Executive Summary
Of
The Maine Principal Study
Change and Stability in School Leadership: 1997 – 2005
By Don Buckingham, Principal, Sedgwick Elementary School
Gordon Donaldson, Professor of Education, University of Maine
George Marnik, Clinical Instructor of Educational Leadership, University of Maine
2005
College of Education and Human Development
The University of Maine
Orono, Maine
Supported by
The Davis Family Foundation
The Maine PrincipalsÕ Association
This document summarizes key findings from
the Maine Principal Study, 2005. We encourage
principals, central office staff, school boards, and professional groups to use
it to enhance the principalship as a leadership role and as a rewarding and
sustainable career for our best educators. Such efforts are currently under way at the state level, led
by the Maine PrincipalsÕ Association, the Maine Educational Leadership
Consortium, and the University of Maine.
A copy of the complete study report can be obtained from Jo-Ellen Carr,
College of Education and Human Development, 118 Merrill Hall, University of
Maine, Orono, ME 04469
(207-581-2455 or joellen.carr@umit.maine.edu).
In 1997, Gordon Donaldson and Charles Hausman began a longitudinal study of the work conditions of the Maine principalship. Their goal was to inform school districts, school leaders, state policy makers, and professional groups about the nature of Maine principalsÕ work and the impacts of that work on leaders themselves, with the hope that this information could help strengthen the performance of leadership in all schools.
Surveys of Maine principals, teaching principals, and assistant principals in 1997, 2001 (Donaldson, Buckingham and Coladarci), and 2005 (Donaldson, Buckingham and Marnik) provide the first continuous data on the conditions for leadership in Maine schools. Response rates have been, respectively, 63%, 53%, and 43%. Despite these falling rates, the respondents have closely matched the stateÕs population of principals.
In April 2005, questionnaires and cover letters were mailed to the 957 administrators who were listed on the Maine Department of EducationÕs roster of 2004-2005 principals and assistant principals in K-12 public education. Of the 957 questionnaires mailed, 414 were returned and were usable in the final study, a response rate of 43% (vs. 53% in 2001 and 63% in 1997). Of these respondents, 23% were assistant principals; 5% were teaching principals; and the remainder (72%) were supervising principals.
The results reported below are restricted to the latter two groups: the 315 Maine principals who served as the only administrator or the supervising administrator of a Maine school in 2005 (that is, assistant principals are not included). These 315 principals and teaching principals represented 46% of the total population of principals and teaching principals on the MDOE roster for the year.
The researchers compared the sample of responding principals with the stateÕs principal population and found that it matches approximately the statewide distribution of principals with respect to gender, length of tenure, education level and several attributes of the schools they served, including size, rurality, and percentage of students eligible for free/reduced lunch. While these findings do not necessarily apply to the entire population of Maine principals, consistencies across the eight-year period give us substantial confidence in their validity.
Turnover High; Many Retirements Coming Soon
v High turnover continues to characterize many principalships (1/3 of Maine principals stay in their jobs for under 2 years; over half for under five years).
v A large cadre of experienced principals will retire in the coming 5-7 years; more young educators are moving into the principalship as are more women.
Work is Time-Consuming and Involves Many, Varied Activities
v Principals devote on average 57-59 hours per week to their work.
v Principals are expected to supervise, on average, about 40 professional and support personnel.
v Their activity patterns continue to be characterized by many diverse tasks.
v Principals devote most time to Personnel Management, followed by Student Management and Interactions with the Education Hierarchy. They are increasingly engaged in Public Relations. Instructional Leadership and Professional Development occupy the bottom of the list.
Many Find The Role Energizing and Rewarding
v The vast majority find their work energizing, rewarding, and enjoyable. Most feel that they are making a difference in the education of children and that their schools are Òmaking progressÓ.
v Most principals feel that most faculty and staff in their schools support them in achieving work goals. They gain assistance from other principals and, to a lesser degree, from their district office personnel. In general, they feel that parents and community have positive views of their schools.
They Also Find it Stressful and Feel Overloaded. One Quarter of Principals Would Not
Choose this Career If They Had the Opportunity Again
v Between 25 and 30% of Maine principals consistently express dissatisfaction with or uncertainty about their choice of careers over the 8-year period.
v Many of these same principals also find the work stressful and characterized by conflict and criticism. They feel ÒoverloadedÓ with work, find that it ÒintrudesÓ too much on personal/family time, and about half declare that Òthe job is wearing me outÓ.
v They also report that Òchanging prioritiesÓ and disagreement within the community make their work environment unpredictable and demanding.
