Georgia Educational Research Association Conference

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.