Gender and Racial Differences in Principal Evaluation: Measuring the Affective Language of Principals' Written Feedback

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Racialized and Gendered Educational Experiences: Resisting Leadership Norms

Abstract

Over the past decade, reforms to principal evaluation systems have sought to incorporate formal feedback structures as a lever for principal improvement. However, we know little about the feedback that principals receive. Using statewide administrative data from Tennessee, including principals’ written evaluation feedback, we use sentiment analysis to uncover the affective language, or tone, of principals’ feedback, and examine differences in affective language by principal gender and race. We find that the affective language of refinement feedback (constructive criticism) largely resembles that of reinforcement feedback (affirmative feedback). We also find that Black principals receive refinement feedback with less positive affective language relative to observably similar white principals. We conclude with implications for policy and practice and suggestions for future work.

Authors

• Karin Gegenheimer, Gwinnett County Public Schools

• Ellen B. Goldring, Vanderbilt University