Stress, Overload, Success, and Sense of Reward Are Key Factors in Principal Success
v PrincipalsÕ feelings of stress and overload shift in relation to their sense of reward and energy for the job: as one rises, the other declines.
v Their sense of reward and energy shifts in relation to their perception that the community, district, and staff are in consensus about the positive direction of their school. As one rises or falls, so does the other.
v Their sense of effectiveness as principals also shifts in accordance with their perception of community, district, and staff consensus. As one rises, so does the other.
v Finally, principalsÕ sense of reward and personal efficacy shift in relation to the ÒunpredictabilityÓ of the environment around them and the amount of conflict and challenge they experience; as the latter rise, the former tend to fall (and vise versa).
v More women are principals in 2005 (increase of 5.5%) than in 1997 or 2001.
v Most responding principals (60%) fall into the Òover 50 years oldÓ age bracket.
v Age distribution is taking on a Òbarbell shapeÓ: more principals now fall into the Òover 50 years oldÓ and Òunder 40 years oldÓ brackets than did in 1997 and 2001; relatively fewer fall into the 40-50 year-old bracket.
Comment: The state will see many principals retire in the coming 5-7 years, providing an opportunity for younger teachers to assume administrative leadership roles and for districts to re-think principal roles.
Turnover Remains High
v Average length of tenure in the principalship remains about 12 years.
v In 1997, 2001, and 2005, about 30% of responding principals had been in their current jobs 2 years or less.
v In 2005, over half (55%) had been in their jobs 5 years or less and only 20% had been in their positions more than 10 years.
Comment: Principal work appears to be transient work. Communities cannot expect their local administrators to sign on for much more than 5 years. Principals cannot anticipate committing to their schools and communities for the long term. Where will stability of mission and leadership come from?
v Maine principals report devoting on average 57 hours per week to their work (slightly less than in 2001 which was slightly more than in 1997).
v They report devoting 28 hours per week to their families.
Comment: Achieving a sense of professional and personal balance in life remains a challenge for many.
v Principals continue to supervise, on average, 31 professional staff and 16 support staff (despite the fact that the enrollment in the average principalÕs school has declined since 1997 from 355 to 338).
v Principals continue to report that they Òoften engageÓ in nearly all of 28 typical activities associated with the principalship.
v Of these activities, principals:
o continue to see ÒpersonnelÓ activities as having the most impact on the success of their schools and are heavily engaged in these activities;
o report declining engagement in Òstudent behaviorÓ, even though they view it as a high impact activity;
o report rising engagement in Òpublic relationsÓ, even though they view it as only a Òmoderate impactÓ activity;
o continue to devote relatively less time to Òprofessional developmentÓ and to Òinstructional leadershipÓ activities, despite believing that these can have high impact on the schoolÕs success;
o report devoting more time to Òinteracting with the education hierarchyÓ even though their estimation of the impact of this set of activities is modest and declining.
Comment: Many principals put in long hours. Their work is highly varied and responsive. They view ÒpersonnelÓ and ÒstudentsÓ as important responsibilities. Indeed, they have many adults and children to supervise and manage (many more adults than the average supervisor oversees in most other work organizations).
v In all three survey years, we found that:
o About half the responding principals replied ÒYes, definitelyÓ when asked, ÒIf you had to do it over again, would you still choose to become a principal?Ó
o Approximately another 25% said Òyes, probablyÓ.
o The remaining 24-30% would Òdefinitely notÓ or Òprobably notÓ choose the principalship (12-15%) or answered that they were ÒunsureÓ (12-15%) if they would.
Comment: If Maine schools are to be led with energy and optimism, we believe their principals should embrace their leadership work. In written comments, those who expressed dissatisfaction with their choice to be principal noted the amount and the increase in ÒmanagementÓ, Òmandated requirementsÓ, ÒconflictÓ, and ÒpressureÓ. Some noted that principalsÕ work was too unlike what brought them to teaching in the first place (working directly with the learning of children).
v The following observations reflect factors in principalsÕ perceptions of their worklives that emerged statistically from their responses. Each factor describes an important feature of principalsÕ experience that we can explore in our efforts to improve the work conditions and success of Maine principals.
