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DETERMINING LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
THAT IMPACT ON PRIMARY SCHOOL, MID-CAREER TEACHERS’ COMMITMENT TO
THE PROFESSION: MID-CAREER
TEACHERS’ PERSPECTIVES.
Keith GRAHAM
M Ed, M App Ling, B Ed, Dip T, Grad Cert App Ling
Supervisors Dr Leanne Crosswell
Dr Jill Willis
Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Education
Faculty of Education Queensland University of Technology
2018
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. i
Abstract
This study investigated school principal leadership practices and the impact they
may have on mid-career teachers’ work commitment. This multiphase study sought
mid-career teachers’ views on school principals’ leadership practices in relation to
teacher work commitment through: (a) interviews with mid-career teachers who had
recently left the teaching profession (Phase 1, part 1, n=5), (b) interviews with current
school principals (Phase 1, part 2, n=5) and (c) a survey of current mid-career teachers
(Phase 2, n=142). The leadership practices were identified under the five leadership
domains outlined by Educational Queensland to determine and compare the impact
each domain had on the work commitment of mid-career teachers. Key findings
included the impact relational leadership practices had on mid-career teacher work
commitment, the difference in importance placed on the leadership domains by the
teachers and principals in respect to mid-career teacher work commitment, and a
difference in perspective between the school principals and mid-career teachers of the
application of leadership practices.
Understanding leadership practices that affect work commitment may assist to
inform school principals, and wider education systems, with a view to mitigate mid-
career teacher attrition, which is a significant and growing phenomenon facing
education systems today.
ii Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Table of Contents
Abstract ..................................................................................................................................... i
Table of Contents ..................................................................................................................... ii
List of Figures .......................................................................................................................... v
List of Tables ........................................................................................................................... vi
Statement of Original Authorship .......................................................................................... vii
Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................... viii
Chapter 1: Introduction .................................................................................... 11
1.1 Chapter Preview ........................................................................................................... 11
1.2 Background to the study .............................................................................................. 11
1.3 Context of Education Queensland ................................................................................ 19
1.4 Education Queensland leadership documents .............................................................. 24
1.5 Significance of this study ............................................................................................. 27
1.6 Purpose of this study .................................................................................................... 30
1.7 Research questions and design ..................................................................................... 34
1.8 Definition of Terms ...................................................................................................... 37
1.9 Chapter summary and thesis overview ........................................................................ 46
Chapter 2: Literature Review ........................................................................... 48
2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. 48
2.2 Chapter overview ......................................................................................................... 52
2.3 Teacher work commitment .......................................................................................... 52
2.4 Influence a school prinicpal may have on teacher work commitment ......................... 68
2.5 Principal leadership practices ....................................................................................... 83
2.6 Leadership practices that may influence mid-career teacher commitment .................. 89
2.7 Conceptual framework education Queensland school leadership practices ............... 105
2.8 Leadership Matters framework (Education Queensland, 2010) ................................. 108
2.9 Conclusion ................................................................................................................. 118
Chapter 3: Research Design ............................................................................ 122
3.1 Chapter Preview ......................................................................................................... 122
3.2 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 122
3.3 Research Questions .................................................................................................... 123
3.4 Conceptual framework ............................................................................................... 126
3.5 research design ........................................................................................................... 129
3.6 data analysis ............................................................................................................... 151
3.7 Validity and reliability ............................................................................................... 155
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. iii
3.8 Ethical issues .............................................................................................................. 158
3.9 Chapter summary ........................................................................................................ 160
Chapter 4: Data findings – Qualitative interviews: Mid-career teachers who have chosen to leave the teaching profession. ...................................................... 161
4.1 Chapter preview .......................................................................................................... 162
4.2 Overview of interview themes .................................................................................... 163
4.3 Group 1 – Alternate reasons for leaving teaching with inferences for school leadership practices ................................................................................................................................ 168
4.4 Group 2 – Reasons for leaving teaching related to school leadership practices ......... 172
4.5 Chapter Summary ....................................................................................................... 190
Chapter 5: Data findings – Qualitative Interviews: Principals ................... 197
5.1 Chapter preview .......................................................................................................... 197
5.2 Overview of interview themes .................................................................................... 197
5.3 Principal interview findings in relation to the five leadership domains ..................... 202
5.4 Summary of principal interviews ................................................................................ 227
5.5 Comparison of qualitative interviews – teachers and principals ................................ 234
5.6 Chapter summary ........................................................................................................ 242
Chapter 6: Data findings - Quantitative survey: Mid-career teachers ....... 243
6.1 Chapter preview .......................................................................................................... 243
6.2 Demographics of survey participants ......................................................................... 243
6.3 Survey Instrument ....................................................................................................... 245
6.4 Short answer question responses ................................................................................ 246
6.5 Survey data ................................................................................................................. 251
6.6 Survey responses and the impact of the domains of leaderships practice .................. 252
6.7 Top five selected leadership practices from survey instrument .................................. 261
6.8 Quantitative data summary ......................................................................................... 263
6.9 Summary of quantitative and qualitative data ............................................................ 268
6.10 Chapter summary ........................................................................................................ 272
Chapter 7: Research Conclusions ................................................................... 273
7.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................ 273
7.2 Research question conclusions ................................................................................... 274
7.3 Research summary ...................................................................................................... 281
7.4 Additional Findings .................................................................................................... 284
7.5 Implications for Policy and Practice ........................................................................... 289
7.6 Reflections .................................................................................................................. 297
7.7 Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 298
Bibliography ........................................................................................................... 299
Appendices .............................................................................................................. 327
iv Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Appendix A Initial mid-career teacher survey. .................................................................... 327
Appendix B Mid-career teachers’ views on principal leadership practices ......................... 328
Appendix C Mid-career teachers’ views on principal leadership practices ......................... 330
Appendix D Survey aligned to five leadership domains ...................................................... 332
Appendix E Schedule of interview questions ....................................................................... 334
Appendix F Schedule of interview questions ....................................................................... 335
Appendix G Ethics Approval from Education Queensland .................................................. 336
Appendix H Ethics Approval from Queensland University of Technology ......................... 338
Appendix I Participant consent for interviews ..................................................................... 339
Appendix J Participant consent for surveys ......................................................................... 342
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. v
List of Figures
Figure 2.1 Principals’ leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment. ................................................................................................ 71
Figure 2.2 Factors that may affect teachers’ work commitment ............................... 82
Figure 2.3 Educational leadership frameworks – three common models .................. 89
Figure 3.1 Descriptions of leadership practices under each of the five domains outlined in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) ................. 129
Figure 3.2 Research design to investigate mid-career teachers’ views on principals’ leadership practices .................................................................. 131
Figure 3.3 Data analysis in qualitative research (Creswell, 2009) .......................... 152
Figure 4.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from former mid-career teacher interviews. .............................................. 167
Figure 5.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from principal interviews. .......................................................................... 202
Figure 5.2 Line graph of interview responses from principals and ex-teachers ...... 236
Figure 6.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from short answer responses. ..................................................................... 247
Figure 6.2 Bar graph of mean % of frequency for ‘very important’ and ‘important’ responses of mid-career teachers for each leadership domain. ....................................................................................................... 258
Figure 6.3 Bar graph of % of top five responses in each leadership category. ..... 262
Figure 6.4 Bar graph of order of importance of the leadership domains from the interview and survey data. ................................................................... 270
vi Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
List of Tables
Table 1.1 Comparison of leadership domains: AITSL and Leadership Matters ....... 26
Table 1.2 Career Stages of Teachers ......................................................................... 42
Table 2.1 Leadership practices - comparison of the three common leadership models ........................................................................................................ 103
Table 3.1 Timeline of research implementation ....................................................... 131
Table 3.2 Mid-career teacher gender and professional context. ............................. 137
Table 3.3 Principal gender and professional context. ............................................. 142
Table 3.4 Results of Factor Analysis for Each of the Five Instructional Leadership Domains .................................................................................. 157
Table 4.1 Identified leadership practices from former mid-career teacher interviews coded under the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) leadership domains. .................................................... 165
Table 5.1 Identified leadership practices from principal interviews coded under the Leadership Matters (2010) leadership domains. ................................. 200
Table 5.2 Number of participant responses linked to each leadership domain ....... 235
Table 6.1 Demographics of survey participants ...................................................... 245
Table 6.2 Classification of survey short-answer responses in relation to Leadership Matters (2010) ......................................................................... 247
Table 6.3 Descriptive Statistics of “Relational” ...................................................... 252
Table 6.4 Descriptive Statistics of “Educational” ................................................... 255
Table 6.5 Descriptive Statistics of “Intellectual” .................................................... 255
Table 6.6 Descriptive Statistics of “Organisational” .............................................. 257
Table 6.7 Descriptive Statistics of “Personal” ........................................................ 257
Table 6.8 Top 7 leadership practices identified by mid-career teachers as of most importance to their work commitment. .............................................. 263
Table 7.1 Suggested leadership practices to enhance relational leadership ........... 296
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. vii
Statement of Original Authorship
The work contained in this thesis has not been previously submitted to meet
requirements for an award at this or any other higher education institution. To the best
of my knowledge and belief, this thesis contains no material previously published or
written by another person except where due reference is made.
Signature: QUT Verified Thesis
Date: 10 October 2018
viii Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Acknowledgements
Undertaking this research has been both a rewarding and challenging journey.
Reaching the end certainly wasn’t a solo adventure and I would like to acknowledge
and sincerely thank the following people who joined me and whose combined support
and encouragement enabled me to reach completion.
Firstly my Principal Supervisor Doctor Leanne Crosswell and my Associate
Supervisor Doctor Jill Willis; they were amazingly supportive throughout this project
and understood the various constraints of working full-time in a school leadership role
whilst studying part-time. They always displayed confidence in me and understood my
passion and commitment to the task. Their guidance at critical points and timely
feedback, coupled with their encouragement and endorsement of my progress, ensured
I saw it through to the end. I thank them both for their generosity in sharing their
expertise and contributing to my academic development. Special mention to Jill who
I believe ‘got me’ from day one. Jill remained my consistent supervisor ensuring a
smooth transition of primary supervisor when circumstances beyond our control
dictated a change. Secondly, I would like to extend my thanks to my initial Principal
Supervisor Associate Professor Peter Hudson who inspired me with his enthusiasm for
learning and unwavering belief in my potential to undertake and complete this journey.
Even after our formal relationship ended, Peter remained a source of encouragement
and support for which I am extremely grateful.
I would like to thank the Education Queensland primary school principals who
responded to my request for assistance in undertaking my research and allowed me
into their schools to conduct surveys with their mid-career teachers. Their goodwill
was greatly appreciated. I would also like to thank the mid-career teachers, both former
and present who participated in my study, for giving their time and perspectives to me
through interviews and surveys around school leadership practices. Their contribution
to both my research and to informing professional leadership practices has been
invaluable.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. ix
To my fellow EdD students, thank you for your support, professional discussions
and group encouragement. The support network we formed was greatly appreciated.
We started this journey together, learned so much from each other along the way, and
I know I would not have come so far without the quiet encouragement and collective
determination.
Finally to my family who sacrificed much to ensure I had the time and space to
complete this task. To my wife Katrin and my children Joshua and Danika, thank you
for your patience and understanding when I have been preoccupied or unavailable. I
have appreciated your love, understanding, support and encouragement. Thank you
deeply!
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 11
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 CHAPTER PREVIEW
School principal leadership practices have been linked to teachers’ work
commitment by researchers such as Burkhauser (2016), Dou, Devos and Valck (2016),
Holden (2016) and Huang (2017). While the link between school leadership and
teacher work commitment is established, what is yet to be made clear is the nature of
this connection and how individual leadership practices can influence teacher work
commitment in different ways. This current research investigated which specific
school principal leadership practices impacted on primary school, mid-career teachers’
work commitment from the mid-career teachers’ perspective.
In this chapter the background to the study is provided (Section 1.2) before the context
of Education Queensland where the study was situated is presented (Section 1.3). An
outline of Education Queensland leadership documents is then provided (Section 1.4).
The significance of this study is presented (Section 1.5) before the purpose of the
research is identified and explained (Section 1.6). An overview of the research design
methods is outlined along with the research questions (Section 1.7). Definitions of key
terms relating to the study are then outlined (Section 1.8). This chapter concludes with
a chapter summary and an overview of this thesis (Section 1.9).
1.2 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
A consistent drift of teachers away from the teaching profession can be detrimental to
educational systems. Any teacher attrition is of concern; however, when the more
experienced teachers leave, the associated loss of intellectual capital and experience
12 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
within a system is of even greater significance. There are numerous studies about
beginning teachers leaving the profession but significantly fewer about mid-career,
primary teachers and their reasons for leaving, even though this cohort comprises the
majority of staff in most Australian primary schools (McKenzie, Weldon, Rowley,
Murphy, & McMillan, 2014).
Previous research (Ewing, 2001; Holden, 2016; Karsenti & Collin, 2013) has
established that teacher attrition is a serious and increasing challenge facing education
systems around the world. This existing research has also outlined the negative
implications teacher attrition can have on the jurisdictions it impacts such as the loss
of experience and knowledge when mid-career teachers leave and the associated costs
involved in replacing them with new teachers; these implications are expanded on later
in this chapter and then explored more in Chapter 2. Current research outlines that
teacher attrition is not a new phenomenon; however what is new is the fact that over
the past decade the numbers of teachers leaving the profession is beginning to outpace
the number of teachers who are available to replace them. This situation has been
described as a coming crisis for education systems globally (Sutcher, Darling-
Hammond, & Carver-Thomas, 2016).
In the United States where much of the research into teacher attrition has been
conducted, attrition rates of 40% to 50% of teachers have been calculated (Ingersoll,
Merrill & May, 2014). Australian figures are comparable to these US studies with a
review of Australian literature on teacher attrition by the Queensland College of
Teachers reporting a loss rate of anywhere from 8% to 50% of Australian teachers
(Queensland College of Teachers, 2013). While the figures quoted above are of great
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 13
significance to understanding the phenomenon of teacher attrition, they do pertain to
teachers in general, at all stages of their career. The above figures do not separate the
more experienced, mid-career teachers who are the focus of this study, from the
beginning teachers, that is, those within their first five years of teaching and amongst
who attrition has traditionally been quite common. It should be noted at this time that
not all teacher attrition is negative to schools and educational systems, a concept which
will be discussed in Chapter 2.
Existing research states that the first five years of a teacher’s career are the pivotal
years for deciding whether to remain with or change professions (Clandinin, Long,
Schaefer, Downey, Steeves, Pinnegar, McKenzie-Robblee, & Wnuk, 2015; Lindqvist,
Nordänger, & Carlsson, 2014). Around the western world an increasing number of
beginning teachers elect to leave the profession before completing their fifth year and
this figure has been steadily rising (Buchanan, 2010; Buchanan, Prescott, Schuck,
Aubusso, & Burke, 2013; O’Brien, Goddard, & Keeffe, 2007).
Finding the exact rates of teacher attrition has proved problematic due to inconsistent
research results and unavailable data (Gray & Taie, 2015; Hanna & Pennington, 2015;
Mason & Matas, 2015). Eleven years ago O’Brien, Goddard and Keeffe (2007)
reported that as many as one-third of all new teachers left the teaching profession
within their first five years. Subsequent studies have suggested this number has
continued to rise both in Australia and overseas (Clandinin, et al., 2015; Ingersoll et
al., 2014).
14 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
In Australia, conservative estimates suggest as many as 25% of beginning teachers
leave the profession within their first five years of employment. Gallant and Riley
(2014) suggest that around 40% of these beginner teachers actually exit the teaching
profession within their first year. While the exact attrition rates of teachers may be
hard to determine, what is well documented are the reasons teachers give for reaching
their decision to leave the profession. These reasons are influenced by many factors
(Cameron & Lovett, 2015; McInerney, Ganotice, King, Marsh, & Morin, 2015),
including principal leadership practices (Burkhauser, 2016; Dou, et al., 2016; Holden,
2016; Huang, 2017). Whilst it is acknowledged that many influences are in play when
teachers make the decision to leave the profession, this current research is concerned
with school principal leadership practices and the influence they have on teacher
commitment, specifically on mid-career teachers, i.e. teachers past the five year mark
of their career.
