

[9]  A. Duffett,et al.  Trying To Stay Ahead of the Game: Superintendents and Principals Talk about School Leadership. , 2001 .

[10]  A. Levine,et al.  Educating School Leaders. , 2005 .

[11]  Kathryn S. Whitaker.  Where Are the Principal Candidates? Perceptions of Superintendents , 2001 .

[12]  Philip A. Cusick.  A Study of Michigan's School Principal Shortage. Policy Report No. 12. , 2003 .

[13]  V. E. Cooley,et al.  Factors Influencing Applying for Urban Principalship , 2000 .

[14]  M. Roza.  A Matter of Definition: Is There Truly a Shortage of School Principals?. , 2003 .

[15]  Jianping Shen,et al.  The Changing Principalship and Its Impact: Voices from Principals , 1998 .

[16]  K. Brady,et al.  Superintendents’ Perceptions of the Principal Shortage , 2009 .