Principal succession in Texas: Examination of motivation to leave a position among various groups of principals

Current research clearly points to the unsettling effect that principal movement can have on both the campus which they have left and the campus to which they are going. The principal is the educational leader of the campus and sets a tone and environment which has great impact on the success or failure of the campus in achieving its goals. The purpose of this study is to examine the reasons principals leave their positions in such great numbers, to quantify these reasons, and to develop predictive algorithms that can yield insight into the likelihood a principal will leave a position. The study was conducted by surveying all of the principals in Texas who have ever left a principal position. 1,472 principals responded to the survey out of a total population of 6,050. Of these, 419 principals qualified for the study and 305 completed the survey that was the main research instrument. Principals indicated that job security and salary were both strongly associated with decisions to leave a position. Research also indicated that issues of autonomy and lack of support from supervisors played significant roles in a principal’s decision to seek a new position. However, only principals who left a position to move to a larger school showed a significant tendency to move again for the same reason.