The research into teacher commitment clearly outlines that the first five years of a
teacher’s career appear pivotal to teacher attrition, with some teacher loss to be
somewhat expected during this early career period as new teachers decide if they really
are suited to the teaching profession (Buchanan, 2010; Buchanan, et al., 2013;
O’Brien, et al., 2007). However, attrition of teachers past this five year mark (mid-
career teachers), should be of concern to educational systems, as traditionally these
teachers have made a decision to pursue teaching as a lifelong career and have
remained in teaching until retirement. More recent studies are showing that teacher
attrition within this mid-career cohort is increasing at an alarming rate (Bowles &
Arnup, 2016; Hartsel, 2016).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 15
Bowles and Arnup (2016) interviewed 160 Australian teachers who had taught for up
to ten years. Of this group, one third stated that they intended to leave their teaching
career before retirement age. This data should be of great interest to educational
systems as these particular teachers are past the early career stage where historically
the majority of teacher attrition occurred (Buchanan, 2010; Buchanan, et al., 2013).
What we have seen more recently, across education systems, is a new phenomenon
where the older and more experienced teachers, who in the past provided stability to
school workforces, are increasingly re-evaluating their career choices.
A change of career after the five year mark is usually a sign of a significant change in
a teachers’ ongoing work commitment to the teaching profession (Howes & Goodman-
Delahunty, 2015; Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014; Lindqvist & Nordänger, 2016).
To have any chance of addressing the drift of mid-career teachers, it is important to
identify the reasons for their waning commitment. If the reasons can be identified,
perhaps the drift can be reversed and the more experienced teachers retained within
the profession. This study defined the concept of work commitment in line with the
career change concept outlined in the research of Howes and Goodman-Delahunty
(2015), Ingersoll, et al., (2014) and Lindqvist and Nordänger (2016). For this research,
work commitment is therefore identified as a commitment the teaching profession not
just a commitment to a specific teaching position or particular school.
Current research offers many factors for teacher attrition which this study has
classified as either internal or external to the school context. A school principal can
influence the internal school factors through their leadership practices, but has little
influence over the external factors. Greater understanding of the internal factors can
16 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
assist in informing leadership practices which impact on mid-career teachers’ work
commitment and help enhance mid-career teacher retention. Both internal and external
factors will be described in more detail in Chapter 2.
When discussing the attrition rate of teachers it is important to note that the career
research literature traces significant changes around the current concept of career. This
has emerged from Douglas Hall’s (1976) protean career theory which described an
orientation to careers where the individual and not the organisation was the agentic
force. Over forty years ago, Hall (1976), a psychologist researching in the field of
organisational behaviour, began describing newly emerging changes within the
workforce where careers were driven by the individual and their needs and not by
loyalty to an organisation, as had been the tradition. Within this career construct,
workers changed careers and jobs in pursuit of personal internal goals instead of
pursuing an ongoing relationship of commitment to one organisation for their entire
work life (Lyons, Schweitzer, & Ng, 2015). This idea of changing careers for personal
reasons resonates more strongly in Generation X, Y and Millennials as opposed to
workers of times previous. It is a way many of today’s entrants to the workforce think
and design their work career (Becton, Walker, & Jones‐Farmer, 2014) and could
explain increasing teacher attrition rates, however research into this causal effect is
currently inconclusive.
There is no doubt the concept of protean careers accounts for some teachers’ decisions
to leave the teaching profession (Donald, Baruch, & Ashleigh, 2017; Watt &
Richardson, 2008); however, the exact number of teachers impacted by this concept is
still open to debate. There are conflicting findings in the more recent research into the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 17
drivers behind retention and attrition of mid-career teachers. Hartsel (2016) found that
the number of teachers driven by a protean agenda were but a small proportion of the
overall percentage of teachers who elected to leave and attributed other workplace
factors as the catalyst for these decisions. Other researchers (Labarre, 2013; Buchanan,
et al., 2013; Howes & Goodman-Delahunty, 2015) found that overall teachers continue
to view teaching as a long term profession and a vocation, electing to pursue a long
term work commitment by being driven to make a difference in students’ lives. While
teachers did elect to leave teaching early in their careers, once past the five year mark,
teachers expressed a commitment to work and a desire to remain in the career.
Other studies, however, concluded differently and have shown an increase in career
change amongst teachers, with teaching no longer viewed a job for life (Arnup &
Bowles, 2016; Gallant & Riley, 2014). These studies report that teachers past the five
year mark in their career are no longer working with a view that they will remain with
teaching until they retire. Some studies see this construct as a positive and advocate
that teacher attrition is not necessarily a bad thing in terms of school renewal and
reinvigoration (Adnot, Dee, Katz, & Wyckoff, 2017). The specific reasons for the
contradiction of findings are still open to speculation; however a common trend
evident in the majority of these studies is one of declining work commitment in
teachers who do elect to leave the profession.
This current study focussed on this majority of teachers who have passed the five year
mark in their career and do not want to change careers for change’s sake but rather
leave the teaching profession due to a declining work commitment. It also investigated
the link between principal leadership practices and mid-career work commitment. As
18 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
stated previously, the term ‘work commitment’ for the purpose of this study refers to
a commitment to the teaching profession, not just to a school or an organisation.
Therefore, this study is about teachers who leave the teaching profession entirely, and
don’t just change schools or jurisdictions. This point does not deny the existence and
importance of other forms of commitment some of which are described later in this
chapter in Section 1.8.4 and expanded upon later in Chapter 2.
1.2.1 Positioning the Researcher
As a current school principal working in Education Queensland, the link between
principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment has been a
growing area of interest of mine and of great significance to me. Throughout my career
I have seen mid-career teachers leave the profession and have experienced the
associated loss that this attrition brings to schools (see Holden, 2016). As a mid-career
teacher, I have also experienced the organisational cultural change within schools
described in the literature (such as Burkhauser, 2016; Dou, et al., 2016; Huang, 2017)
as new leaders enact policies using different leadership practices than the principals
before them. And finally, as a school principal, I have experienced the tension of
having to balance the delivering of ever increasing departmental demands (Riley,
2014a) while trying to support teachers’ commitment to the job.
The role of a school leader is not easy even in larger schools where the principal is
supported by deputy principals and curriculum leaders. The leadership decisions and
practices which are implemented at schools are primarily decided and driven by the
school principal (Riley, 2014a). In helping me reflect and grow my own leadership
capabilities I wished to pursue some research into the impact of leadership practices
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 19
and teacher commitment which proved the catalyst for this current study. This research
aimed to advance existing research by focussing on mid-career teacher work
commitment to identify the specific principal leadership practices which can impact
on this from the teachers’ perspective.
1.3 CONTEXT OF EDUCATION QUEENSLAND
This study into school principal leadership practices was conducted within Education
Queensland state primary schools in Queensland, Australia; it is therefore prudent to
give a brief outline of the context of the Queensland state school system and school
principal selection process.
Education Queensland is the governing body for government, public schools in the
state of Queensland, Australia. Queensland is the second largest state in Australia
covering an area of 1.853 million square kilometres with the most widely spread and
isolated schools in the nation. Education Queensland oversees approximately 1240
government primary and high schools catering for around 488 000 students (Education
Queensland, 2015). These schools vary in size from small remote schools in regional
areas consisting of one teacher to schools of up to 3000 students located in
metropolitan Brisbane. Each state school in Queensland has an appointed principal to
lead the daily site operations of the school. The state of Queensland is divided into
seven educational regions and this study was undertaken in one of these, the South
East Region, located in the south east, predominantly metropolitan and urban corner
of Queensland just south of Brisbane and extending through the Gold Coast to the New
South Wales border.
20 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The schools selected for this research were all metropolitan primary schools with
student populations of 500 students or more. Schools of this size, in the south east
corner of Queensland, were chosen because their staffing make-up would ensure a
number of mid-career teachers would be employed at each school. Remote and
regional schools are smaller in size, in comparison to the metropolitan ones, meaning
fewer staff. These smaller schools also often have young and early career teachers,
appointed to their first teaching position, as the mainstays of their staff. Metropolitan
schools, in general, have staff that have already undertaken their initial service out of
the city areas, and have returned back to the south east corner resulting in a much more
experienced staff with higher numbers of mid-career teachers.
The size of such schools (over 500 students, equating to 20 classes or more) used in
this research meant a number of mid-career teachers would be on staff. This greater
number of teachers on each school site helped keep the anonymity of survey
participants as several teachers completed the surveys not just an identifiable one or
two. The principals of such sized schools would rarely be on their first appointment
and as such would have a range of experiences in leading and managing mid-career
teachers and be well placed to give their perspectives on influencing mid-career
teacher work commitment.
Primary schools were chosen for this research, in preference to high schools, as the
leadership structure from principal to teacher is much more direct in a primary school
(Bennett, Woods, Wise, & Newton, 2007). High schools, in contrast, run as
departments with each faculty having a head of department (HOD) who has direct
responsibility for managing and leading a group of classroom teachers within their
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 21
specific subject area. The HODs can number over ten in large schools and are the daily
line managers of their teachers. The HODs themselves are aligned to a deputy
principal, with the school principal overseeing the deputies. It is common practice for
each department to have a separate staff room located all around the school and it is
typical for teachers in large secondary schools to have little direct interaction with the
school principal. Within the secondary school structure, classroom teachers are quite
removed from the direct leadership practices of their school principal (Bennett, et al.,
2007).
Primary schools, by design, have a much clearer line of sight between the teacher and
the principal. Primary school deputy principals may oversee parts of the school
programs, and have some supervision over teachers within their area of concern,
however direct line management generally still resides with the principal. Within a
primary school structure all teachers share one staffroom which is usually located in
the central office building. If the school has a head of curriculum (HOC) - and not all
primary schools do, and those that do are only entitled to one - this role is seen as a
leader of content not a leader of teachers. In primary schools, the principal remains the
day to day line manager of teachers meaning teachers are directly impacted by the
principal’s daily leadership practices (Bennett, et al., 2007). For the above mentioned
reasons, this study elected to concentrate on the leadership practices of state primary
school principals in larger sized schools.
Since 2008, state school principal appointments in Queensland have been determined
through a process of application and assessment by merit against five selection criteria
based on the five leadership domains outlined in Education Queensland’s leadership
22 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
framework; Leadership Matters Leadership Capabilities for Education Queensland
Principals (Education Queensland, 2010). This framework was first published in 2006
and was refined in 2008 and refined again in response to the Master’s Report (2009)
in 2010. To be successfully promoted a principal must write and express their
demonstrated capabilities within each leadership domain and accompany this with
evidence. The applicant’s current supervisor will also provide a reflection of the
applicant’s school leadership ability based on the five leadership domains. Successful
applicants are shortlisted and are asked to provide further explanation of their
suitability to the role through an interview process.
As a practising principal, this framework has daily and operational significance to me
which is why it was selected for this research. It is acknowledged that since the
publication of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010), national standards
and supporting documents have also been developed, however at the time of
undertaking the interviews for this research, these did not yet inform the daily practices
of state primary school principals in the state schools where the data was gathered.
Prior to this current principal selection process, aspiring leaders wrote about their
suitability to lead a specific school and outlined why they would be suited for the
leadership position. Their written application was not based on specific criteria as no
formal framework for leadership existed. The applicants who were shortlisted also
faced an interview panel which assessed the applicants on local beliefs as opposed to
a central leadership capability framework. This system was very open to local
interpretation but was the beginning of selection criteria and an attempt at using a
comparative model to find the best applicant.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 23
Previous to this selection methodology, the state primary school principal selection
process saw individuals work their way through a promotional pathway primarily
based on the size of the school. Teachers wishing to become a principal began their
leadership career at a small one teacher school in the more remote areas of Queensland,
progressing to two teacher and smaller schools, until eventually they were in line for
promotion to a larger metropolitan school. The linear leadership pathway did not allow
for people to enter at any position apart from the start of the continuum and as such
excluded many teachers, particularly females, from being promoted if they did not
serve their time successfully in the remote, regional small schools first. This method
of finding school leaders was not based primarily on the leadership practices of
potential applicants, but rather was one of compliance and ‘ticking the right boxes’ as
your career progressed (Limerick & Andersen, 1999a, 1999b).
In 1990, Education Queensland released the policy document ‘Focus on Schools’
(Education Queensland, 1990) which discussed the concept of devolution of authority,
responsibility and accountability to a school level. This was part of a movement away
from central control and authority and was the beginning stages of reviewing the
school principal’s role. In line with this changing perspective of the requirements of
effective leadership, Education Queensland initiated the establishment of a promotion
policy in the 1990s which was designed to be more equitable and to better identify
leadership skills and demonstrated practices in applicants. This new policy direction
within Education Queensland reflected the growing recognition that a ‘good’
classroom teacher did not necessarily make a ‘good’ school principal. This leadership
policy evolved over time and in 2008 (in conjunction with the University of
24 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Queensland) led to the publication of Education Queensland’s current leadership
framework – Leadership Matters; Leadership Capabilities for Education Queensland
Principals (Education Queensland, 2010). The document describes policy indicators
for highly effective principals within the domains of personal, relational, intellectual,
educational and organisational leadership (Education Queensland, 2010). Presently
principal candidates must demonstrate capability in all five of these domains to be
considered for promotion and provide evidence with endorsement of their leadership
practices.
While other educational jurisdictions have similar research-informed frameworks in
place, the Leadership Matters framework (Education Queensland, 2010), is
particularly important for this study as the research project was conducted within
Queensland state schools. As this specified framework underpinned the appointment
process of state primary school principals, it was used as the tool to help classify,
interpret and analyse the collected data around the impact principal leadership
practices have on mid-career teacher work commitment.
1.4 EDUCATION QUEENSLAND LEADERSHIP DOCUMENTS
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was developed by Education
Queensland in conjunction with the University of Queensland, to give school
principals a generic framework for understanding the different facets of leadership
required for state school principals. It describes the knowledge, practices and skills a
school principal should possess and display which are classified into five distinct
leadership domains: relational, educational, organisational, intellectual and personal.
It is a practice based framework which deliberately avoided being linked to one
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 25
specific theoretical model so that it can be used across the different leadership theories
emphasised by Education Queensland.
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) is used to underpin the selection
and recruitment of state school principals evaluating a principal’s leadership capability
against this framework. While Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) is
positioned as a broad framework, it is a very short document consisting of only four
pages. It was designed to be a guide for leadership rather than an explicit blueprint for
prescribed actions based on one theoretical perspective.
Since its publication, Education Queensland has developed other documents to
augment Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) and support the
development of leadership. One such document is Education Queensland’s Principal’s
Capability and Leadership Framework (2012) for small, medium and large schools.
While these later documents give a more detailed outline of the desired skills, practices
and behaviours of principals for specific sized schools, they still are organised under
the five leadership domains originally outlined in Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010). As such, Leadership Matters continues to be the reference point
for school leadership and the five domains of leadership identified are still used to
underpin the interview and written selection process of state school principals.
At the time of the development of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010)
the state and territory education systems in Australia operated independently from each
other. There was very little federal oversight and each state and territory developed
26 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
their own training and standards for teachers and principals with little consistency or
collaboration. The Melbourne Declaration on Educational Goals for Young
Australians (2008) addressed this lack of consistency and led to the commitment of
the states and territories to a national curriculum, a common number of years a child
undertakes school and significantly for school leadership, the creation of the Australian
Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL). This national body was tasked
with creating a national standard framework for principals across Australia which was
first published in 2011.
The Australian Professional Standard for Principals (AITSL, 2011a) originally
published in 2011 and upgraded in 2015, provides a national leadership framework
setting out what school principals across Australia are expected to know, understand
and do to be successful in their role. The standard recognises leadership requirements
that principals draw upon across five areas of professional practice. While these five
domains of leadership practice in the AITSL standards differ in name to the ones in
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010), there is clear alignment between
the description of domains and leadership practices of both documents as illustrated
below in Table 1.1. In the context of leadership with Education Queensland, both of
these documents play a key role in shaping school leadership.
Table 1.1 Comparison of leadership domains: AITSL and Leadership Matters
AITSL Leadership Matters Leading teaching and learning Educational leadership
Developing self and others Personal leadership
Leading improvement, innovation and change Intellectual leadership
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 27
Leading the management of the school Organisational leadership Engaging and working with the community Relational Leadership
The Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) document was selected for this
current research as the basis for the content analysis of data for two key reasons.
Firstly, this research was conducted in Queensland schools with Queensland principals
and mid-career teachers so it was felt that the Queensland leadership document aligned
well with the location of participants. Secondly, Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010) has been embedded longer in the principal selection process in
Queensland schools in comparison to the AITSL standard which is still viewed as
being relatively new with the latest version only published in 2015. Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was the document most familiar to the
participants in this current research and the document primarily referred to when this
research began in 2013.
