Hiring certified teachers: A qualitative study of the experience and practice of high school principals in a midwestern state

Steven J Lyng, Purdue University

Abstract

This qualitative study examined the practices of high school principals as they work to select teachers for their schools. The aim of the study was to gain understanding of the experience and practice of the high school principal as the central figure in this process. The research was based on case studies of nine high school principals who were randomly selected as participants. The participants were representative of large, medium, and small school principals, as well as low poverty, average poverty, and high poverty school principals. The study found that high school principals place a high value on an individual teacher candidate’s potential fit for their school’s culture. As a result, a high school principal thinks a great deal about the personal traits that a candidate possesses, often favoring these traits over skill sets or content knowledge. The participants were found to be unfamiliar with research-based systems for hiring teachers as identified in the literature review for this study. When they do use research-based systems, they are typically customized based on those individual principals’ experiences and preferences. The participants consistently reported a number of difficulties in selecting quality teachers. These difficulties included, among other things, a lack of desirable candidates, mistrust of references, competition with other schools, time constraints, financial constraints, and political influences. In spite of the overall difficulty of the task and the lack of expertise reported, the participants all reported that they felt effective in achieving the overall purpose of finding and placing teachers that fit their school cultures.

Degree

Ph.D.

Advisors

Hirth, Purdue University.

Subject Area

School administration|Secondary education

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