Date of Award

Spring 5-3-2024

Level of Access Assigned by Author

Open-Access Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Department

Educational Leadership

Advisor

Maria Frankland

Second Committee Member

Catharine Biddle

Third Committee Member

Esther A. Enright

Abstract

The United States (U.S.) is facing a crisis in preK-12 Educational Leadership that is having a negative impact on schools across our nation (Harbatkin & Henry, 2022). Principals are leaving their administrative positions before they have a chance to make lasting positive changes (Levin, et al, 2019). This cycle leaves schools constantly in flux as they continue to rebalance and reorganize after each new leader steps into their building. As a principal arrives in a new position, they work to gain an understanding of the school processes and procedures, meet and develop relationships with the staff, and get to know the students, parents, and school community. This takes time, approximately five to seven years (The Wallace Foundation, 2012) with principals staying an average of fewer than four years (Levin, et al, 2019), schools are caught in an unhealthy cycle where they can never fully gain traction with one principal before bringing in a new principal who comes in with their own ideas There have been a variety of studies over the last 15 years that focus on the reasons why principals leave their positions (Grissom & Bartanan, 2019; Hallinger & Heck, 2010; Hallinger & Murphy, 2013; Levin et al., 2020; The Wallace Foundation, 2012). A 2019 study conducted by the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Learning Policy Institute, surveyed 424 principals about retention and turnover. This was a much larger study than what I have conducted and across schools that were affiliated with NASSP. This dissertation study examined the factors that lead to principal retention investigated from the personal experiences and stories of principals in Maine. I used a qualitative approach, interviewing principals who have been in their current position for a minimum of five years. The goal was to learn the factors that lead to principal retention and then to share those findings with principals, district leaders and principal preparatory programs. The findings include an emphasis on the relationship between the superintendent/district level leader and how that relationship can make a difference between retention and turnover. There were other key factors that were apparent in the study including a.) the success of supportive district principal teams and how they connected principals to their work, fostering professional and personal relationships; b.) the role of autonomy in principal decision making as they build their leadership experiences interacting with the students, staff and school community; and c.) an approach to professional development for principals that included choice in deciding what was needed for their building and for their own leadership growth. All of these factors were perceived by principals as supporting retention in their positions. Keywords: principal, retention, educational leadership, job satisfaction, district level leader, superintendent.

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