1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THIS STUDY
The influence of school principal leadership has been the focus of much research
attention about teacher commitment over the last four decades. As early as 1989,
Kozlowski and Doherty (1989) identified the school principal, as having the most
significant impact within the work environment. This is understandable as the school
principal, through their leadership practices, can directly influence factors such as a
teacher’s well-being, the school tone and the broader work culture of a school. These
factors, which are heavily influenced by a principal’s leadership practices, can impact
positively or negatively on teachers’ work commitment depending on how the
leadership practices are enacted (Boyd et al., 2011; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins,
28 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
2008; Price, 2012). With ever increasing principal autonomy in Queensland schools,
the impact of principal leadership practices and the influence a principal can have on
the school site remains a significant and increasing factor. The concept of leadership
and a definition of leadership practices are discussed in more depth in Section 1.8.
The moderating effects of school principal leadership practices on teachers have been
explained by different theoretical models of leadership. Some effects of leadership
practices are positive for workers as the leader’s practices can act as a buffer between
the greater organisational structure and the worker (Kelloway & Dimoff, 2017;
LePine, Zhang, Crawford, & Rich, 2016). These positive leadership practices; such as
personal connections with staff, allowing for individual circumstances, workplace
culture and tone, interpreting the greater organisational demands and localising these
to suit the individual workplace and supporting workers to perform their roles, can
improve employee work commitment and help prevent stress and burnout. However,
non-supportive leadership practices can increase the stress and dissatisfaction of
employees leading to lower work commitment, specifically when these practices are
tyrannical or control orientated in nature (Kelloway & Dimoff, 2017; LePine, et al.,
2016).
This current research inquiry into mid-career teacher views of principal leadership
practices is based on these previous findings which assert that a school principal’s
leadership practices can influence the work commitment of teachers (Burkhauser,
2016; Dou, et al., 2016; Holden, 2016; Huang, 2017). This topic is explored in more
detail in Chapter 2. It can be assumed from previous research findings that the principal
whose leadership practices were seen as positive by teachers are likely to have a more
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 29
consistent and committed workforce. Concurrently, a principal who enacts negative
leadership practices from the mid-career teachers’ perspective may be more likely to
work with less committed staff which may lead to increased teacher turnover. What is
not known, and what this study investigates, is which specific principal leadership
practices impact teacher commitment from the perspective of mid-career teachers.
If a clearer relationship between specific leadership practices and the impact on mid-
career teacher work commitment is understood, leadership training and ongoing
leadership development could focus on the leadership practices of school principals to
ensure a positive correlation between the principal leadership practices and mid-career
teacher commitment, this would ensure that schools receive the best possible outcomes
from both principals and teachers. To investigate these assumed relationships, this
research explored the relationship between school principals’ leadership practices and
mid-career teacher work commitment by seeking to understand the impact of specific
leadership practices on work commitment from the perspective of mid-career teachers.
No previous study in Queensland state schools has taken a practitioners’ perspective
and asked mid-career stage teachers their views on what practices they would like their
principals to display to improve their work commitment and ultimately teacher
retention rates. This study aimed to address this gap and investigated mid-career
primary school teachers’ views about leadership practices of school principals through
a two phased, mixed methods approach. Initially, the perspectives of ex mid-career
teachers and current primary school principals were sought through interviews, before
expanding on the data collection through a survey of current mid-career teachers.
30 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The results from the interviews and surveys were then used to reflect on the current
leadership framework of Education Queensland based on Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) to evaluate whether the mid-career teachers’ views
aligned with the leadership capabilities sought by the Education Queensland
promotion process. Through this analysis and identification of the specific leadership
practices mid-career teachers’ desired, from their school principals, educational
organisations around the world may be better placed to support mid-career teachers’
commitment through school principal leadership development and address the
increasing trend of teacher attrition.
1.6 PURPOSE OF THIS STUDY
The purpose of this study was to explore mid-career primary school teachers’ views of
principal leadership practices which impact on their work commitment. The teachers’
views of principals’ leadership practices, and how these practices impacted on
teachers’ decisions to remain or leave the education profession, were used to inform
school principals’ leadership practices with a view of enhancing mid-career teacher
work commitment.
For the purpose of this research, teacher attrition was defined as the act of a teacher
leaving the teaching profession (not just their school, school role or organisation),
before retirement age, to pursue another career or form of work (Ingersoll, 2001). The
engagement with an alternative form of work is seen as a significant factor when
discussing the definition of attrition, as this helped eliminate people who left
employment to start or raise a family and may return to their career after a break, or
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 31
those people who no longer needed to work due to their economic situation. These
situations did not fit the definition of attrition used for this research.
Teacher attrition, defined by this study, was the permanent loss of a teacher from the
profession, before retirement age to another career because their commitment was no
longer to teaching (Ingersoll, 2001). By engaging in work other than teaching, the
individual is showing that they still need or wish to work; they just no longer want to
remain in the teaching profession. ‘Work commitment’ for this study, therefore
pertained to a commitment to the teaching profession as opposed to other
interpretations of ‘commitment’ which may see a connection to a particular school or
educational jurisdiction. Participants in this research were clearly explained the
adopted definition of ‘work commitment’ both in the interviews and the survey
introductions to avoid any misinterpretations. The definition used in this study also
aligned well with the context of Education Queensland where these teachers were
employed.
Within the Queensland state education system, teachers are employed by the state
government, not a school or region, and are part of a state wide staffing process which
is centrally organised outside of the individual schools. This system means teachers
cannot easily leave a school if they are unhappy but rather have to go through the state
wide transfer process with no guarantees of movement. If they do move, their new
school could potentially be anywhere in the state and with the size of Queensland this
could see them moved many hours away from their present location or to some very
remote location necessitating a complete move of home. The circumstances of this
transfer system often inhibits lateral movement meaning when a teacher’s work
32 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
commitment declines in Queensland state schools, they often choose to leave the
profession altogether and not go through the process of transferring and changing
schools.
Work place attrition is not restricted to the teaching profession and is a part of all work
forces. It can be seen to be both a positive and negative concept. In education systems,
it could be argued that some mid-career teachers need to leave the profession due to
their reluctance to change their teaching practice or undergo professional renewal. As
such these losses could be positioned as beneficial to the school or system (Adnot, et
al., 2017). There is also growing evidence that some teachers who do leave teaching
later return to the profession (Lindqvist, et al., 2014) having more of a career break
than an actual permanent career change in line with this study’s definition of attrition.
This is an emerging area of research with limited studies (such as Lindqvist, et al.,
2014) undertaken in Sweden meaning that the percentage of teachers who leave and
return, particularly in Australia, are yet to be determined to any degree of certainty and
is an area for further research.
What this present study is concerned with is the increasing and permanent move of
mid-career teachers away from the teaching profession which research tells us is
happening in ever increasing rates. The attrition of such teachers, particularly when
happening faster than natural rates would suggest, has negative implications for
educational systems on three levels. Firstly financial, systems need to invest money in
training and recruitment to stem such losses (Watlington, Shockley, Guglielmino, &
Felsher, 2010). Secondly, intellectual capital, which is lost as experienced and long
serving teachers leave (Holden, 2016). Thirdly work place culture, teacher attrition
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 33
may be a sign of deeper cultural issues within the workplace contributing to teacher
losses (Ingersoll, 2001). Beyond the ideas mentions above, Holden (2016) believes it
is important to retain competent mid-career teachers, because their expertise is
important cultural capital to schools.
Mid-career teachers need to be retained. They enhance networks, norms, and trust, and
facilitate action and cooperation for mutual benefit (Holden, 2016). Their importance
has been highlighted in additional, teacher specific research (Ost, 2014; Tsui, 2009)
which found experienced teachers had more detailed and relevant planning and had
superior interactions with students compared to their beginning teacher counterparts.
These studies also suggest the importance of utilising experienced teachers as mentors
for beginning teachers to enhance beginning teacher development. Isenberg,
Glazerman, Bleeker, Johnson, Lugo-Gil, Grider and Britton, (2009) also believe that
mid-career teachers have an important role to play in developing new staff and in
helping the school as a whole achieve better outcomes. Therefore, based on previous
research, retaining and keeping mid-career teachers committed to the profession is
important for all education systems. Holden (2016) believes that one of the ways to do
this is by instilling a stronger commitment to the profession which can be influenced
through school principal leadership practices.
Teacher attrition is a complex construct that includes the effects of leadership practices
on work commitment. Previous research into school leadership and teacher work
commitment (Boyd, et al., 2011; Burkhauser, 2017; Dou, et al., 2016; Holden, 2016;
Huang, 2017) has shown that the most significant influence on mid-career teachers’
work commitment after their first five years of teaching is school leadership enacted
34 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
through the school principals’ leadership practices. These leadership practices play a
key role in a mid-career teacher’s decision to remain in the teaching profession.
Existing studies into different school leadership constructs (Aydin, Sarier, & Uysal,
2013; Brezicha, Bergmark, & Mitra, 2015; Bush & Glover, 2014) have analysed the
effects transactional, transformational and instructional leaders have on schools and
student outcomes which touch on teachers in general – but not specifically on their
work commitment. Studies such as Day, Gu and Sammons (2016) and Kythreotis and
Antoniou (2015) have also discussed school principal practices that may improve
student outcomes and school results, yet have not explored simultaneously whether
teachers view these as desired leadership practices and what impact they may have on
teacher work commitment.
There is little available research on teachers’ views of principal leadership practices
that may instil commitment to the profession. Also of significance to this current study
is the fact that little research has built a theory of leadership practice from the mid-
career teacher perspective. Most existing studies are framed from a hierarchical, top-
down structural, leadership paradigm where the school principal’s practices are
imposed onto teachers and the outcomes are then discussed to assess the effectiveness
of that leadership practice (Aydin, et al., 2013; Brezicha, et al., 2015; Bush & Glover,
2014).
1.7 RESEARCH QUESTIONS AND DESIGN
This research was designed to determine the impact specific school principal
leadership practices have on mid-career teacher work commitment. Specifically it
addressed the following three research questions.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 35
1. What are the specific school principal leadership practices which impact most
on mid-career teachers’ work commitment from the perspective of mid-career
teachers?
2. To what extent do mid-career teachers’ views of leadership practices, in
relation to their work commitment, align with the leadership practices outlined
in Education Queensland’s Leadership Matters document?
3. What alignment exists between the views of mid-career teachers and school
principals in relation to principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher
work commitment?
This research used both qualitative and quantitative methods to investigate the research
aims. A mixed method approach was chosen for this study as this process is noted as
a way to strengthen research design (Creswell, 2012) and the two methodologies can
be combined effectively to undertake a research task (Creswell, 2012). This process
proved appropriate for this present study which was focussed on practice and
perspectives of practice. Initially the perspectives of ex-teachers and current state
school principals were sought and their ideas were aligned to the five leadership
domains outlined in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). These
perspectives and the resultant impact of the five domains were then re-examined
through a survey instrument.
There were two phases to the data collection in this research. Phase 1 used an interview
methodology with two separate groups. Group One consisted of five mid-career
teachers who had recently left their teaching position to pursue other careers. These
former state primary school teachers were interviewed to investigate reasons for their
career change and to ascertain what principal leadership practices, if any, may have
36 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
led to their decision to leave the teaching profession. Group Two consisted of five
current state primary school principals. The principals were interviewed to ascertain
what leadership practices they had deliberately employed to impact on mid-career
teacher work commitment. The themes from the two sets of interviews in Phase 1 were
matched to the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework and used
to inform the survey instrument in phase 2. The survey instrument was designed to
reflect these inductive themes as well as deductive elements drawn from the literature
review and the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework.
Phase 2 of this research involved a survey instrument which was administered to 142
mid-career teachers currently working in Queensland state primary schools. The
survey sought to investigate which specific principal leadership practices current mid-
career teachers felt impacted on their work commitment. This cross-sectional approach
to data collection was chosen for several reasons, most notable a large number of
quality studies involving teachers have used this survey methodology, for example Gu
(2016) and Kidger, Brockman, Tilling, Campbell, Ford, Araya, King and Gunnell
(2016). The other key strength of a cross-sectional survey is that the complete data set
is available immediately (Creswell, 2012).
The data from both interview and survey phases was analysed with respect to the five
leadership domains outlined by Education Queensland in their leadership framework
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) – educational, personal, relational,
intellectual and organisational. This data was used to identify the emergence of key
trends or themes from participants and ascertain the impact each domain had on mid-
career teacher work commitment. This information on the impact of each leadership
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 37
domain on mid-career teacher commitment was then used to draw conclusions and
recommendations about principals’ leadership and inform practice.
1.8 DEFINITION OF TERMS
The following definitions are provided to assist with understanding the various terms
used in this study.
1.8.1 Principal
Within a school setting leadership is often invested – or expected of – several people
in positions of authority who occupy various roles. School leaders are those persons
who provide direction and exert influence in order to achieve the school’s goals and
various positions have varying influence on others within a school setting. Despite
leadership in schools being distributed among many stakeholders, there is always a
formal position for the one person tasked with leading the school on behalf of their
employer - the school principal. The principal is the position of most influence and
the key leader at each school.
The role of the principal as the most significant and important site leader at the school
has been established by previous research (Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb, &
Wyckoff, 2011; Branch, Hanushek, & Rivkin, 2013; Deal & Peterson, 2016; Price &
Moolenaar, 2015). It is this school principal role which exerts the most leadership
influence throughout the work site. For the purpose of this document the terms head
teacher, headmaster, school administrator and principal are recognised and treated as
different terms used to describe identical positions in different educational
jurisdictions. For consistency and reflecting the official term for the appointed formal
38 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
school leader used in Queensland where this study was undertaken, the term principal
was used throughout this research.
1.8.2 Leadership Practices
Leadership has been studied from many perspectives. The practices and traits of
individuals form the basis of the classical leadership theories. Researchers
investigating the concept of leadership are therefore faced with the challenge of a range
of definitions of leadership. Early researchers such as Bennis (1959) reflected the
hierarchical and positional component of traditional transactional leadership by stating
leadership is “the process by which an agent induces a subordinate to behave in a
desired manner” (p. 295). Bass and Bass (2008) reflected a more transformational or
inspirational view of leadership stating leadership is an exchange of values between
leaders and followers for the common good. Other researchers such as Charan (2008)
simply stated that leadership is about providing direction and “the ability to mobilize
others” (p. 18), while Murray, Chua, Bond, Lunsford and Padilla (2015) believed
leadership is about intentionally influencing others and having a degree of power over
them. From the above range of identified definitions, it is apparent that there are varied
opinions and inconsistencies over leadership definitions.
Within the school context, leadership is the actions of the school principal which
influence enact and inform others about school direction. These leadership practices
reflect the leader’s operationalising of this intent. Often these practices are not
confined to one leadership theory or framework but do reflect a principal’s deeper
beliefs of leadership either internally or externally influenced. This study recognised
that school principals may operate under a broad umbrella within a range of leadership
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 39
definitions and the teachers surveyed would respond to the leadership practices
demonstrated by a number of school principals across a number of Queensland state
school sites.
It is important to note at this point that this study made a distinction between the terms
practices and traits. These terms describe two distinctly different attributes. Practices
are the behaviours and actions that are demonstrated by a leader. Practices relate to
what a leader does and how a leader operates (Leithwood, et al., 2008). The leadership
practices are the results of a leader’s actions and can be quite evident to the mid-career
teachers who are affected by them. This current study was concerned with leadership
practices as it is these that can impact on teachers daily and influence their work
commitment.
Leadership traits by contrast, are the inherent characteristics or attributes of a leader
which may filter a leader’s practices. Traits are not always clearly identifiable. Early
research into leadership (Harbinson & Myers, 1959) focussed on the characteristics of
the leader or ‘great man’ and how these characteristics impact on people being led.
More recent research and leadership literature (Nahavandi, 2016; Northouse, 2015,
2017) demonstrated a change in focus to situated practices as the defining aspects of
leadership. Leadership today is not about the characteristics or personality of a leader
and who they are, but rather about what they do and how they operate and identify
through their actions and practices.
Leadership practices are defined by Northouse (2015) as the interactions between
leaders and followers. Northouse (2015) stressed that leadership practices are pivotal
40 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
in leadership and distinguishes the effectiveness of some leaders. The problem with
many previous studies on leadership is their inattention to leadership practice and their
focus on the actual leader. Northouse (2017) explained that these studies dwell mostly
on the ‘what’ of leadership – structures, functions, routines and roles – rather than the
‘how’ of school leadership – the daily performance of leadership routines, functions
and structures. The ‘how’ is of vital importance according to Northouse (2017), as
leadership practice centres not only on what leaders do, but how and why they do it.