Factor 1: The Role is
Rewarding.
v Most principals like what they do, finding it ÒrewardingÓ, ÒenergizingÓ, and ÒenjoyableÓ.
Sample 2005 results:
o 96% find it ÒenjoyableÓ;
o 90% find it Òenergizing and rewardingÓ;
o 67% believe that Òthe stress and challenges of being a principal are well worth it.Ó
Comment: These positive aspects of the work were a strong aspect of the principalship for many respondents in 1997, 2001, and 2005. We found a substantial inverse relationship between this factor and Factor 4 (Òstress and overloadÓ). How can the rewarding aspects of the work be maximized? How can the stress and sheer amount of work be controlled?
Factor 2: Consensus on
Progress.
v Most principals associate their own success with the degree of consensus among stakeholders about school goals and progress. Most responding principals feel a high level of consensus and progress exists.
Sample results from 2005:
o 98% report they are Òmaking a positive difference for students at this schoolÓ;
o 97% report that ÒI feel as though I am making progress at my schoolÓ;
o 97% report that Òparents are supportive of our schoolÓ;
o 90% feel that their community Òtakes a lot of pride in our schoolÓ;
o 89% believe that teachers share their Òvalues and philosophiesÓ and 85% believe that there is a Òshared vision for this school.Ó
v When asked to rate how helpful or unhelpful various individuals or groups were to them in their work, principals consistently over the 8 years of the study rated:
o secretaries and spouse/significant others as most helpful
o teachers and principals in other buildings as next most helpful
o other in-school staff and central office personnel as next most helpful
o parents and school boards as less helpful
Comment: Maine principals generally feel that many people around them are pulling for the school and bring to their work in school a generally helpful disposition. These are important assets for leadership work; we found a solid correlation between this factor and Factor 3.
Factor 3: Personal Efficacy in
the Role.
v Most principals are ÒbullishÓ about their ability to positively impact students and the school.
Sample 2005 results:
o 96% said they were Òconfident in my ability to be an effective school leader.Ó
o 90% believe that Òprincipals are a powerful influence on student achievementÓ;
o However, 78% believe ÒI have enough training and experience to deal with almost any learning problemÓ;
Comment: In principalsÕ estimation, their positions are influential. They also feel they have Òwhat it takesÓ to lead effectively, despite the fact that their work presents them with problems for which they must continue to learn.
Factor 4: The Workload is Heavy and Stressful.
v Most principals experience the workload as heavy and the work as stressful.
Sample 2005 results:
o 85% report that Òmy job is stressfulÓ;
o 69% report that Òbecause of the long hours, I have little time left for myselfÓ;
o And 62% feel that Òmy workload makes it difficult to give my best attention to tasks.Ó
o 56% say Òmy job intrudes too much on my personal lifeÓ;
o 51% report that Òthe demands of this job are wearing me out.Ó
o 47% Òoften wonder if the long hours involved in the job are worth it.Ó
Comment: 2005 principals reported slightly lighter workload effects and slightly less stress than did 2001 principals. Nevertheless, the job appears clearly to take a toll on those who do it – undoubtedly a disincentive for continuing in the position for incumbent principals and a disincentive for taking on the work for talented teachers.
Factor 5: Unpredictable and Demanding Environment and Factor 6: Interpersonal Conflict and Personal Challenge.
v For most principals, the work includes conflict and challenge stemming both from the political and bureaucratic environment and from the sometimes intense ÒpeopleÓ side of their jobs.
Sample 2005 results:
o 77% say they Òoften find myself in situations that are challenging for me.Ó
o 70% report encountering substantial Òdisagreement and conflict in my workÓ;
o 70% feel they are Òexpected to keep pressure on faculty and staff to improveÓ;
o 59% report that Òsome community members oppose educational practices here at schoolÓ;
o And about half the responding principals report that Òpriorities change too frequently for our school to succeed at them all.Ó
Comment: Disagreement, conflict, and different values seem part of the fabric of principalsÕ lives. These constitute a substantial Òwork realityÓ that many educators would prefer not to encounter in their work, keeping some from seeking principalships or, perhaps, taking a toll on those who are currently serving as principals. As we expected, our analysis shows a strong inverse association between this ÒconflictÓ factor and Factor 1 (Òenjoyable and rewardingÓ).