Date of Graduation
12-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Adult and Lifelong Learning (EdD)
Degree Level
Graduate
Department
Rehabilitation, Human Resources and Communication Disorders
Advisor/Mentor
Grover, Kenda S.
Committee Member
Kacirek, Kit
Second Committee Member
Jones, Marsha
Keywords
Educational Administration; retention; Self-Efficacy; Social Support; Supervisor Support; turnover
Abstract
Across the United States, our K-12 public schools have very low levels of principals persisting in their jobs. The national average for principal tenure is four years, and one out of every five principals in poverty districts leaves after one year (Levin et al., 2019). The tenure average of four years is a devastating statistic because, according to an investigation commissioned by the Wallace Foundation (Leithwood et al., 2011), it takes an average of five years with a new administrator for a school’s performance to rebound to the level of achievement that existed before the administration change. At the current principal turnover rate, school performance declines cannot recover. According to The National Teacher and Principal Survey conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, only 11% of principals stay in their schools for at least ten years (Taie et al., 2017). Arkansas is the basis for this study because 23% of building administrators in Arkansas are persisting ten years or longer in their current school. Arkansas' relatively high level of principal retention will provide valuable information regarding the relationship of principals viewing their environment as supportive and their ability to persist. The purpose of this study is to investigate the predictive relationship between perceived support levels and job persistence after controlling for perceived self-efficacy for building administrators in Arkansas Public and Charter Schools using binary logistic regression analysis. This study will provide insights into whether two factors of perceived support (i.e., social and supervisor) are predictive of a principal's retention. These factors can be targeted through training programs and, as such, have the potential to have an immediate influence on principal retention rates.
Citation
LaRosa, J. A. (2022). Investigating the Effect of Perceived Social Support and Professional Support on the Ability to Persist as a Building Administrator in Arkansas. Graduate Theses and Dissertations Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/etd/4691
