Examining the Effect of Principal Turnover on Teaching Quality: A Study With Repeated Classroom Observations

• In Event: Examining the Dynamics of Principal Turnover and Burnout

Abstract

A change of principal can be a critical event for a school. Against that background, this study seeks to answer the question, if principal turnover is associated with a change in a schools’ teaching quality and the role of moderators and interactions in this regard, by applying multi-level regression models. Based upon data from n = 10,036 high-stakes classroom observations gathered cross-sectional within n = 101 primary schools at two time points, the results show that teaching quality seems to be buffered from direct effects of principal turnover to some extent. However, further analyses demonstrate that the change in principal leadership might have severe negative effects on teaching quality in low-SES schools.

Authors

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

• Marcus Pietsch, Leuphana University of Lüneburg

• Johannes Hartig, German Institute for International Educational Research