Leadership practices are also observable by others such as mid-career teachers.
Leadership practices emerge through the interactions of leaders with followers in
varying situations. It is this interaction and influence on others through their practices
which allow leaders to be able to operate as true leaders and empower people to engage
in change. For many researchers (Anderson, 2010; Bass & Bass, 2008; Beerel, 2009;
Nahavandi, 2016; Northouse, 2015) leadership embodies the practice of empowering
others to believe that change is necessary. A leader, through their leadership practices,
will cope with change, define the direction of change and engage people in the change
process (Anderson, 2010; Bass & Bass, 2008; Beerel, 2009; Nahavandi, 2016;
Northouse, 2015). How successful a leader is at engaging and sustaining change can
be a measure of their leadership ability – particularly when working with mid-career
teachers who are have experienced a number of change cycles.
1.8.3 Mid-career teachers
The stage of a teacher’s career is often related to job commitment. Some research (Day
& Gu, 2009; Guglielmi, Bruni, Simbula, Fraccaroli, & Depolo, 2016) reported that
longer teaching experience is associated with higher levels of job satisfaction, work
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 41
commitment and teacher performance. In contrast to this, research conducted by
Orlando (2014) and Veldman, Admiraal, van Tartwijk, Mainhard, and Wubbels (2016)
found that teachers who have taught longer are less committed and satisfied, and that
teachers at different career stages had different needs regarding principal leadership
behaviours. As these two studies have presented contradictory findings, this clearly is
an area for further research.
In regards to the stages of a teacher’s career, research differs as to the exact
composition and description of these stages. Steffy and Wolfe (2001) described six
stages of a teacher’s career which are defined more by performance, confidence and
behaviours rather than length of service. A drawback in using this model and
measuring teachers’ career stage by performance goals is that potentially a teacher may
not move through all stages even if they remain teaching until retirement age. Previous
research (Burden, 1982; Cron & Slocum, 1986; Hall & Nougaim, 1968) identified time
in a role to complement experiences to establish a longitudinal framework of career
stage which progresses in a sequential and progressive order. Cron and Slocum (1986)
described four stages to a career, while Burden (1982) and Hall and Nougaim (1968)
described three. However, even though these researchers agreed about stages of
careers, the aspects and descriptors of each stage varied significantly. It should be
noted that these researchers used time in the job as the basis for their career stage
definitions possibly reflecting the time when careers were more stable and predictable
when this research was undertaken.
Later studies (Bilz, 2008; McCormick & Barnett, 2006) about teacher career stage
based their distinct stages on sequential steps based on combination of time in job and
42 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
capabilities and behaviours displayed by the teacher. Bilz’s (2008) study used
Podsen’s (2002) four teacher career stages – inductee, specialist, leader and steward –
while McCormick and Barnett (2006) defined four stages of their own; beginner,
establishment, maintenance and disengagement. These two models are similar in the
descriptors of each stage and make a clear distinction that; early career teachers and
teachers approaching the end of their career are distinct groups who may think and
behave differently to the teachers in the middle of their careers.
Most of the contemporary research into teacher career stages recognises three broad
stages of a teacher’s career; early, middle and late career (Day & Gu, 2009; Buchanan,
et al,. 2013; Hartsel, 2016). While the name of these stages may differ, the broad
discretion of characteristics for each stage remains similar. Most teacher career stage
models described in the research can fit under the umbrella of these three broad teacher
career stages. For the purpose of this study, a framework of teacher career stage (Table
1.2) was developed and recognised three teacher career stages based on Burden’s
(1982) early teacher career stage theory and subsequent evolutions of this.
Table 1.2 Career Stages of Teachers
Years of teaching experience0 to 5 years
After first 5 years and before
final 5 yearsFinal five years
Early Career Stage
Mid-Career Stage Late Career Stage
Practically all of the research and literature into early career teacher attrition, both
contemporary and historical, used the first five years of a teacher’s career as the time
frame of ‘early career’ (Buchanan, et al., 2013; Johnson, Down, Le Cornu, Peters,
Sullivan, Pearce, & Hunter, 2015; Lindqvist, et al., 2014; Mansfield, Beltman, & Price,
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 43
2014). Collectively these studies outlined a process where early career teachers work
through from baptism of fire and survival in their first year to an impact and mature
stage by their fifth year in the job.
This five year mark seems to be the pivotal point in time in a teacher’s career which
most of the research into early teacher retention referred to when reporting on whether
a teacher will leave teaching or not (Buchanan, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014;
Mason & Matas, 2015). These first five years are very significant for a teacher as
research showed that it is within this time frame that beginning teachers decided
whether they will stay in the profession long term or leave teaching all together
(Buchanan, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014; Mason & Matas, 2015). It is from this
teacher attrition data that the early career stage has been defined for this study as the
first five years of a teacher’s career.
The second distinct stage experienced by a teacher is mid-career stage. Teachers in
this stage have made the decision to stay within the teaching profession and are
generally committed to the profession (Hartsel, 2016). In her study into why mid-
career teachers are leaving the teaching profession, Hartsel (2016) used an interview
methodology similar to this current research and defined mid-career teachers as “a
teacher with more than five years’ experience who lacks enough years of service to
retire with full pension benefits” (p.6). Mid-career stage therefore begins after the first
five years of teaching and spans the majority of a teacher’s career.
Many other researchers have broken this mid-career teaching stage into clearly defined
subgroups recognising more than one stage of mid-career. While these divisions of
44 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
mid-career stage have been recognised and acknowledged by this study, a single mid-
career stage of teaching was used for simplicity of definition. This current research
does not suggest that all teachers within this stage have uniform consistency with their
behaviours, experiences and other factors. This is a broad grouping and it is
acknowledged that there will be variables within the group and that using greater than
five years as the sole variable to define this distinct group is a very simplistic
framework for outlining career stages.
The final career stage is the time when teachers are approaching retirement or the end
of their work careers. This stage has been described as disengagement by Cron and
Slocum (1986), teacher steward stage by Podsen (2002) and the veteran stage by Day
and Gu (2009). These researchers acknowledge that at the end stages of a teacher’s
career, teachers start thinking about their career differently and from a different
mindset. What isn’t as clearly defined in the research is when this final stage actually
begins for teachers, as the decision to retire is made with varying degrees of
premeditation for each individual. For ease of definition within this current document,
and to align with the time frame adopted for the early career teachers, the late career
stage has been defined as the final five years of a teacher’s career prior to the generally
accepted retirement age.
To ensure the greatest accuracy in selection of mid-career teachers for this study,
teachers within five years of Queensland’s retirement age of 65 were not included in
the survey process and other teachers who self-nominated that they were planning
early retirement within five years from the survey date were also excluded from this
study.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 45
1.8.4 Work commitment
Research interest in work commitment has increased significantly since the 1990s due
to the increasing value placed on employee well-being, dedication and loyalty.
Previous research has proved the relationships between low levels of work
commitment and negative organisational outcomes such as absenteeism,
dissatisfaction and worker attrition (Mowday, Porter, & Steers, 2013; Stanley,
Vandenberghe, Vandenberg, & Bentein, 2013). In a study to establish the theoretical
and empirical interrelationships between the major forms of work commitment,
Morrow (1983) found enough evidence to conceptualise five separate forms of work
commitment: organisational commitment, work ethic endorsement,
career/professional commitment, job involvement and union commitment. Among
these, career/professional commitment seems to match closely with the focus of this
study.
This multi-dimensional conceptualisation of work commitment is supported by
additional studies (Mowday, et al., 2013; Geldenhuys, Laba, & Venter, 2014),
although most of these exclude union commitment in their studies. This omission is
explained by the fact that the majority of these studies were undertaken in the United
States where union commitment is less universal and declining in applicability
(Klandermans, 2011). Klandermans (2011) identifies three categories of union
commitment; mild, moderate and militant, and identifies mild union commitment as
the growing trend of workers. The different forms of work commitment identified in
the literature are discussed in more detail in Chapter 2.
46 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
In respect to this study, a person’s work commitment is viewed generically relating to
their holistic profession. Participants in the interviews were guided by questions which
clearly outlined ‘work commitment’ as an attachment or connection to the teaching
profession and not a school or school role. Similarly for the survey participants, the
oral instructions and explanations given before each survey outlined the term
‘commitment’ as a commitment to the teaching profession as opposed to a school and
ensured the correct interpretation of work commitment was used to respond to the
interview and survey questions and that participants could not use their own
interpretation.
1.9 CHAPTER SUMMARY AND THESIS OVERVIEW
Research on the determinants of teachers' job-related outcomes illustrates that school
principals have a significant bearing on teachers' work commitment (Burkhauser,
2017; Dou, et al., 2016; Huang, 2017). Although it is generally acknowledged that
leadership practices play a substantial role in influencing employee commitment, only
a few empirical studies document this relationship and none have done this from a
mid-career teacher’s perspective in Queensland state schools.
This study investigated this gap in research by analysing principal leadership practices
from the perspective of the mid-career teachers on whom the leadership practices
impacted. Unpacking the teachers’ views helped to understand the significance of
principal leadership practices and helped evaluate the effectiveness of leadership
practices with a view to improve school leadership. School leadership practices centre
not only on what school principals do, but how and why they do it and the affects these
actions have on employees. Understanding leadership practice is imperative if research
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 47
is to generate usable knowledge about and for school leadership (Du Plessis, Carroll,
& Gillies, 2015; Player, Youngs, Perrone, & Grogan, 2017).
This thesis contains a further six chapters. Chapter 2 presents a literature review giving
an historical and current overview of leadership in schools and the impact this may
have on teachers. An overview of changing leadership agendas and frameworks of
leadership is also presented to provide background to the current instructional
leadership model being promoted in Queensland state schools. Chapter 3 informs on
the research design and methodologies and describes how this specific study was
undertaken. The results of the research are provided in different sections. Chapter 4
provides the data from the former mid-career teacher interviews and provides an
analysis and discussion of the data. Chapter 5 does the same for the school principal
interviews. Chapter 6 provides a summary of the data from the surveys completed by
current mid-career teachers and gives an analysis and discussion of the survey data.
Chapter 6 also provides conclusions and comparisons of all the different data sets.
Chapter 7 contains implications and discussion of this research and is the thesis
summary and conclusion.
48 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Chapter 2: Literature Review
2.1 INTRODUCTION
Any workplace attrition may be a symptom of deep and serious systemic flaws within
the organisation. Employee attrition can mean that workplace leadership practices and
culture may not be conducive to supporting the needs of the workers on whom the
practices impact. According to the earlier research of Bolman and Deal (1992) and
Kozlowski and Doherty (1989), leadership practices are offered as the solution to most
organisational problems. Their research concluded that leadership practices can
significantly influence the commitment of staff and ultimately their decision to remain
or leave their employment.
This assertion has been continually supported by subsequent literature such as Colbert,
Barrick and Bradley (2014), Kalidass and Bahron (2015), Mowday, Porter and Steers
(2013) and Stanley, Vandenberghe, Vandenberg and Bentein (2013) who found the
more committed an employee was, the less likely they were to leave their chosen job.
While these studies investigated workplaces in general, their themes have resonated
with later studies into teacher attrition outlining the challenge involved for school
principals in increasing teacher retention by increasing work commitment through
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 49
principal leadership practices (John, 2017; Msila, 2014; Selamat, Nordin, & Adnan,
2013).
Teacher attrition is a growing problem facing education systems round the world today
(Holden, 2016; Ingersoll, Merrill & May, 2014; Karsenti & Collin, 2013). Holden
(2016) examined teacher attrition in urban schools in Carter County, USA and linked
this attrition to five school principal leadership practices: providing leadership,
supporting new teachers, training and mentoring teaching staff, creating a positive
school climate, and promoting teacher autonomy. This study was instigated by the fact
that in the school year of 2007/08, Carter County lost a staggering 50% (7100) of its’
teachers. The career stage of teachers in Holden’s (2016) study was not highlighted.
A study undertaken by Ingersoll, Merrill and May (2014) focussed on teacher
preparation in an effort to examine the high rate of teacher attrition in the first year of
their career. They concluded that teachers with more training in teaching methods and
pedagogy, and who could observe other teachers and received feedback on their own
teaching by someone such as the school principal, were far less likely to leave teaching
after the first year on the job. Karsenti and Collin (2013) also looked into early career
teacher attrition in Canada and concluded among other findings that better support
from the school leadership team, including the school principal, would go a long way
to prevent teacher attrition.
Much of the existing research into teacher attrition is restricted to early career teachers
and the number of teachers who choose to leave within the first five years. Increasingly
later research (such as Arnup & Bowles, 2016) is showing more experienced mid-
50 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
career teachers are also electing to leave the teaching profession for significantly
different reasons to their early career counterparts. Arnup and Bowles (2016) place
attrition among Australian mid-career teachers at around 33%, an issue of growing
concern for education systems and the focus of this current research.
Many factors contribute to mid-career teachers reaching this career juncture and
making the decision to leave teaching. A teacher’s perceptions of their school working
conditions were seen in a US study in North Carolina as a major factor influencing
mid-career teacher work commitment (Burkhauser, 2017). This study suggested that
school principals may be in the best position to influence school working conditions
and that teacher ratings of the school environment depended on which principal was
leading the school, independent of other school and district contextual factors. This
study concluded that educational districts struggling with teacher turnover should
assess their workplace culture and climate and use that information to inform and
support principals (Burkhauser, 2017).
Principal leadership practices are seen to be positively linked to teacher’s decision to
leave the profession (Dou, Devos, & Valcke, 2016). Dou, et al., (2016) undertook a
study based in China of 528 teachers at various career stages and 59 school principals
and focussed on teachers and principal leadership practices. They found that principals
with a stronger leadership, particularly increased transformational leadership
practices, had a positive influence on teachers’ organisational commitment (Dou, et
al., 2016).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 51
In another recent study in Taiwan which examined the link between student behaviour
and teacher attrition, principal leadership practices again were seen as being a crucial
factor (Huang, 2017). Huang (2017) surveyed 598 teachers across 242 primary schools
and concluded that teachers who felt supported by a school principal, who enforced
the school rules consistently, rated the school climate more highly than teachers who
felt unsupported with student behaviour. These teachers were less likely to leave
teaching (Huang, 2017). This was particularly the case with the more experienced
teachers.
Previous teacher retention research has often focussed on the relationship between
turnover and the individual teachers’ own characteristics (i.e. beginning teachers and
what types of teachers are more likely to leave the profession), the school
characteristics (physical and organisational), or a theoretical leadership framework and
the impact this may have on staff satisfaction. This current study has a focus on the
relationship between specific school principal leadership practices and mid-career
teacher work commitment. Contemporary studies which explored teacher attrition
such as Burkhauser (2016), Dou, et al., (2016), Huang (2017) and Ware and Kitsantas
(2011), identified multiple factors which may influence teachers’ satisfaction and work
commitment and through these, teacher retention, but all indicated principal leadership
as being very influential in this construct .
As outlined in Chapter 1, the factors which can impact on a teacher’s work
commitment fall into two spheres of influence; those that can be directly influenced
by the school principal through their leadership within the school setting, and those
which are not. At the school level the principal influenced factors become vitally
52 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
important to staff work commitment and retention (Holden, 2016). A better
understanding of these is essential for improving principal leadership effectiveness and
reversing mid-career teacher attrition.
2.2 CHAPTER OVERVIEW
This literature review explores the issue of teacher work commitment (Section 2.3)
and the influence a school principal may have on this (Section 2.4). Principal
leadership practices are then discussed (Section 2.5) in conjunction with the principal
leadership practise that may influence mid-career teacher work commitment (Section
2.6). Included in this section is an outline of leadership theory explaining the shift from
individual and trait based leadership to more ecological, situated and practice models.
This is followed by an explanation of the four common leadership models
Transactional (Section 2.6.1), Transformational (Section 2.6.2), Distributive (Section
2.6.3) and Instructional (Section 2.6.4) which are enacted in various ways by principals
within Education Queensland schools. A conceptual framework of Education
Queensland school leadership practices is then given (Section 2.7), and Education
Queensland’s leadership framework, Leadership Matters is then referenced (Section
2.8). A chapter conclusion is then provided (Section 2.9).
