Successful School Principalship in Late-Career

Autor/inn/en	Mulford, Bill; Edmunds, Bill; Ewington, John; Kendall, Lawrie; Kendall, Diana; Silins, Halia
Titel	Successful School Principalship in Late-Career
Quelle	In: Journal of Educational Administration, 47 (2009) 1, S.36-49 (14 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	0957-8234
DOI	10.1108/09578230910928070
Schlagwörter	Foreign Countries; Principals; Career Development; Midlife Transitions; Administrator Attitudes; Career Change; Public Schools; Employment Patterns; Australia + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Ausland; Principal; Schulleiter; Berufsentwicklung; Midlife-Krise; Career changes; Berufswechsel; Public school; Öffentliche Schule; Beschäftigungsstruktur; Australien
Abstract	Purpose: Who are late-career school principals? Do they continue to make a positive contribution to their schools? Do they feel tired and trapped or do they maintain their commitment to education and young people? The purpose of this paper is to explore these issues, employing the results of a survey on successful school principalship with the population of Tasmanian government school principals. Design/methodology/approach: Surveys on successful school principalship were distributed to a population of 195 government schools (excluding colleges and special schools) in Tasmania. Return rates were 67 per cent for principals and 12 per cent for teachers. Surveys sought responses in areas such as demographic characteristics, leadership characteristics, values and beliefs, tensions and dilemmas, learning and development, school capacity building, decision making, evaluation and accountability, and perceptions of school success. Findings: The findings confirm other research indicating that pre-retirement principals, when compared with other principals, are more likely to have a strong work ethic, to consult widely and to have a strong social consciousness. The findings contradict results from other research indicating that pre-retirement principals, when compared with other principals, are more likely to be rigid and autocratic, disenchanted with and withdrawn from work, and "tired and trapped". Practical implications: Such findings lead one to conclude that pre-retirement principals continue to be a committed and valuable resource and that therefore greater research and policy attention should be given to the issue. With education systems undergoing major and continuing change, while at the same time suffering potential shortages of effective school leaders, it is time to re-examine educational career structures, especially for those principals approaching retirement. Originality/value: The paper's originality lies in the evidence it provides about an area that is not well researched. (Contains 1 figure and 8 tables.) (As Provided).
Anmerkungen	Emerald. 875 Massachusetts Avenue 7th Floor, Cambridge, MA 02139. Tel: 888-622-0075; Fax: 617-354-6875; e-mail: america@emeraldinsight.com; Web site: http://www.emeraldinsight.com
Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2017/4/10