What Factors Influence Principal Turnover and Mobility? A Systematic Review of the Research

• In Event: Park Central Roundtable Session 13
  In Roundtable Session: Principal Turnover and Job Satisfaction

Abstract

High principal turnover often leads to disruptive school environments and low student performance. Understanding what factors influence principal turnover, therefore, is critical in supporting and retaining principals. This study is a systematic literature review that aims to identify significant factors (e.g., principal demographic and professional characteristics, school contextual factors, and working conditions) from all existing studies and calculate their effect sizes on principal turnover. Our preliminary analysis shows that while principal characteristics show no consistent influence on principal turnover, schools with higher proportions of students with diverse needs and less-qualified teachers often have higher principal turnover rates. In addition, the few studies that studied salary and nonpecuniary working conditions have found that these are significant factors influencing principal turnover.

Authors

• Yongmei Ni, University of Utah

• Rui Yan, University of Utah

• Sandra E Leu, University of Utah