2.3 TEACHER WORK COMMITMENT
Work commitment is one of the most prominent work attitudes examined in the work
and organisational literature. Work commitment has been described as the nature of
the employee's attachment to their profession (Shahnawaz & Jafri, 2009) and as the
employee's feelings of obligation to stay with their professions which result from the
normative pressures employees experience (Viljoen & Rothmann, 2009). Other
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 53
researchers use similar definitions that refer to work commitment as an employee's
attachment, goal congruency, identification, loyalty and allegiance to their
organisation.
Mowday, et al., (2013) found strong correlations of work commitment and job
satisfaction and concluded that when employees are dissatisfied at work; they are less
committed and will look for other opportunities to leave. Mowday, et al., (2013) did
not focus on teachers for their study; however, the findings around work commitment
provide an important construct in this study of the educational employment field. This
construct is also recognised by Lok and Crawford (2004) who found that, “work
commitment and job satisfaction are important attitudes in assessing employees’
intention to quit” (p. 321). In summary, when workers are committed they will remain
with their profession. If their commitment sufficiently declines they will look to leave
and pursue alternative work options.
Mid-career teacher attrition is defined by this research as the act of a teacher, past the
five year mark in their career, leaving the teaching profession to engage in alternative
work. Research has identified work commitment as the main predictor to teacher
attrition. Studies indicate that those teachers who are less committed to their work are
more likely to leave teaching. In their study into veteran teachers, Day and Gu (2009)
concluded that the work commitment of teachers into their third or fourth decade of
teaching impacted on whether they remained in the teaching profession.
The growing sense of job dissatisfaction and a waning work commitment is an
indicator of what Hartsel (2016) describes as an emerging phenomenon of mid-career
54 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
teachers opting out of the career. Hartsel (2016) found four distinct factors which
contributed to a teacher’s work commitment one of which was support from the school
leadership team through principal leadership practices. The studies of Day and Gu
(2009) and Hartsel (2016) were conducted in the US and pertained to American
teachers and context, however the concept of mid-career teacher attrition is a global
one and overseas findings can be directly related to the Australian context (Mason &
Matas, 2015).
Mason and Matas (2015) investigated teacher attrition in Australia from a social
science perspective and concluded that not only do principal leadership practices have
influence over teacher commitment, but it is that social capital which sits in the
relational practices of leadership which has the greatest impact on teacher
commitment. Teachers who are satisfied and committed to their job and working
environment are more likely to remain in the profession and be committed to their
work. Being unsatisfied and uncommitted at work are key contributors to teachers
leaving their chosen career (Hartsel, 2016; Karsenti & Collin, 2013; Struyven &
Vanthournout, 2014) and principal leadership practise play a key role influencing
teacher commitment especially once teachers are past the first five years of their career
2.3.1 Teacher attrition
Teaching is a demanding role and high rates of teacher attrition have become
commonplace amongst early career teachers, and is now increasing amongst more
experienced, mid-career teachers (Hartsel, 2016). If teachers’ work commitment can
be influenced through the school principal’s leadership practices, then understanding
this link is vitally necessary to stem the ever increasing flow of mid-career teachers
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 55
choosing to leave the profession. In doing so, education systems will be able to
maintain an experienced and dedicated workforce.
Teacher attrition was initially highlighted as an emerging issue in the 1990s when it
was revealed that in Australian government schools teacher attrition rates ranged from
3% to 8% across all career stages of employed teachers (Macdonald, 1999). In early
career stage teachers – that is, teachers up to five years of experience – the statistics
were even more significant with research showing that 20% to 50% of beginning
teachers decided to leave the profession in their first three to five years (Ewing, 2001;
Riley, 2014) a figure that has tripled between 2012 and 2014 (Riley, 2014). This was
a measurable increase on Gold, Roth, Wright and Michael’s (1991) findings which
placed this figure for the same stage group at 20% to 25% only ten years earlier. Exact
figures for teacher attrition continue to vary and be inconsistent. A study by the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2005 suggested
that up to 30% of Australian teachers leave their careers within the first five years
(OECD, 2005) while latest studies into Queensland teacher attrition across all career
stages, has figures ranging from 8% to 50% (Queensland College of Teachers, 2013)
as reported in Chapter 1.
The discrepancy and variation in these figures may raise concerns regarding the
trustworthiness of the data collected and the validity of the claims made by the various
sources. However, what is beyond dispute is that fact that teachers are leaving the
profession before retirement age and this trend is continuing to grow at increasing rates
(Gallant & Riley, 2014; Kearney, 2014; Riley, 2013). While teacher attrition alone is
of great significance it becomes even more so in contemporary Australian schools
56 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
when viewed in conjunction with the impending teacher shortage predicted here in
Australia (Mason & Matas, 2015; Wheldon, 2015). This teacher shortage is due to
fewer students opting for teaching as a profession, existing teachers leaving in greater
numbers than ever before (Mason & Matas, 2015) and population forecasts which
show the number of primary school students is set to increase dramatically over the
next ten years (Weldon, 2015).
Internationally, teacher retention statistics across the western world have mirrored
what has been reported here in Australia. Research over the past two decades show
that throughout western education systems 25% to 40% of teachers leave the
profession within their first five years (Buchanan, Prescott, Schuck, Aubusson, Burke,
& Louviere, 2013; Committee for the Review of Teaching and Teacher Education,
2003; Lindqvist, Nordänger, & Carlsson, 2014), rising up to 50% in some subject areas
(Smith & Ingersoll, 2004). Research and existing literature have established that early
years’ teachers – those within their first five years in the profession – have a high and
anticipated attrition rate. What is significant to this study is the fact that mid-career
teachers past this five year mark are now also choosing to leave the profession in ever
increasing numbers (Arnup & Bowles, 2016; Hartsel, 2016).
In their study, mentioned in Chapter 1, Arnup and Bowles (2016) identified reasons
mid-career teachers gave for leaving the profession. These reasons were varied and
encompassed personal reasons such as more attractive job opportunities, dislike of the
actual work itself, professional autonomy and challenges, the feeling of not making a
difference, and low levels of self-efficacy and resilience (Arnup & Bowles, 2016).
System and school reasons (including principal leadership practices) such as work
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 57
conditions, salary, poor student motivation, promotions and recognition, supportive
colleagues, school climate, student discipline and lack of school administration
support were also listed as reasons by mid-career teachers for leaving their teaching
career (Arnup & Bowles, 2016). What this research highlighted is that there are a wide
range of reasons given by an increasing number of mid-career teachers for leaving the
profession, many of which can be linked to a principal’s leadership practices.
The literature is quite clear in identifying the increasing issue of general teacher
attrition and it is something that should be of concern to educational systems. The
increasing loss of mid-career teachers should be of even greater interest, particularly
when the rate of attrition can arguably be reduced (DeFeo, Trang Tran, Hirshberg, &
Cope, 2017; Groundwater, 2016). The literature identifies many ramifications to
education systems when mid-career teachers choose to leave which can be negative at
several levels. These issues were touched on in Chapter 1 and are now explored in
more depth below.
The first level of impact to an educational system is financial; teacher turnover costs
money as new teachers need to be trained and supported to replace ones who have left.
In addition to these costs education systems may also need to look at the financial
incentives to attract the best candidates to teacher training to ensure a future workforce.
At a second level of impact, the loss of experienced teachers also means the loss of
social capital. While new teachers can bring new ideas and energy to a school, they
cannot compensate for the knowledge, experience and leadership of the teachers they
replace. Thirdly, if the pace of attrition and demand for teachers keeps up at the present
pace, education systems across Australia and the world will be unable to find qualified
58 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
staff to fill future positions. Teacher retention is recognised as a staffing problem: - “It
is as if we (are) pouring teachers into a bucket with a fist-sized hole in the
bottom…And attrition, the leak in the bucket, has been getting worse.” (NCTAF, 2003,
p. 6 as cited in O’Brien, Goddard, & Keeffe, 2007). If the growing trend of teacher
attrition is to be addressed, the factors which influence teachers’ work commitment
and decision to leave the teaching profession, including principal leadership practices,
must be examined and addressed.
The literature highlights that after the first five years of a teacher’s career the vast
majority of teachers have made the decision to remain in the teaching profession, and
view teaching as a lifelong career. It is only if the work commitment declines that these
teachers begin to look for alternative work. Research has repeatedly shown that mid-
career teacher’s work commitment can be influenced by the leadership practices of the
school principal (Burkhauser, 2017; Dajani, 2014; Dou, et al., 2016; Holden, 2016;
Huang, 2017; Hudson, 2009; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008; Reynolds &
Teddlie, 2000; Rice, 2014). This illustrates the important role principal leadership
practices play in shaping teacher work commitment and ultimately influence whether
a teacher stays with the profession or leaves (Day & Gu, 2009; Hartsel, 2016; Mason
& Matas, 2015). Where principal leadership practices are perceived as positive, work
commitment is similarly influenced (De Nobile, 2017; Huang, 2017). Where
leadership practices were viewed in an unfavourable way, teachers work commitment
was also negatively influenced (De Nobile, 2017; Huang, 2017).
If teacher’s work commitment can be influenced through the school leader’s leadership
practices, then establishing a deeper understanding of the specific leadership practices
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 59
and how they influence mid-career teacher work commitment should play an important
role in principal leadership development to try and stem the flow of mid-career
teachers choosing to leave the profession. If teachers have a high level of commitment,
then schools and ultimately whole education jurisdictions will benefit, equally if
teachers have low or declining commitment, schools and jurisdictions not only gain no
benefit but also are impacted upon by the associated results of this waning work
commitment (Leithwood, et al., 2008). By addressing this link, through principal
leadership practices, education systems will be able to maintain an experienced and
dedicated workforce.
As mentioned briefly previously, not all teacher attrition is particularly negative to a
school and the profession. All workplaces, including schools, will experience some
staff turnover without it necessarily indicating an underlying issue with the
organisation’s leadership or culture. Additionally, some prospective teachers are not
suited to the teaching profession and their not leaving would initiate a different raft of
implications within schools. Similarly some mid-career teacher loss can actually assist
schools if the right teachers are the ones leaving (Adnot, Dee, Katz, & Wyckoff, 2017).
If the mid-career teachers who are low-performing, disillusioned, in a rut and/or
reluctant to engage in new ideas are the ones leaving and are replaced with more
effective teachers, Adnot, et al., (2017) believe this is beneficial for a school and will
improve student outcomes. In any occupation ‘natural attrition’ helps to keep the
workforce fresh and focussed removing employees who may be remaining for the
wrong reasons.
60 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
It must also be noted that some of the teachers who leave the profession do so only in
a temporary capacity and then return to teaching over time (Lindqvist, et al., 2014).
This study by Lindqvist, et al., (2014) was undertaken in Sweden and used a small
sample size (n = 87) which makes drawing wider conclusion, across different
education systems for such a complicated concept difficult. That said McKenzie,
Weldon, Rowley, Murphy, & McMillan’s (2014) Staff in Australia’s Schools reported
similar findings. Their report stated 12.7% of current primary school teachers have
resigned from school teaching at some stage but then returned to the profession. While
some of these teachers resigned from state run systems to work in the independent or
private sectors, or to pursue teaching opportunities overseas, the data does suggest that
there is substantial movement out of and back into teaching.
Further investigation is needed to ascertain if the reason for teachers leaving and
returning is impacted on by the leadership practices of principals or not and whether
these movements happen in the first five years of teaching or later as mid-career
teachers. The research would suggest that much of this movement is within the first
five years when attrition is expected and not past the five year mark when principal
leadership plays such a key role in attrition.
The research into teacher attrition repeatedly highlights that the first five years of a
career is the critical time for a teacher to opt for a career change (Arnup & Bowles,
2016; Buchanan, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014). Arnup and Bowles (2016) clearly
defined the five year mark of a teaching career as vital in regards to teacher attrition
and when attrition is most likely to occur. Likewise, Buchanan, et al., (2013)
highlighted a distinct difference in thinking and context of teachers within their first
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 61
five years and post five years. These differences impacted on teachers’ commitment
and decision to remain in teaching in very separate ways. In their longitudinal study
into Swedish teachers Lindqvist, et al., (2014) also highlighted the clear demarcation
between beginning teachers in their first five years and the different mindset and
thinking of the mid-career teachers past this five year mark.
Once past these first five years, the majority of teachers have a strong work
commitment and have made a definitive choice to commit to teaching as a career
(Arnup & Bowles, 2016; Buchanan, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014). The
importance of understanding work commitment for mid-career teachers is therefore
significant. Aydin, Sarier, and Uysal (2013) found in their meta-analysis of twelve
studies undertaken in Turkey examining the relationship between principal leadership
styles and teacher job satisfaction and work commitment that the leadership style of
the principal greatly impacted a teacher’s commitment. They found that as the
leadership practice changed from traditional transactional practices to more
transformational styles of leadership, teacher organisational commitment rose. This
point is of significance to this current study as transactional and transformational
leadership are two styles of leadership used historically by Educational Queensland
and implemented during the career of the participants in this study.
While the work of Aydin, et al., (2013) was around specific school leadership
frameworks, Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb and Wyckoff (2011) looked at
teacher retention in New York from the teachers’ perspective. Specifically they
administered a survey to 4360 beginning teachers in New York City. These beginning
teachers may not have been in their first year of teaching, many having a history of
62 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
teaching before transferring to New York, but rather were in their first year of teaching
in the New York City System. Follow up surveys were administered a year later to
those teachers who remained in the teaching profession and to those who had left.
Boyd, et al., (2011) concluded that teachers’ perceptions of the school administration
had by far the greatest influence on teacher commitment and thus their retention
decisions. The studies by Boyd, et al., (2011), Aydin, et al., (2013) and others
demonstrated that regardless of the framework used to investigate teacher work
commitment, it was the teachers’ perception of the school leadership practices which
was most influential on their work commitment.
2.3.2 Factors that enhance teacher commitment
The importance of studying work commitment is sufficiently established in its
potential impact on employee attitudes and behaviours (Day & Gu, 2009; Hartsel,
2016). In her foundational work into the relationship between work commitment and
career change, Morrow (1983) suggested that the traditional five forms of work
commitment - protestant work ethic, career salience, job involvement/work as a central
life interest, organisational commitment, and union commitment – have become
partially redundant and insufficiently distinct to warrant continued separation. She
found workers changed careers increasingly and for varied reasons and suggested that
growth in research in the area of work commitment has increased due to a widespread
perception that employees are suffering declining levels of commitment to their work.
Whether declining levels of work commitment have continued to increase is open to
conjecture, however later studies reinforced the crucial link between declining work
commitment and career change.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 63
Mowday, Porter and Steers (2013) took a psychological perspective when
investigating organisational commitment in workplaces in general. Their book
summarised theory and research on employee/organisational linkages, including the
process through which employees become linked to work organisations, the quality of
such linkages and how linkages are weakened or severed. They viewed work
commitment as a cognitive process which manifested in three distinct forms:
attendance (or absenteeism), retention (or turnover/attrition), loyalty to a work place.
Mowday, et al., (2013) concluded that when an employee lost psychological
attachment to a work place their commitment declined. Therefore, the leader needs to
keep an employee psychologically engaged with the organisation through their
leadership practices and engaged at a personal level to change their mindset and
increase their work commitment. There is a caution with this, as having to convince a
worker to remain with an organisation when they have become psychologically dis-
attached may not be in the best interests of the organisation or the individual.
Supeli and Creed (2016) investigated work commitment in the manufacturing industry
in Indonesia and also found the mindset factor as an indicator of work attrition. They
concluded that workers with lesser attachments to an organisation were associated with
lower levels of work commitment and job satisfaction and higher levels of intention-
to-quit. Conversely, work commitment could be increased when workers felt attached
to the organisation and had a career plan, with future prospects instead of viewing the
work with a protean mindset.
While the above studies on work commitment were based in general industry and not
specifically the teaching profession, later studies have been teacher specific such as
64 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Selamat, et al., (2013) who surveyed 186 teachers in Malaysia. They found that beyond
the psychological attachment of a teacher, principal’s leadership practices played a key
role in increasing teacher commitment. Similar to Aydinet et al., (2013), Selamat, et
al., (2013) concluded that the style of leadership, and the associated practices, was
what was important to work commitment. The findings revealed a positive and strong
linear relationship between transformational leadership behaviour and work
commitment recommending that a principal exercises transformational leadership
behaviour to ignite teachers’ work commitment.
