School principals are facing an increase in demand and challenges from district, state, and federal agencies for improvements both behaviorally and academically. Each year, more school principals exit their positions for other professions. The concentrated poverty school districts have been hit the hardest by this exodus. The purpose of this basic…

R. Goldring and Taie (2018) found that there was a national turnover rate of 18% among principals during the 2015-16 academic year. Previous research has also revealed that as many as 50% of new principals do not stay in their positions beyond their third year (Fuller & Young, 2009; School Leaders Network, 2014). This high turnover highlights…

Rural, Southern Indiana schools continue to experience staffing shortages affected by the decreasing enrollment trend of students to teacher preparatory programs and increase in teacher attrition, and mobility. The problem is increased teacher attrition, turnover, and mobility within rural schools in Southern Indiana, and is essential because…

In this three-study dissertation, I present an in-depth examination of patterns in the paraeducator workforce across two states: Indiana and Washington. In each study, I leverage longitudinal administrative data to answer questions about the distribution, turnover, and impact of paraeducators in the workforce using both descriptive and causal…

According to data collected from the Allegheny Intermediate Unit (2021), in the 2020-2021 academic year, 34 of the 42 suburban Allegheny County superintendents, or 81%, were serving in the position for longer than the state average of three years. The purpose of this qualitative, phenomenological study was to explore the factors that influenced…

This phenomenological qualitative study focused on the perceptions and lived experiences of special education directors in Pennsylvania in relationship to job satisfaction and retention in public school districts. This study analyzed data collected from participants through semi-structured interviews. The study engaged with six participants from…

Given the substantial challenges of the principalship and the high turnover of school principals, school districts have sought out assistant principals as a major source of leadership talent to take up the role of principal. In this qualitative dissertation, I explored how principals and assistant principals from a southeast urban school district…

Since at least 2015, public education has experienced declining numbers in the quality of students' education as well as educator and student retention (Finn, 2019; Joubert, 2020). The problem is that due to limited financial resources, school districts need nonmonetary options to incentivize teachers and campus administrators to improve job…

This study makes use of a data set detailing instances of public school superintendent turnover in Kentucky between 2014 and 2023. A quantitative research design was used to analyze salary changes based on a set of demographic and descriptive variables in the sample of 205 superintendent turnovers occurring during the identified decade. The…

Purpose: While previous research has examined the impact of school turnaround models, less is known about the principals who lead these turnaround schools. This study examines the personal demographics, experience, educational background, prior school performance, salaries, and turnover of principals who led two turnaround models in Tennessee's…

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, K-12 public school district superintendent turnover rates reached concerning levels in Oregon. This study explored relationships between superintendent longevity and superintendents' experiences with the school board, experiences in the school district, experiences related to their own health and safety, and…

This individual case study is part of a larger group study examining how principals benefit from and shape professional capital to improve schools. Principals play a critical role in supporting student learning, while also structuring the culture of the school and mediating external demands. Despite the importance of the school principal,…

Recent research has confirmed what students, families, educators, and advocates have always known to be true: School leaders really matter. School leaders play a fundamental role in recruiting and supporting strong educators, driving rigorous instruction, creating school cultures that are inclusive and inviting, and working toward positive…

This study sought to examine the extent superintendent longevity relates to student performance as measured by graduation rates. Specifically, this study sought to examine how a district school superintendent's longevity provides conducive context through which student academic improvement programs, culture, and relationships could be established…

Teacher turnover, or those teachers who either move between schools or leave the profession entirely, is a growing problem in today's education system. Though education research is flush with studies about turnover's causes and the success of certain policy initiatives, little attention has been paid to the perspectives of those policymakers often…