Reasons and Barriers for Becoming a School Principal: Results From an International Comparative Study

• In Event: Marriott Roundtable Session 1
  In Roundtable Session: Why People Become Principals and How to Keep Them There

Abstract

Attracting and retaining the best candidates for the position of the school principal is key for sustaining high-performing schools. However, in various countries across the globe, ministries and school boards struggle with principal recruitment and staffing. Knowing the reasons and barriers for becoming a school principal might shed light into reasons behind current recruitment challenges. In addition, such results might provide the building blocks for changes to the profile of the principal or to the way(s) principals are recruited. This proposal reports on findings from a quantitative study in the US, China and Germany on principal’s job satisfaction, reason, and barriers for becoming a school principal (N=1062).

Authors

• Chuang Wang, University of Macau

• Pierre Tulowitzki, FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland

• Ulrich Müller, Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg, University of Education

• Dawson R. Hancock, University of North Carolina - Charlotte

• Tobias Bernd Stricker, Pädagogische Hochschule Ludwigsburg, Institut für Bildungsmanagement