Proposal Track
Research Project
Session Format
Presentation
Abstract
Student success is highly dependent on teacher quality, therefore; it is imperative that principals hire only the most outstanding teachers. This study investigated school hiring processes in order to determine the extent to which research based practices are utilized in districts of various configurations. Data was gathered using a 42 question electronic survey e-mailed to principals in ten states in the southern and western regions of the United States. Preliminary analysis indicates that in all types of districts the principal is the primary decision maker about the structure of the hiring processes including candidate selection. The vast majority of principals believe they are using research based processes, yet responses to specific questions indicate both structure and decision making criteria are not aligned with practices most likely to identify candidates who will have a high impact on student achievement. Most principals are confident in their ability to hire high quality teachers but report extremely limited training through one-time workshops and graduate courses. This research is limited by the distribution to only ten states in two geographic regions but implies that there is a disconnect between principals’ perceptions of their hiring practices and the actual alignment of process and outcomes to research based best practices.
Keywords
teacher hiring, teacher quality, screening processes, interview structure
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Kimbrel, Laurie A., "Teacher Hiring: The Disconnect Between Principals’ Perceptions, Processes and Research Based Best Practice" (2018). Georgia Educational Research Association Conference. 41.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/gera/2018/2018/41
Included in
Teacher Hiring: The Disconnect Between Principals’ Perceptions, Processes and Research Based Best Practice
Student success is highly dependent on teacher quality, therefore; it is imperative that principals hire only the most outstanding teachers. This study investigated school hiring processes in order to determine the extent to which research based practices are utilized in districts of various configurations. Data was gathered using a 42 question electronic survey e-mailed to principals in ten states in the southern and western regions of the United States. Preliminary analysis indicates that in all types of districts the principal is the primary decision maker about the structure of the hiring processes including candidate selection. The vast majority of principals believe they are using research based processes, yet responses to specific questions indicate both structure and decision making criteria are not aligned with practices most likely to identify candidates who will have a high impact on student achievement. Most principals are confident in their ability to hire high quality teachers but report extremely limited training through one-time workshops and graduate courses. This research is limited by the distribution to only ten states in two geographic regions but implies that there is a disconnect between principals’ perceptions of their hiring practices and the actual alignment of process and outcomes to research based best practices.
