Paul A. Winter

Principal Recruitment in a Reform Environment: Effects of School Achievement and School Level on Applicant Attraction to the Job

Applicant pools for principal vacancies are shrinking nationwide. Increased job demands, including greater accountability on the part of principals for student achievement, are making the job less attractive at a time when many principals from the baby boom generation are retiring. Furthermore, there is little empirical knowledge about factors that affect principal recruitment. This study took place in a state undergoing systemic school reform. Randomly selected assistant principals (n = 189) role-played as job applicants and rated high school principal jobs varied by school student achievement classification (meets goal, progressing, in need of assistance), school location (inner city, suburban, rural), and participant current work assignment (elementary, middle school, high school). The most significant finding, detected by a three-way analysis of variance, was that 64% of the variance in job ratings was accounted for by school achievement, with low performing schools being greatly disadvantaged in recruiting principals. Implications for recruitment practice and research are discussed.

Principal Recruitment: An Empirical Evaluation of a School District's Internal Pool of Principal Certified Personnel.

Applicant pools for principal vacancies are shrinking nationwide. This shortage of job applicants requires school districts to evaluate their internal pools of principal certified personnel. In this study, 194 certified individuals from a large school district responded to a survey measuring attraction to the job of principal, current job satisfaction versus expected satisfaction in the job of principal, barriers to pursuing the job, and recommended changes in the job. Few participants intended to apply for principal vacancies due to age (median=51), lack of self-reported capability to do the job, and satisfaction with the current job. Participants perceived their job satisfaction would decrease on assuming the job of principal relative to factors such as time with family and job security, and increase relative to factors such as salary and opportunity to experience varied activities. Implications for principal recruitment and recommendations for restructuring the job are discussed.

Teacher Recruitment in a School Reform State: Factors that Influence Applicant Attraction to Teaching Vacancies.

This study addressed applicant reactions to teaching positions announced in recruitment media. The independent variables were school classification based on standardized student achievement tests (in need of assistance, progressing, meets goal), signing bonus (10% initial signing bonus, no bonus), and teaching experience (experienced, inexperienced). The dependent variable was applicant rating of the job. The design was a 2 × 2 × (3 × S) split-plot ANOVA. Applicants rated jobs at in-need-of-assistance schools lower than jobs at progressing schools and meets-goal schools, and progressing schools were rated lower than meets-goal schools (ω = .52). Inexperienced teachers rated jobs more favorably than experienced teachers, holding all other factors constant (ω = .113). There was also a significant school classification by signing bonus interaction (ω = .02). Results affect teacher recruitment practice and future research.

The Influence of Work Values on Teacher Selection Decisions: The Effects of Principal Values, Teacher Values, and Principal-Teacher Value Interactions.

Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of work values on teacher selection decisions. The comparative emphasis scale served to measure the dominant work values of school principals (N=115). A between-within factorial design and stepwise multiple regression were used to regress principal rating of a teacher candidate (dependent variable) on principal and teacher dominant work values and on principal–teacher work value interactions. A linear combination composed of four work value interactions and the teacher work value achievement accounted for a significant amount of variance in principal ratings of teachers. These results suggest that principal work values influence teacher selection decisions.

Managerial recruitment: the influence of personality and ideal candidate characteristics

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the vital issue of managerial recruitment for private industry. Personality and demographic variables and their interactions are to be examined to determine the extent they uniquely influence the attraction of business professionals to managerial jobs in simulated position advertisements.Design/methodology/approach – The study consisted of 330 experienced business professionals who role‐played as applicants for managerial positions by rating jobs described in simulated position advertisements.Findings – After statistically controlling for the demographic variables, the hierarchical regression analyses suggested that personality (inclusion, control, openness) as determined by the FIRO Element B explained statistically significant job rating variance in each of the three regression models. Thus, job applicant personality influenced the attraction of the participants to simulated managerial jobs.Originality/value – These findings suggest the practical sig...