A later study into Malaysian teacher commitment by Ling and Ling (2016) identified
the school principal as the most powerful and influential individual in school in regards
to teacher work commitment. Like previous studies mentioned, Ling and Ling (2016)
highlighted the importance of transformational leadership in improving the level of
teacher commitment. Their study also identified specific leadership practices, within a
transformational framework such as treating teachers as individuals and respecting
their individuality, being motivating to staff and giving staff intellectual stimulation,
which help do this stating leaders use interpersonal or inspirational influence tactics to
help improve teacher commitment
Crosswell (2006) believed that teacher commitment understanding can be
extrapolated from the general literature on work commitment and assumptions made
about the ways that teachers define, describe and characterise their work commitment.
In her study of teacher commitment, Crosswell’s (2006) conceptualisation of teacher
commitment is framed by earlier research undertaken around organisational
commitment (Kanter, 1974; Mowday, Steers, & Porter, 1979). Crosswell’s (2006)
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 65
study acknowledged that teacher work commitment has many layers and dimensions.
While a school principal may have varying degrees of influence on work commitment,
these dimensions are interconnected and have some influence on each other (Devos,
Tuytens, & Hulpia, 2013; Jo, 2014; Ling & Ling 2016). It is therefore inherently
difficult for a teacher to isolate one pure form of work commitment and an overarching
assumption of this proposed research is that any self-evaluating answer regarding mid-
career teacher work commitment will be multidimensional. What is clear from the
various studies and the views taken from different literature is that finding what an
individual needs to enhance their work commitment is the challenge of leadership.
2.3.3 Factors that decrease work commitment
Previous research has provided a plethora of factors which can affect teacher work
commitment. These include: low salary, poor student behaviour, lack of school
leadership support, large class sizes and lack of resources. All of these factors are
influential in relation to teacher work commitment, and many can be influenced by
principal leadership practices. Principal support of teachers plays a very key role in
relation to their work commitment.
Boyd, et al., (2011) particularly noted the importance of school leadership support to
teachers in their New York study. Teachers who did not feel supported by their
leadership team particularly in the area of student behaviour reported a decline in their
work commitment. The lack of school administration support and its link to declining
work commitment is also the findings of additional research by Cancio, Albrecht and
Johns (2013). They found the extent of administrative support strongly correlated with
a teacher’s intent to stay or leave the teaching profession.
66 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
In a study into the relationship between work commitment and job expectations, Terry
(1997) identified six expectations that could cause decreased teacher work
commitment. The six factors identified by Terry (1997) were: unrealistic expectations
of the teaching role, lack of feedback from administration, job responsibilities,
additional job duties beyond direct teaching of their class, salaries, and student
behaviour.
A later study by Eberhard, Reinhardt-Mondragon and Stottlemyer (2000), identified
nine factors that correlate to teachers’ commitment. These nine factors were: salary,
teacher assignment (i.e. the specifics of their first teaching placement), paperwork,
duties other than direct teaching, class size, student behaviour, special education
requirements, recognition from administrators, and support from administrators. A
teacher’s negative perception of these factors saw a decrease of their work
commitment levels. What is significant about the factors identified by Eberhard, et al.,
(2000) and Terry (1997) is that they can all be directly influenced by the leadership
practices of the school principal.
Subsequent research also identified additional factors which impact on teacher attrition
but are not easily influenced by principal leadership practices (Boyd, et al., 2011;
Buchanan, et al., 2013; Cancio, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014; Hartsel, 2016;
O’Brien, et al., 2007). These new factors included: remuneration, society’s
expectations of teachers, how teachers are portrayed in the broader community and the
actual reality of the role. All of these factors reside beyond the principal’s direct sphere
of influence and cannot be easily influenced by principal leadership practices.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 67
Teacher burnout has been the focus of many studies (Brunsting, Sreckovic, & Lane,
2014; O’Brien, et al., 2007; Pietarinen, Pyhält, Soini, & Salmela-Aro, 2013) where
conclusions remain open as to whether burnout is a result of other, external factors or
a factor in itself of teacher attrition. There are several definitions of burnout that have
been presented in related literature; however, the most widely accepted definition is
Maslach’s (1982) which states: “Burnout is a three dimensional syndrome of
emotional exhaustion, depersonalisation and reduced personal accomplishment that
occurs among individuals who work with people in some helping capacity” (p. 3).
More recently burnout has been described by Maslach (2003) as “what occurs when
teachers undergoing stress for long periods of time experience emotional exhaustion,
depersonalization, and lack of personal accomplishment” (p. 190), and by Akbaba
(2014) as “a syndrome with physical, emotional, and mental dimensions, including
negative attitudes toward life, towards other people, or towards a career” (p. 1253).
Burnout is a chronic state of physical, emotional and mental exhaustion that arises in
employees from cumulative demands of their work. Burnout therefore, is a drastic end
point in response to ongoing stressors in a workplace. By definition, burnout suggests
that it is a phenomenon more prevalent in longer term workers, but this is not always
the case and there is a lot of research focusing on burnout in early stage and newly
appointed teachers (Buchanan, et al., 2013; Kim, Youngs, & Frank, 2017). Arguably,
burnout could be discussed as a predisposition in some people; however, this author
believes that burnout is a symptom of the impact of external factors which can be
potentially influenced by the school principal.
68 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Generally research into the concept of teacher burnout has taken a similar focus; that
is, to analyse the external factors that may be a contributor to burnout and how these
can be overcome or mitigated (Brunsting, et al., 2014; Kim, et al., 2017; O’Brien, et
al., 2007; Pietarinen, et al., 2013). Sometimes the concept of teacher burnout is not an
isolated concept but the result of additional factors impacting on a person’s existing
predisposition. The significance for this study is often these additional factors can be
impacted on by school principals through their leadership. This once again reinforces
the importance of principal leadership practices to teacher attrition.
Previous research established a link between the personal and societal factors, teacher
burnout, and teachers’ decision to leave the teaching profession (Boyd, et al., 2011;
Buchanan, et al., 2013; Hultell, Melin, & Gustavsson, 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014;
Pietarinen, et al., 2013; Sanford, 2017). However, the research also states that once
past the five year mark in their career the number of teachers leaving the profession
for these reasons is small. Predominantly the reason mid-career teachers gave for
leaving teaching is declining work commitment (Howes & Goodman-Delahunty,
2015; Ingersoll, Merrill, & Stuckey, 2014; Lindqvist & Nordänger, 2016) and this
declining work commitment can be the result of principal leadership practices
(Burkhauser, 2016; Dou, et al., 2016). It is therefore prudent to examine school
principal leadership in depth and look at the frameworks and beliefs which have
influenced principal leadership practices in schools.
2.4 INFLUENCE A SCHOOL PRINICPAL MAY HAVE ON TEACHER WORK COMMITMENT
The research has established a clear link between work commitment and teacher
attrition, and has also identified that principals’ leadership practices are one factor
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 69
which can influence teacher commitment. Previous researchers have tried to classify
these factors to better understand what specific issues impact on a teacher’s decision
to leave the profession. This research highlights the influence a school principal can
have on teachers work commitment and through this the decision to remain or leave
teaching. This section explores the factors which have been identified as influencing
teacher work commitment, and isolate those over which a principal can influence
through their leadership practices.
In their review of school principal leadership literature, Bush and Glover (2014)
reviewed current and recent writing on leadership models. They examined theoretical
literature, to see how leadership is conceptualised and empirical literature, to
demonstrate whether and how the research evidence supports these concepts. Bush and
Glover (2014) reviewed a few leadership models including transformational leadership
and how this model aims to raise the level of teachers’ commitment to the organisation
and its goals. Some critics have argued that the values and goals advocated in
transformational leadership are actually those of the government, the organisation, or
the school principal rather than those of the individual teachers. While this criticism
may have merit, it pertains to leadership styles as opposed to being critical of the link
between principal leadership practices and teacher commitment. Bush and Glover
(2014) concluded that school principals had a strong and positive influence on
teachers’ work commitment.
McKenzie, et al., (2014) in their Staff in Australia’s Schools report surveyed 5 213
primary school teachers from 619 schools across Australia. Through an analysis of
teacher responses, three broad areas which impacted a teacher’s decision to remain or
70 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
leave the profession were identified with many sub-factors in each area. The areas
identified were: (1) teacher personal factors – family and personal reasons, pregnancy,
self-esteem and health; (2) school factors – supervision, lack of mentoring, poor
administration support, student behaviour; and (3) societal factors - government
policies, poor salary, community attitudes and expectations, portrayal of teachers by
mass media.
These three broad factors can be refined even further and have been categorised for
this study into two, distinct spheres: factors a principal can impact on through their
leadership practices and factors that cannot be impacted in this way. The personal
factors and societal factors, from the classification above fall into a sphere over which
the school principal has little influence, while the school factors encompasses elements
within a sphere that can be significantly influenced by school principals through their
leadership practices (Aydin, et al., 2013; John, 2017; Ling & Ling, 2016). What isn’t
clear about the school factors is whether they directly relate to a teacher’s
organisational commitment i.e. the school or to their professional commitment and the
overall teaching profession in general. It is difficult to establish a clear correlation
between principal leadership practices and teachers leaving the profession. This is the
gap in the research which this study aimed to address.
Understanding this interplay between school principal leadership practices and mid-
career teacher work commitment is vital for addressing this research gap relating to
the issue of teacher retention. Figure 2.1 outlines the personal, societal and school
factors which may influence mid-career teacher work commitment and the sphere of
influence a school principal may have on these factors through their leadership
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 71
practices. This diagram illustrates a clear line of influence between principal leadership
practices and mid-career teacher retention which serves to highlight the interconnected
relationships that underpin this current research. The personal and societal factors and
the school factors are then discussed below
Figure 2.1 Principals’ leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment.
Personal teacher factors. These are the factors which reside ‘within’ a teacher; they
are personal or intrinsic in nature and often are evident before the teacher begins their
career. Since the turn of the century, studies have found teachers are giving more
personal or community factors for their reasons for leaving teaching, particularly in
the first five years of teaching. Studies such as Buchanan, et al., (2013), Canciao, et
al., (2013), Day and Gu (2009) and Lindqvist, et al., (2014) all noted a degree of
personal factors within their research into teacher attrition. These factors included
individual teacher background (levels of resilience or predisposition of a person to the
teaching role), personal circumstances (medical or moving due to partner’s work) and
Education Queensland’s predominant models of principals’ leadership practices
Transactional – pre 1990 Transformational – 1990-2008 Instructional – 2009 to present
Factors that may impact on teachers’ work commitment
Personal and Societal factors
School factors
Family Considerations
Individual, internal Factors
Community and Society Factors
Teaching Factors
School Factors
Job Satisfaction
Support and Recognition
Teacher work commitment
Early Career
Mid-Career
Late Career
72 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
family as predictors of teacher attrition. These factors are usually beyond the scope of
the school principal and have increased as identifiable factors over time.
In the study undertaken by Buckley, Schneider and Shang (2004) involving 835 year
K-12 teachers in Washington , D. C., teachers listed family or personal reasons such
as pregnancy and child rearing and health as catalysts for considering leaving the
teaching profession. These factors appeared to be independent from any teaching
related concerns. Other factors may be a reflection of inherent personality or personal
traits such as anxiety or low resilience. These personal traits may also be the reason
why some teachers appear more susceptible to burn out than others, a point indicated
in research into teacher burnout (Hultell, et al., 2013; Pietarinen, et al., 2013; Sanford,
2017).
Hultell, et al., (2013) in their longitudinal study tracked 816 first year teachers over
the first three years of their employment in Sweden and compared burnout in teachers
over time. They found no significant variance between beginning teachers and more
experienced teachers. Time in the profession appears to not be a significant factor to
burnout by this evidence. The research by Mansfield, Beltman, Broadley and
Weatherby-Fell (2016) reviewed literature over the past 15 years from around the
world identifying key factors associated with teacher resilience. The results of the
literature summary raised the question about whether people enter the teaching
profession already exhibiting signs of burnout (hence the significant high rates in early
career stage teachers) or are teachers more susceptible (as a holistic group) to burnout
caused by their job dissatisfaction. Further research is needed here to clarify the link
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 73
between an individual’s predisposition and their susceptibility to burnout as opposed
to the influence of work related factors; however it is beyond the scope of this study.
Questions about the personal traits of teachers which can impact on their decision to
remain in the teaching profession have also been raised by Zysberg, Orenshtein,
Gimmon, and Robinson (2017) in a study into teacher emotional intelligence and
personality. Zysberg, et al., (2017) believed teachers need knowledge of how to reflect
and time to think about their practice as these skills are essential to problem solve and
cope with work challenges. Other personality traits which were seen to be positive in
regards to continued work commitment were; a positive mindset and the ability to alter
one’s thinking and behaviour. These are not skills developed in most teacher education
training programs and thus rely to a major extent on the self-disposition of each
individual teacher (Zysberg, et al., 2017).
The literature on teacher burnout has shifted from focussing on job related or
environmental factors (Ullrich, Lambert, & McCarthy, 2012) to innate and personal
factors such as personality, emotional regulation, and coping strategies, that either put
an individual at risk of or resistant to burnout (Ebstrup, Eplox, Pisinger, & Jorgensen,
2011; Morimoto & Shimada, 2015; Zysberg, et al., 2017). This latest research would
support previous findings that principal leadership practices have little influence over
the personal factors of individual teachers.
Societal and systems factors. Society and government education policies can also
affect a teacher’s decision to remain with teaching. Teachers have noted competing
agendas in government policies, the lack of clear and accurate information and
74 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
government cost cutting as factors which affect their work commitment (Ball,
Maguire, & Braun, 2012; Bates, Lewis, & Pickard, 2011; Braun, Ball, Maguire, &
Hoskins, 2011). Additionally the social status of the teaching profession in the broader
community also impacted on teachers’ deciding to remain or leave the teaching
profession (Lindquvist, et al., 2014). Teachers felt that the community had great
expectations from teachers and education; however teachers are accorded low social
status, are held in low esteem and have a poor public image (AITSL, 2016; Lindqvist,
et al., 2014; Martin & Mulvihill, 2016)
More recent evolutions of the teaching role have seen the expectations and practices
of teachers become more diversified (Lindqvist, et al., 2014; Martin & Mulvihill,
2016). In addition to continuing the core business of teaching the academic
curriculum, teachers today are expected to keep abreast of ever growing information
and skills, stay at the forefront of technology change and new innovations and
undertake what has previously been seen as parenting roles such as caring for student
diet, obesity and social skills. Furthermore, schools have experienced an increased
number of difficult-to-teach students with limited additional support (Lindqvist, et al.,
2014; Martin & Mulvihill, 2016). All the while parents and the wider community
continue to demand wider expectations of the education system while the authority
and respect of the teaching position has slowly been eroded away (Tan & Liu, 2017).
This intensification of the teaching role through changing societal expectations as
described above can also contribute to increasing levels of teacher attrition and have
changed the role of teaching.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 75
Another societal system factor that can impact on teacher commitment can be
described as role reality. Many teachers begin their careers with large gaps between
their view of what teaching will be like and the reality of teaching (Kim & Cho, 2017).
Farrell (2016) reported that beginning teachers also felt that they had to put in greater
effort than their more experienced colleagues and that this effort to undertake teaching
was greater than the rewards of teaching. As teachers became aware of discrepancies
between expected and actual teaching, they began to question if the career is indeed
right for them. Farrell (2016) also linked the gap between expected and actual teaching
experiences to burnout and decision to change careers in beginning teachers.
Additional societal predictors relating to teacher attrition are salary and facilities
(Lindqvist, et al., 2014). Teachers who felt that they are not paid at a level
commensurate with their skills, abilities and task requirements begin to question the
longitudinal value of the career (Lindqvist, et al., 2014). This was particularly
significant with more experienced teachers who felt that their remuneration did not
keep pace with their increasing contributions to the profession (Lindqvist, et al., 2014).
School facilities too can play their part in teacher retention. The quality of school
facilities can affect the ability of teachers to teach, teacher morale and health and safety
(Simon & Johnson, 2015). While literature into the link between teacher attrition and
facilities is limited, teacher attrition in developing nations and low social-economic
schools has been linked to poor school facilities and classroom conditions (Simon &
Johnson, 2015).
Primarily the systems and society based factors discussed above, reside outside the
direct influence of the school principal. They are not seen to be something a school
76 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
principal can influence significantly each day through their leadership practices. The
school factors, however, are strongly influenced by principal leadership practices and
through these the school principal can strongly influence the commitment of mid-
career teachers. The school based factors, influenced by a principal’s leadership
practices, are discussed below.
