Transitioning From Assistant Principal to Principal: Differences by Personal, School, and Labor Market Characteristics

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

Abstract

Significance

Research suggests that the majority of graduates from principal preparation programs become employed as an assistant principal (AP) prior to becoming a principal (Fuller & Young, 2010). Importantly, additional research suggests the on-the-job training experienced while an AP is associated with lower teacher turnover and improved school outcomes when the individual becomes a principal (Béteille, et al., 2012; Clark, Martorell, & Rockoff, 2009; Branch, Hanushek, & Rivkin, 2009; Fuller, Baker, & Young, 2011). There is, however, a paucity of research on the transition from AP to principal, especially with respect to the personal and school- characteristics associated with the occurrence of this transition.

Objectives

There were two primary objectives of this study. The first objective of this study was to examine the impact of personal- and school- characteristics on the likelihood of an AP becoming a principal in Texas public schools. The second objective was to investigate whether the factors influencing an AP obtaining a principal position varied across labor markets.

Perspective

Our primary perspective was that of representative bureaucracy which states that leaders with particular personal characteristics—especially race/ethnicity—will benefit individuals with the same characteristics such as in the hiring process (Grissom & Keiser, 2011). We used this perspective to employ the racial/match between an AP and the superintendent of the district in which there was an open position as a principal.

Data and Methods

This study relied on state administrative data records from Texas that included 24,714 individuals employed as assistant principals in public schools from 1996 through 2009. The data included the following information: personal characteristics (age, race/ethnicity, gender); individual attributes such as certification scores and years of education experience; school characteristics (achievement, student demographics, size, etc); and, labor market characteristics

To analyze the transition from AP to principal, we employed logistic regression analysis with obtaining a position as a principal as the dependent variable. We utilized a range of covariates that included personal characteristics, school characteristics, and labor market characteristics.

Results

With respect to the likelihood of an AP becoming a principal, we found that gender and race/ethnicity had no statistically significant effect on becoming a principal over the long run (7 years), but that females, Latino/a, and Black APs experienced longer wait period between becoming an assistant principal and becoming a principal. We also found that becoming an assistant principal before the age of 30 was positively associated with becoming a principal.
With respect to school characteristics, we found APs in high-performing and low-poverty schools were more likely to become principals than APs in low-performing and high-poverty schools. Further, we found that Black and Latina/o APs were far more likely to obtain principal positions in predominantly Black and Latina/o schools, respectively.

Finally, with respect to labor markets, APs in metro labor markets had a greater probability than APs in rural areas to become principals, all other factors being equal. We also found Latina/o APs were more likely to obtain a position as a principal in districts with either a Black or Latina/o superintendent.

Author

• Ed Fuller, The Pennsylvania State University