Kathryn S. Whitaker

Principal role changes and influence on principal recruitment and selection

This article presents an overview of the changing role of principals and head teachers from an international perspective. The role changes of local site management, increased accountability, the tension between management and leadership, altered relationships with community, and dilemmas related to school choice are described. The article makes a connection between principal role changes and difficulties in recruitment and retention of principals internationally. Data are presented on principal shortages in several countries. The article concludes with several recommendations to address principal recruitment and retention issues.

Exploring causes of principal burnout

Describes a qualitative study on causes of principal burnout. Aims to ascertain causes of emotional exhaustion, depersonalization, and personal accomplishment in the principalship. Nine principals depict how the principalship has changed and describe elements of their jobs that lead to burnout, as well as reasons for not wanting to continue in the principalship despite intrinsic rewards associated with the job. Discusses several implications including the need for more support systems, greater professional development opportunities, and the need to prepare principals better for the realities of the job.

Where Are the Principal Candidates? Perceptions of Superintendents:

This article reports the findings of a study on superintendent perceptions of the quantity and quality of candidates for the principalship. Follow-up interviews were conducted with 10 superintendents of variously sized school districts. Of the respondents, 90 percent indicated a moderate to extreme shortage of principal candidates, with the problem more severe at the high school level. Superintendents offered suggestions for ways to increase the candidate pool for principalships.

Superintendent perspectives and practice of accountability, democratic voice and social justice

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the superintendent portion of the UCEA Voices III project.Design/methodology/approach – A four‐year study to determine how school leaders, from several locations and contexts, describe their perceptions of and experiences with educational leadership related to the study themes, school improvement, democratic community, and social justice.Findings – Study findings indicate that superintendents articulated these study themes in more general and practical terms than found in the academic literature, and share a belief that the themes may be mutually exclusive, and require contextual interpretation to be functional. The paper concludes by calling for extending our ideas of how to practice social justice, solicit broader community voice, employ shared decision making, and measure accountability.Originality/value – Authors recommend that practitioners place more emphasis on individualized contextual and cultural realities that can minimize or even counter the ...

Developing teacher leadership and the management team concept: A case study

Abstract This article presents the findings of a case study that explored the use of teacher leaders on a management team at a school site level. The findings suggest that ambiguity and organizational constraints surround the new roles for teacher leaders, and that, in order for new teacher leadership roles to be successful, norms related to the collegium of teachers need to be reexamined because some teachers are not comfortable with expanded teacher roles. The findings also indicate that for new teacher leadership roles to be effective, roles must be clearly defined from the outset. In addition, staff input and collaborative decision making must occur when implementing a new teacher leadership model, and the principal needs to have excellent communication skills and knowledge of the change process.

The Elusive Phenomenon of Principal Burnout

Kathryn S. Whitaker is associate professor in the division of educational leadership and policy studies, University of Northern Colorado, Greeley, Colo. Although much research has been conducted about principal stress and the many problems inherent in the principal’s job, little research has focused on the phenomenon of principal burnout. A key aspect of burnout is emotional exhaustion. People believe they are no longer able to give of themselves due to emotional over-

Four recommendations for enhancing the professional status of teachers

Abstract This article describes four components needed to enhance the professional status of teachers. The authors argue that the role of the teacher needs to change from dispenser of information to facilitator of growth and that working conditions for teachers need much improvement. In addition, the authors suggest that schools must create a more thoughtful workplace where teachers are empowered to make decisions affecting their work. Finally, the authors recommend that a professional hierarchy be established in the teaching ranks to encourage opportunities for advancement. Several obstacles inherent in these suggestions are also presented.

District Superintendents as Instructional Leaders

This chapter explores the role of the superintendent as an instructional leader by first discussing the ways in which superintendents can and do influence instruction in their school districts. This is a particularly important goal given the call for school leaders to focus on instructional improvement in ISLLC Standard 2. Specifically, ISLLC Standard 2 challenges school leaders to promote the success of every student by advocating, nurturing, and sustaining a school culture and instructional program conducive to student learning and staff professional growth. This chapter presents quandaries encountered by superintendent respondents from the Voices 3 study (Acker-Hocevar, Ballenger, Place, and Ivory, 2012) who were attempting to serve as instructional leaders in a new No Child Left Behind environment. The chapter concludes with several perspectives based on role theory and organizational learning theory that shed light on quandaries superintendents face in leading.