School factors that can be influenced by the school principal. A common thread
for many of the influential factors regarding teacher work commitment is the school
principal’s support within the school context (Boyd, et al., 2011; Buchanan, et al.,
2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014). The school principal’s influence can take many forms,
and teachers have used the term ‘administration support’ in different contexts in
different studies. Support from school principals has included: giving feedback, giving
encouragement, close supervision, setting and enforcing student behaviour standards,
adequacy of resources and employing participatory decision-making. It has also
included support with student and parent issues, and the positive interactions and
influences of other staff set by the context and tone provided by the principal (Boyd,
et al., 2011).
The principal’s role is the key to the success of a school even when we recognise that
success can be defined in different ways. Several studies (Gruenert & Whitaker, 2015;
Ng, 2016; Thompson, 2016) have established a link between a principal’s leadership
practices and school climate and teacher job satisfaction. While student achievement
and teacher/student interactions were seen to be elements identified by teachers as
contributing to their job satisfaction and work commitment, the studies concluded that
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 77
teachers’ derive their job satisfaction and work commitment from the climate within
the school, and the school principal is the main contributor to school climate.
With regard to principals’ support of teachers, studies have linked principals who give
feedback, encouragement and employ participatory decision making to fostering
commitment within their staff (Boyd, et al., 2011; Thompson, 2016). Other authors
(Hansen, 2016; Martin, 2016) support this view believing that the context provided by
school principals influences interaction among staff, teachers’ feelings of being valued
for their work and their sense of involvement in the school. The literature on school
principal leadership practices often refers to Leithwood and Jantzi’s (1996) research
undertaken in British Columbia, Canada. This longitudinal study involved 1527
teachers across 423 primary and secondary schools and has emerged as a point of
reference to base studies about leadership practices of principals and the impact on
teachers’ levels of organisational commitment. The significance of this study has been
highlighted by numerous authors including: Buchanan, et al., (2013), Groundwater
(2016), Hartsel (2016), Lindqvist, et al., (2014), and Mason and Matas (2015).
Significantly, principals’ leadership practices which had a negative impact on
teachers’ satisfaction and work commitment were a major reason teachers provided
for choosing to leave the profession. Teachers cited a lack of professionalism and
administrative support highlighting the important role a principal can play in retention
of teachers (Buchanan, et al., 2013; Lindqvist, et al., 2014). Teachers reported greater
satisfaction and commitment to their work when they perceived their principal as
someone who shares information with others and keeps channels of communication
open with the teachers (Boyd, et al., 2011; Thompson, 2016). Other studies
78 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
(Groundwater, 2016; Hartsel, 2016; Mason & Matas, 2015) have all argued that the
single important factor to teacher work commitment is the school principal’s support.
Therefore, while there may be varied factors contributing to teacher work
commitment, school principals’ leadership practices are a major contributor and one
which can be addressed within a school context to avoid decreasing teacher
dissatisfaction and work commitment.
The importance that teachers placed on principals’ leadership practices and how these
practices can impact on teacher work commitment was a focus of the US Department
of Education, National Centre for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing survey,
2007 - 2008. This survey conducted amongst first year teachers in the New York area
found that if given a choice between a more supportive principal and a significantly
higher salary, over 70% of first year teachers preferred a more supportive principal.
While the term ‘supportive’ was not defined and left up to the individual respondents
to interpret, this study was significant as it concluded that a principal’s leadership
practices and influence on teachers rates more highly than increased pay for these
teachers. To teachers, principals’ leadership practices were paramount to their work
commitment.
Within the context of the above research it is also significant to note that in the United
States where the studies found the importance of principal practices as a primary factor
in determining teacher commitment, the hierarchical structure of education in many
US jurisdictions includes school boards that oversee a principal’s actions and to which
a principal is openly answerable. Indeed within this structure, the school principals in
the US are often referred to as middle managers or members of a management team
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 79
and often have their leadership diluted in comparison to Education Queensland State
Schools. Since the Focus on School initiative (Education Queensland, 1990),
Queensland principals have had more autonomy than their American counterparts
having a much more direct say over the day to day running of the school; and as such
a greater sphere of influence within their school. Over the past decade Queensland
state schools principals have experienced ever increasing leadership autonomy through
initiatives such as Independent Public Schools (Education Queensland, 2012) giving
them even more influence over the school site which is manifested through their
leadership practices.
In summarising the literature about factors which impact on teacher work commitment,
the biggest influence on mid-career teachers’ work commitment and their decision to
remain with the teaching profession is school leadership and principals’ leadership
practices. Different leadership models are often suggested or favoured as the preferred
style of leadership for an educational system, depending on the specific agenda and
context of the time.
Leadership practices have been examined through different leadership frameworks
including transformational and transactional models of leadership, both of which were
proven to have a definite correlation with teachers’ work commitment. To better
understand teacher work commitment it is important to understand principal leadership
practices in schools and the interplay between the two. Understanding this interplay is
vital to addressing the issue of teacher retention.
80 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
When the principals and the majority of the mid-career teachers in this current study
began their teaching careers, the prevailing style of leadership was a traditional
transactional framework. The changing agendas of education in Queensland in the
1990s saw this leadership framework change to a more transformational style.
Currently in Queensland, as a result of the Master’s Report (2009) there has been a
shift of focus towards instructional leadership as the basis of principal practice. While
the philosophy and framework for the enactment of this leadership framework is
systems based, the interpretation and daily application of this model is open to the
interpretation of each individual school principal. The ‘what to do’ of school
leadership is often directed to the principal by the greater system from above, the ‘how
to do it’ is left to fall on the individual school principal and enacted on the school site
through their leadership practices (Riley, 2014). This point that the individual school
principals are tasked with the ‘how to do’ of policy enactment, underlines the
importance of understanding individual principal leadership practices, as it is through
these that the actualisation of school practice is determined and impact on teacher
commitment established.
Much of the existing research regarding principal leadership practices (Walker &
Hallinger, 2015; Harris, Jones, Cheah, & Adams, 2017; Quin, Deris, Bischoff, &
Johnson, 2015; Shatzer, Caldarella, Hallam, & Brown, 2014; Urick & Bowers, 2014)
has taken a holistic approach where a group of leadership practices defined by a
theoretical model, that is, transactional and/or transformational, have been
implemented by principals in leading teachers, and the correlative outcomes examined.
There has been very little research on isolating specific principal leadership practices
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 81
and asking teachers to evaluate these practices from their practitioner’s perspective,
independent of a leadership model.
The existing studies did not explore the impact of specific principal leadership
practices and teachers’ perception of these in relation to their work commitment.
Instead they assumed a hierarchical structure within the school setting where a
leadership framework was enacted on teachers and the impact and efficacy of this
leadership framework was the focus of the research. In contrast to this top down
approach to leadership, this current study is asking teachers to report on the impact
specific practices may have on their work commitment as opposed to evaluating
leadership through a framework based lens. While this study initially was intending to
examine school based factors, identified in the literature, which a school principal can
influence and which impact on teachers’ work commitment (Figure 2.2), recent
changes in the role of principals in state schools in Queensland has led to an increasing
sphere of influence for school principals.
Personal System School Hultell, Melin, & Gustavsson, 2013; Pietarinen, Pyhältö, Soini, & Salmela-Aro, 2013; Sanford, 2017
- self efficacy - family - pregnancy
Ball, Maguire, & Braun, 2012; Bates, Lewis, & Pickard, 2011; Braun, Ball, Maguire, & Hoskins, 2011
- salary - class size - demands related to student with diverse learning needs
Boyd et al., 2011; Buchanan et al., 2013; Lindqvist et al., 2014
- feedback - student behaviour - teacher assignment - paper work - additional duties
82 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
- self esteem - health - protean career
- unrealistic expect. - policies - media portrayal
- recognition from admin - support from administration - supervision - lack of mentoring - principal leadership styles - school tone - helping with student/parent issues
Figure 2.2 Factors that may affect teachers’ work commitment
Leadership in Queensland state schools has seen significant changes in the past decade
with the introduction of the Independent Public School initiative (Education
Queensland, 2012) and the associated increased autonomy for school principals. Prior
to this initiative, principals’ leadership practices were influenced heavily by a
centralised, hierarchical model and a top down structure from the system. The move
towards more autonomous schools has seen greater importance and pressure placed on
principal leadership practices (Cranston, 2014; Gobby, 2013; Riley, 2014). Where
previously, principals were heavily guided and directed by the greater system decisions
and the implementation of these generally rested at the regional level, the move
towards greater autonomy and Independent Public Schools has seen a shift in the
decision making position from laying outside of the school in the past, to now reside
at the school principal level within each school.
The school principal, through their leadership practices, coupled with greater
autonomy is now more than ever in a position to influence the school climate and
ultimately teacher work commitment. While enabling more influence on their school
site, increased autonomy is also offering new challenges for principals (Cranston,
2014; Riley, 2014). Decisions which were previously made systemically are now in
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 83
the hands of school principals for local decision making. Community input and school
councils add another layer of complexity for principals to navigate through while still
maintaining their focus on student learning.
The push for Independent Public Schools comes with increased transparency and
accountability for principals. Principals are able to make their own local decisions but
still must remain within the accountability of the system. This balance of autonomy
and system’s accountability has led to increased pressure and tensions for the
leadership role (Cranston, 2014; Riley, 2014). There is a strain and expectation of
school leaders to enact policy within their local context, delivering the system
imperatives while maintaining the commitment of staff. The leadership practices of
principals are crucial in achieving this balance.
2.5 PRINCIPAL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Existing literature has established a link between leadership practices and work
commitment. Inherent within this current research inquiry is the assumption that
leaders should be responsible for the work commitment and quality of support for
employees. This assumption is not the focus of some early leadership theories that
regarded worker commitment as the responsibility of the workers. Later leadership
theories also had different ideas about how leaders may be expected to support
employees. That is why it is important to explore the various leadership theories that
may be influencing principal practices, before outlining the leadership practices in
Education Queensland schools and the origins of these.
84 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
It is difficult to determine one simple definition for what leadership or being a leader
is. There are countless definitions of leadership, and each person who attempts to
explain the concept has a slightly different interpretation of the word (Maxwell,
2013, 2014; Nahavandi, 2016; Northouse, 2015, 2017). At its simplest form a leader
is someone who has followers; however the multitude of study and research around
the topic of leadership proves that leadership is a much more complex notion than
just having followers.
At the core of most definitions of leadership are two underpinning functions: providing
direction and exercising influence; leaders harness and work with others to achieve
shared goals (Maxwell, 2013, 2014; Nahavandi, 2016; Northouse, 2015, 2017).
Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and
support of others in the accomplishment of a common task. Leadership is about
organising and influencing the actions and attitudes of a group of people to achieve a
goal and this study will use this leadership definition as the underpinning belief about
school leadership, and the context within which school principals lead their schools.
Theories of leadership are as dynamic as the definition of leadership. Over time,
leadership theories have evolved to meet organisational needs and reflect policy
priorities. Leadership theories traditionally describe leaders and organisations within
the business realm, but these easily transfer into the area of school leadership even if
specific school leadership studies are a relatively recent area of interest. At the end of
the 20th century, Leithwood, Begley and Cousins (1992) made the observation that
researchers are only just beginning to make systematic attempts to explore the meaning
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 85
and utility of leadership in schools, and little empirical evidence is available about its
nature and consequence.
Later studies (Leithwood, et al., 2008; Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006) were no longer
reflective of this earlier view of leadership, and a more thorough understanding and
view of the world in which leadership exists has emerged. Leadership is not only a
descriptive term but one changeable over time reflecting the contexts of evolving
understandings. This historical shift has seen the understanding of leadership move
from individual and trait based perspectives to more situated and practice based models
with recent emphasis on measurable outcomes. Following is a summary of leadership
theory development over time.
2.5.1 The emergence of concern for teacher commitment within educational leadership theories
In the late 1800’s scientific management was the popular leadership theory. This
theory concentrated on improving the efficiency of work processes and focussed on
factories and products, not people (Keith & Girling, 1991) and did not translate well
to a school setting. By the early to mid-1900’s leadership research focussed on the
notion that leaders were born, not created; The Great Man Theory. Palestini (2003)
wrote of trait theories that a person needs to possess certain characteristics to be an
effective leader. These characteristics include personality, social and physical traits
and as such leadership could not be developed. This theory believed that unless you
were born with the traits of a leader you were genetically prevented from assuming a
leadership role. The leader had many responsibilities and used coercion when workers
resisted work. The idea and beliefs of the Great Man Theory and leadership dominated
leadership theory for over half a century. The debate by researchers into the
86 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
shortcomings of Trait Theory gave rise to the behaviour theories which held that a
person’s behaviour as a leader made a difference in the organisation. Out of behaviour
theories of leadership grew the theory of situational or systems leadership which
professed different situations and circumstances determined an individual’s leadership
practices. These theories each are underpinned by different theories of how leaders
may motivate workers, and can inform the analysis of the data in this study.
In systems theories the leader views the organisation as a one large system made up of
many smaller systems. If there is a change in one part of the system, it causes a change
in other parts of the system (Keith & Girling, 1991). Within systems theories, leaders
work on the system while workers work in the system and were part of the whole.
Keith and Girling (1991) explained that within this theory, the individual was
sometimes overlooked and this issue gave rise to human relations theories.
The 1960s and 1970s saw the emergence of human-relations leadership theories also
referred to as human resource theories which addressed productivity and effectiveness
in social terms and had a common base of belief in people i.e. the workers. Human
resource leaders believed in productivity through people and focussed their leadership
on interacting with workers (Palestini, 2003). Motivations for workers within these
theories included recognition and achievement. Leaders used this information to
encourage the worker to strive for better performance (Bolger, 1999). Under this
construct two sub theories emerged. Theory X believed that workers needed to be
coerced, directed and pressured to do work. It assumed that most people wanted to be
directed by a leader as they disliked work and would try to avoid it. The second belief,
Theory Y took a view that work was as natural as play or rest and under proper
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 87
conditions, people accept and seek responsibility (Lunenburg & Ornstein, 1996).
Theory Y focussed on arranging an organisation to best fit a situation and not on
organisational structure.
From Theory Y (Keith & Girling, 1991) human resource leadership theories rose
organisational leadership theories which highlighted openness, participation and
empowerment. Organisational theories embraced many ideas and practices that are
based upon the set-up of an organisation including shared vision, meeting human needs
and empowering staff (Palestini, 2003). By the 1970s and 1980s leadership research
had developed and began to look into the notion that behaviours and actions were the
distinguishing features of effective leaders. In 1974, Stogdill determined six categories
of personal behaviours which were associated with leadership: capacity, achievement,
responsibility, participation, status and situation. While this research is referred to as
the start of modern day leadership theory, in a contemporary light this research is seen
to be too narrow and reflective of earlier Trait Theory as no person becomes a leader
simply by possessing a certain list of characteristics or behaviours (Avolio,
Walumbwa, & Weber, 2009; Bush, 2008).
Stogdill (1974) refined his theory to look at two key aspects of leadership – concerns
for results and concern for people – and then identified four leadership styles by
considering the same two aspects of leadership, without assuming a leader had to be
just one or the other. His four styles were: high concern for results and high concern
for people, high concern for results and low concern for people, low concern for results
and a high concern for people and, low concern for results and a low concern for
people. Today’s leadership demands in schools would suggest that a school principal
88 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
needs to be positioned in the style of high concern for results particularly the outcomes
of students and school performance, and high concern for people by keeping teacher
committed to the school and their career.
The emergence of differing behaviours for different situations and tasks, and the
concept of a leader moving between a range of leadership practices also began the
theoretical division between management and leadership in the 1980s and 1990s
(Bush, 2008). Management pertained to the day to day running of an organisation and
ensuring that the systems were all in place, it was concerned with the technical aspects
of an organisation. Leadership, in contrast, was concerned with the strategic views of
the organisation and developing solutions for issues which the systems could not
anticipate.
These shifts in leadership theories are reflected in leadership practices evident in
Queensland state schools during the careers of the mid-career teachers, and the school
principals, identified for this research. It is important to acknowledge these dominant
leadership approaches, and examine the likely practices associated with these theories,
as these are the practices that will most likely have shaped the mid-career teacher
experiences and commitments. To look at these practices effectively it is vital to
explore the history of each theory and situate each contextually within Education
Queensland.
