The Spatial Geography of Principal Labor Markets in Texas

• In Event: 18.017 - Exploring the K–12 Leadership Labor Market in Different Contexts

Abstract

Objective and Significance

Much more is known about teachers than principals in terms of how their initial job placements and geographical preferences contribute to existing inequities in their distribution across districts and schools. Studies regarding the spatial geography of new teacher labor markets show them to be very small, which has important implications for teacher recruitment and distribution (Boyd, Lankford, Loeb, & Wyckoff, 2005; Lichtenberger, White, & DeAngelis, 2015). Comparable evidence with regard to principal labor markets is much more limited, which is surprising given concerns about supply/demand imbalances, particularly in some geographic areas (Gates, Ringel, Santibanez, & Brown, 2004; Pounder, Galvin, & Shepherd, 2003).

Theoretical Framework

According to Kerr (1950), “The labor market is the area, defined occupationally, industrially, and geographically, within which workers are willing to move and do move comparatively freely from one job to another” (p. 278). Extant research on labor markets indicates both demand- and supply- side factors contribute to individuals’ labor market boundaries (see, e.g., Eliasson, Lindgren, & Westerlund, 2003; Martin, 2000). On the supply-side, these factors include workers’ demographics, family structure, skill and/or education level, and the pecuniary and psychological costs to the worker of relocating (Eliasson et al., 2003; Martin, 2000). The demand-side includes job-related factors such as the proximal nature of the work, the accessibility of employment opportunities within a given area, and wages offered to prospective employees (Eliasson et al., 2003; Martin, 2000). Competing demand- and supply-side factors make the boundaries of principal labor markets unclear.

Data and Methods

We examine the spatial geography of principal labor markets in Texas for cohorts of new assistant principals and principals (henceforth, leaders) from 2000-01 to 2009-10. Our sample included 10,440 new leaders. Texas Education Agency data were used to identify new leaders and to provide important individual- and employment- related information. Longitude and latitude data were obtained from the Common Core of Data. We measured geographic scope in two ways: (1) the distance in miles between the school leader’s school in the year prior to and his/her school as a first-year school leader; and, (2) the distance in miles between the school leader’s principal preparation program and his/her school as a first-year school leader.

Results and Significance

We find that principal labor markets are very small, although the boundaries vary somewhat by their personal and professional characteristics. For example, we find an average distance between new leaders’ current and prior-year school of 16.7 miles, with 81% taking their first leadership position within 15 miles and 91.9% within 40 miles. Fewer than one in twenty leaders accept a position more than 100 miles away. These results suggest that the recruitment of new school leaders depends heavily on the quantity and quality of the supply of local candidates. Thus, districts, particularly those in more isolated locations or in locations where the quality or quantity of prospective administrators tends to be inadequate, need to consider grow-your-own or succession programs wherein internal prospective candidates are “tapped” and groomed for leadership positions (Myung, Loeb, & Horng, 2011).

Authors

• Karen J. DeAngelis, University of Rochester

• Christine M Isselhard, University of Rochester