Community College Reverse Transfer Students: A field Survey of a Nontraditional Student Group

Data from a 54-item survey directed at reverse transfer students in the University of Kentucky Community College System was analyzed based on responses from two subgroups: 734 completers (those who had completed a baccalaureate) and 148 noncompleters. Chi square and t tests indicated statistically significant differences between completers and noncompleters as to race and marital status, age, number of dependents, number of credit hours, and grade point average. The data also revealed differences between the two groups as to reasons for enrollment and current goals. The authors discuss the resulting profile of reverse transfers in a student services context.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY RECRUITMENT PRACTICES: THE EFFECTS OF APPLICANT GENDER, INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS, AND JOB ATTRIBUTES

Achieving desired results in education partly depends on the quality and motivation of the faculty hired to deliver instruction. Although recruitment is the first step in hiring capable faculty, no empirical research has been done about community college recruitment practices occurring prior to the employment interview. This study applied marketing and advertising theory to the task of recruiting community college business faculty. The reactions of two groups (male, female) of target applicants (N = 180) were assessed with respect to recruitment advertisements varied by instructional program description and by attributes used to describe the job. The investigation was conducted using a 2 × 3 × 3 factorial analysis of variance design. Male applicants reacted more favorably to advertisements when the organization was depicted as being oriented toward academic transfer instructional programs, and the job was described using extrinsic job attributes. Female applicants reacted more favorably when the organizat...

An assessment of school councils, collegial groups, and professional Development as Teacher Empowerment Strategies

Abstract In the mid-1980s teacher empowerment emerged as the centerpiece of school reform for teachers in the USA. A policy issue now is: How can we empower teachers to become influential teacher leaders and more skilled teachers? In this article the researchers examine three strategies for their effect on empowering teachers within the new policy context of school autonomy. Teacher service on Kentuckys school councils seemed to have little effect on empowering teachers since the researchers found in two studies that teachers were not even attracted to the job in the first place. Facilitators of teacher collegial groups were found to have potential in empowering group members – provided the facilitators conceptualise their role as a learner and supporter of the classroom experimentation process. (;The principal selection of facilitator was a key factor in this empowerment strategy.) Professional development conceptualised as growth opportunities for teachers seemed effective when several factors converge at the school site: an atmosphere of support and trust; teachers assuming leadership roles through administrator encouragement; voluntary participation combined with professional norms fostering teacher involvement; diverse, active learning and self-directed learning experiences connected to teacher work context and expertise; integration of efforts to improve classroom teaching and learning with school-level improvement and PD programmes; professional development ‘as a way of life.’ In the articles last section, implications including suggestions for policymakers are made for building school instructional capacity

Community College Reverse Transfer Students: A Multivariate Analysis.

Reverse transfer students (i.e., students transferring from a baccalaureate institution to a community college) are either completers (i.e., earned a bachelors degree) or noncompleters (i.e., did not earn a bachelors degree). The investigation reported in this article included a procedure to construct-validate an instrument that captures data about why reverse transfer occurs and a discriminant-analysis profile that highlights differences among completers and noncompleters. The findings have implications for student recruitment, student services, and future research.Reverse transfer students (i.e., students transferring from a baccalaureate institution to a community college) are either completers (i.e., earned a bachelors degree) or noncompleters (i.e., did not earn a bachelors degree). The investigation reported in this article included a procedure to construct-validate an instrument that captures data about why reverse transfer occurs and a discriminant-analysis profile that highlights differences among completers and noncompleters. The findings have implications for student recruitment, student services, and future research.

COMMUNITY COLLEGE FACULTY RECRUITMENT: EFFECTS OF JOB MOBILITY, RECRUITER SIMILARITY-DISSIMILARITY, AND APPLICANT GENDER

The study reported in this article was a factorial experiment that addressed the usefulness of the Rynes and Barber (1990) applicant attraction model and the Byrne (1971) similarity-attraction hypothesis as theoretical frameworks for conducting empirical research about community college faculty recruitment. Study participants (N = 136) were business professionals completing the masters of business administration degree who position announcements of community college business faculty vacancies. The independent variables were job mobility (relocation required vs. relocation not required), recruiter background (business vs. education), and applicant gender. The dependent variable was a composite rating for applicant reaction to a job described in a faculty position announcement. Both male and female applicants rated jobs most favorably when the job did not require relocation F(1,128) = 5.16, p.05 and the recruiter conveying the job message had a professional background similar to that of the applicant F(1,12...The study reported in this article was a factorial experiment that addressed the usefulness of the Rynes and Barber (1990) applicant attraction model and the Byrne (1971) similarity-attraction hypothesis as theoretical frameworks for conducting empirical research about community college faculty recruitment. Study participants (N = 136) were business professionals completing the masters of business administration degree who position announcements of community college business faculty vacancies. The independent variables were job mobility (relocation required vs. relocation not required), recruiter background (business vs. education), and applicant gender. The dependent variable was a composite rating for applicant reaction to a job described in a faculty position announcement. Both male and female applicants rated jobs most favorably when the job did not require relocation F(1,128) = 5.16, p.05 and the recruiter conveying the job message had a professional background similar to that of the applicant F(1,128) = 11.97, p.001. These findings have implications for theory, educational recruitment practice, and future research.