Conditions for Change: Implementing Principal Talent Management Policies and Practices in Four Districts

• In Event: Managing Human and Organizational Capital

Abstract

This mixed methods case study examines how central office leaders in four school districts implemented policy and practice changes to more effectively recruit, support, and retain school principals. By examining interview, focus group, survey, and artifact data from the districts, this study sought to identify what conditions best explained variation and progress on implementation. Using Honig’s (2006) implementation framework that examines how policy, people, and places situate implementation effectiveness, I sought to understand how policy reform information flows among people, particularly between the central office staff and school principals. Findings suggest that districts varied in their implementation progress; they were all challenged by their own capacity gaps, gaining buy-in to the work, and communication flow.

Author

• Eva Chiang, The George W. Bush Institute