Transactional – traditional hierarchical style predominant pre-1990
Transformational – brought about by the changing educational agendas
introduced in the Focus on Schools (1990) and Leading Schools (1997) policy
documents, and
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 89
Instructional – current departmental focus of school leadership in Queensland
schools, articulated in the Masters Report (2009) and the revised Leadership
Matters (2010) document.
2.6 LEADERSHIP PRACTICES THAT MAY INFLUENCE MID-CAREER TEACHER COMMITMENT
Reviews of the literature into educational leadership have identified tensions between
transactional and transformational leadership practices (Busher, Harris, & Wise 2000;
Christie & Lingard, 2001; Hopkins, 2003). Ritchie, Tobin, Roth and Carambo (2007)
described the difference and often conflictions in practices between these two
frameworks by stating that in stable school contexts transactional leadership practices
are likely to be used by principals to manage school systems and structures. In contrast
transformational leadership practices are more aligned with cultural change where the
focus is on the people involved and their relationships and changing their feelings,
attitudes and beliefs (Bono & Judge, 2004; Hartog, Muijen, & Koopman, 2011; Judge
& Piccolo, 2004). Figure 2.3 outlines the distinction between transactional,
transformational and instructional leadership. Transactional and transformational
leadership form the basis of foundation leadership research. Instructional leadership is
a relatively new focus area for both researchers and Education Queensland.
Educational Leadership Frameworks
Transactional – Traditional exchange of one thing for another. (Burns, 1978; Hartog, et al., 2011; Wahyun, et al., 2014) Transformational – Leaders and followers united in pursuit of common goals. (Baylor, 1990; Burns, 1978; Murray & Feitler, 1989) Instructional – Promoting vision and leading core business by example. (Lashway, 2002; Murphy, 1988; Murphy, 1990)
Figure 2.3 Educational leadership frameworks – three common models
90 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
2.6.1 Transactional leadership
Historically the two basic models in which all leadership interactions occur fall into
two fundamentally different frameworks. Burns (1978) calls the first and traditionally
based leadership practices transactional because this style occurs when one person
takes the initiative in making contact with others for the purpose of an exchange of
valued things. The exchange could be economic or political or psychological in nature;
a swap of goods or of one good for money; a trading of votes between candidate and
citizen or between legislators; hospitality to another person in exchange for willingness
to listen to one's troubles. Each party to the bargain is conscious of the power resources
and attitudes of the other (Hartog, et al., 2011; Judge & Piccolo, 2004; Wahyun,
Christiananta, & Eliyana, 2014). Transactional leadership practices are very direct and
hierarchical, and the workers’ commitment is driven by what they receive in exchange
for their actions.
Transactional leadership is noted as a traditional role of leadership. It occurs when
there is a simple exchange of one object for another (e.g., work for reward). Burns,
(1978) states that, transactional leadership exists when “one person takes the initiative
in making contact with others for the purpose of exchange of valued things” (p.19).
Transactional leadership therefore, is based on ‘give and take’ and the leader and
followers exchange needs and services in order to accomplish independent objectives.
Transactional leadership is one that promotes compliance of followers through rewards
and punishments and is often described as ‘traditional’ management. Practices of a
transactional school principal reinforce the hierarchy and the right systemic processes
– simply put, these leaders do things by the book and follow the system’s expectations
at all times (Bono & Judge, 2004; Hartog, et al., 2011; Wahyun, et al., 2014).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 91
Transactional school principals do not seek change or deliver individual initiatives
beyond the system, but rather seek to maintain the status quo and pay attention to
followers’ work in order to find faults and corrections. These principals want to ensure
teachers know what is right and wrong and believe it is their job to ensure everyone
stays on the right path at all times. With transactional leadership, teachers’ negative
behaviours are punished and teachers are motivated through incentives to perform.
More specifically, transactional leadership is rooted in day-to-day transactions
between leaders and their employees and comprises three factors: active management-
by-exception (MBEA), passive management-by-exception (MBEP), and contingent
reward (Hater & Bass, 1988; Howell & Avolio, 1993). With MBEA, leaders
continuously monitor followers' performance to anticipate mistakes before they
become a problem and immediately takes corrective action when required, while with
MBEP, they intervene with criticism and reproof only after mistakes are made and
standards are not met (Howell & Avolio, 1993). Contingent reward leadership is
viewed as a positive exchange whereby followers are rewarded or recognized for
accomplishing agreed-upon objectives (Howell & Avolio, 1993). Transactional
leaders can be influential in groups under stress, because such leaders can supply
solutions for immediate members' needs, even if the effectiveness of such a style in
the long run is questionable (Bass, 1990).
2.6.2 Transformational leadership
The second and more recent paradigm of leadership was identified by Burns (1978) as
transformational leadership. Transformational leadership occurs when one or more
persons engage with others in such a way that leaders and followers raise one another
92 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
to higher levels of motivation and morality. Their purposes, which might have started
out as separate but related, (as in the case of transactional leadership), become fused
and has a transforming effect on both parties (Bono & Judge, 2004; Hartog, et al.,
2011). Transformational Leadership enables leaders and followers to unite in the
pursuit of higher-order common goals, when “one person engages in others in such a
way that leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of motivation and
morality” (Burns, 1978, p. 20). This definition implies that the leader-follower
relationship is one in which the purpose of both become fused, creating unity and
collective purpose (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013).
This distinction between transactional and transformational leadership is critically
important in analysis of the contributions made by school principals to the operational
success of schools. Transactional leadership has agreed upon and accepted roles,
program structures, and authority relationships. It is the basic ingredient in day-to-day
school operations. Working within defined policy and agreed work conditions the
principal routinely defines tasks, assigns staff to perform them, and interprets the
consequences. These transactional routines cannot be expected to work, however, if
the goal is to alter or reform the school. The reason is simple: transactional leadership
depends upon the pre-existence of agreed-upon goals and shared motives. Reforms, by
contrast, are planned and instituted precisely because existing patterns of aspiration
and established role relationships are not leading to effective programs and practices
(Hartog, et al., 2011; Judge & Piccolo, 2004).
Transformational leadership is required if principals are to secure new modes of
teaching and learning (Bush & Glover, 2014; Liu, 2015). In this environment staff
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 93
members must learn to aspire to new goals and to re-conceptualise the basis of their
working relationships with one another. That said there is still value placed on the
traditional, transactional practices of leaders. Where educational programs and
practices are sound, the more mundane actions of transactional leaders are often most
appropriate (Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006; Mette & Scribner, 2014). Moreover, even
where changes are identified and needed, leaders may find transactional give-and-take
leadership to be most effective in overcoming some of the most serious threats to
innovation or for securing the compliance, if not the understanding, of followers who
are unwilling or unable to respond to the higher morality of reform (Leithwood &
Sleegers, 2006; Mette & Scribner, 2014).
In contrast to transactional leadership, transformational leaders motivate their
followers to do more than initially expected. They are change agents, are concerned
by long-term objectives, and transmit a sense of mission. These leaders engage
practices which instil faith and respect (charisma), and treat each employee as an
individual (individualised consideration). Transformational leadership was not
promoted as replacing transactional leadership; rather adding to it (Waldman, Bass, &
Yammarino, 1990). A transformational leader motivates followers to work for
transcendental goals instead of immediate self-interest for achievements and self-
actualisation, and creates within followers a capacity to develop higher levels of
commitment to organisational goals (Bush & Glover, 2014; Leithwood & Sleegers,
2006; Liu, 2015). Additionally, Burns (1978) explained that a transformational leader
encourages followers to come up with new and unique ways to challenge the status
quo and to alter the environment to support being successful.
94 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Studies into transformational school leadership found teachers often felt empowered
and stimulated to explore and experiment with unknown practice. However, teachers
with a traditional view of leadership felt that there is a lack of day to day supervision
and an absence of strong and structured hierarchical leadership or someone in charge
(Day, Gu, & Sammons, 2016; Orphanos & Orr, 2014; Shatzer, Caldarella, Hallam, &
Brown, 2014). Transformational leaders were seen to motivate followers by appealing
to strong emotions regardless of the ultimate effects on the followers and did not
necessarily attend to positive moral values. Transformational leaders utilised great
influence to spark individual capacity and initiative in all followers. Their great
responsibility was to harness the critical mass and abide by a correct moral compass.
(Bush & Glover, 2014; Day, et al., 2016; Liu, 2015; Orphanos, & Orr, 2014; Shatzer,
et al., 2014).
Transformational leadership had strong correlations with job commitment (Bush &
Glover, 2014; Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006; Liu, 2015) and principals who
demonstrated transformational practices, such as paying personal attention to the needs
and interests of the teachers, providing for intellectual stimulation and challenges,
raising teacher’ expectations and motivation to devote and investing extra efforts,
appeared to encourage teachers to view their occupation as more rewarding and central
to their lives and increase their work commitment. When examining leadership in
schools, Gross and Shapiro (2015) found that a democratic style of leadership typical
of transformational and collaborative leadership practices resulted in higher teacher
commitment than autocratic or the traditional transactional style of leadership.
Transformational leadership practices helped create a deeper attachment to the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 95
organisation for the workers, made them feel more invested and thus increased their
workplace commitment.
What the research suggests is that the stage of a teacher’s career may influence what
leadership practices a principal needs to display to enhance that particular teacher’s
work commitment. While early career teachers appeared satisfied with a more direct
transactional approach to leadership where they are clearly communicated what is
required, mid-career teachers appeared to need a more consultative and
transformational approach to leadership in which they have greater input and
participation in the entire decision making process. The cultural background of
teachers and their age, was also seen to be an influencing factor in determining
preferred leadership styles (Brezicha, Bergmark, & Mitra, 2015; Yu & Miller, 2005).
2.6.3 Distributed leadership
While distributive leadership is not a framework formally referenced within Education
Queensland for school principals to employ, the practices and philosophy of
distributed leadership have certainly permeated their way into Queensland state
schools. Distributed leadership emerged chiefly from the experience of school
improvement in the education system in the United States. Distributed leadership was
regarded as having a strong practice framework relevant to the school context and
culture. In this context, distributed leadership was regarded as primarily concerned
with the co-performance of leadership and the reciprocal interdependencies that shape
leadership practice (Jones, 2014). Distributed leadership placed an emphasis on
leadership in the school, rather than leadership of the school (Singh & Glasswell,
96 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
2016). Leadership was shared through the school to collectively and collaboratively
address complex social and educational issues.
Distributed leadership implied a fundamental re-conceptualisation of leadership as
practice challenged conventional wisdom about the relationship between formal
leadership and organisational performance. Distributed leadership implied actively
brokering, facilitating and supporting the leadership of others (Harris, 2013). It does
not mean that everyone leads or that everyone is a leader. This is to fall back on the
notion of leadership as a role and responsibility where leadership is somehow divided
up and handed out to others. Distributed leadership implied a different view of
organisational development, one where school principals are only part of the
leadership practice in any school as there are inevitably many other sources of
influence and direction (Harris, 2013).
The practices associated with distributive leadership engaged others within the
organisation to lead and be so empowered. The practices recognised that while the
school principal holds the apex title within the school, the power of leadership
emanates from many within the organisation and is not driven from the top down solely
by the principal. Distributive leadership is one model in which mid-career teachers
might be able to be involved and have their work commitment enhanced.
2.6.4 Instructional leadership
The concept of Instructional Leadership, which is sometimes referred to as Educational
Leadership (Goddard, Goddard, Sook Kim, & Miller, 2015; Horng & Loeb, 2010;
Robinson, 2010; Ylimaki & Jacobson, 2013), emerged from the changing agenda of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 97
school leadership which had its origins in the end of the twentieth century (Horng &
Loeb, 2010; Masters, 2009; Robinson, 2010). Current literature about instructional
leadership falls into two general spheres; the first sphere is a narrow variant which
restricts its focus to teacher behaviours which enhance student learning (Horng &
Loeb, 2010; Robinson, 2010). The second is a broader sphere which focuses
additionally on other organisational variables which may also impact on student
outcomes (Horng & Loeb, 2010; Robinson, 2010).
Currently within Education Queensland the variant of instructional leadership adopted
is in line with the narrower sphere espousing a role shift for leaders which has moved
the focus of school principals towards instructional leadership addressing issues that
will impact on classroom instruction and student achievement (Masters, 2009).
Beyond this description there are no clear definitions or guidelines to what this may
look like in Queensland schools, or which leadership practices this form of leadership
entails.
Instructional leadership in schools, narrowly defined, focuses on leadership function
as directly related to teaching and learning, (Horng & Loeb, 2010; Robinson, 2010).
Some of these elements identified included: promoting a vision, creating alignment of
curriculum, instruction, assessment and standards, focusing on data and maintaining a
culture of continuous learning. Within this new paradigm, school principals must
combine the traditional school leadership duties – budgets, timetables, schedules,
maintenance, facilities, behaviour management and teacher supervision – with a
deeper involvement with specific aspects of teaching and learning. Instructional
leadership is about leadership practices which focus intensely on curricular and
98 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
instructional issues that directly affect student achievement (Horng & Loeb, 2010;
Robinson, 2010). This instructional view of leadership resonates with a return to a
behaviourist view of learning and transactional leadership practices.
In the context of student achievement, the actual impact instructional leadership
practices can have on raising the educational outcomes of students is the cause of much
debate. Researchers such as Robinson (2010) believe that it can raise student outcomes
and noted that principals in productive schools – that is, schools where the quality of
teaching and learning were strong – demonstrated instructional leadership both directly
and indirectly. Robinson (2012) concluded that if the student results are used as the
measure then instructional leadership behaviours in a principal are seen as beneficial.
Leithwood and Sun (2012) refuted this claim believing that there is little empirical
evidence of the effects of instructional leadership on student achievement.
Additionally Leithwood and Sun (2012) did not see instructional leadership as an
independent leadership practice, instead included it under the banner of
transformational leadership.
In the context of teacher professionalism, research from the 80’s and 90’s regarded
models of instructional leadership as paternalistic, archaic and dependent on docile
followers (Poplin, 1992; Sheppard, 1996 – cited in Segiovanni, 1996). Sergiovanni
(1996) summarised the essence of instructional leadership by stating, if teachers are
committed and competent, traditional forms of instructional leadership are not
appropriate. These studies are somewhat dated; however latter research still portrays
instructional leadership as reflective of transactional or a more traditional style of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 99
leadership (Bush, 2015; Shatzer, et al., 2014) which could inhibit teacher autonomy
and independence.
In the context of school implementation, studies have raised concerns with
instructional leadership in its narrow sense as a way to get teachers to teach differently
to raise student educational standards (Neumerski, 2013; Rigby, 2014). These
researchers argued that in this form, instructional leadership became a form of
transactional leadership which required teachers to just follow directions. The
hierarchical orientation of instructional leadership conflicted with the democratic and
participative organisation of today’s schools. The direct instruction by principals to
teachers could detrimental to student achievement as teachers possessed critical
information about their students and how they learn; therefore teachers need
discretionary authority to make their own curricular and instructional decisions
(Neumerski, 2013). The latitude to make decisions within the classroom improved
both teachers’ work life and student achievement. Teachers need to be a part of the
decision making process to have the best impact on student learning and teacher
commitment. Instructional leadership has the most positive impact on teachers when
used in conjunction with transformational leadership.
Instructional leadership has evolved over time in response to changing needs of
schools in the context of global education reform (Bush, 2015; Neumerski, 2013;
Rigby, 2014; Shatzner, et al., 2014). What once was purely a process of giving
directions around student instruction and school programs, has evolved to embrace the
different contexts of different schools. More recent moves of instructional leadership
in Australia highlight a data driven agenda. Leaders are expected to closely manage
100 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
teacher performance and student achievements. This reflects a recent and
comprehensive environment driven by data and national standards for both teachers
and leaders. Instructional leadership is also associated with increased surveillance of
principals in high poverty or complex schools. Where once instructional leadership
was seen as being imposed on teachers, with the associated negative impact on their
work commitment; it is recently beginning to be seen as a positive way of supporting
teachers to do their job well through principals’ leadership practices (Harris, Jones,
Cheah, & Adams, 2017; Ng, Wong, & Choy, 2016).
Recent research with principals in Queensland schools (Bloxham, Ehrich, & Iyer,
2015) looked into the changing school principal’s role in light of the creation of the
positions of Assistant Regional Directors, School Performance in 2010. Their study
identified that there was an increasing expectation on school principals to resolve
issues of performance for their school within a larger system and that principals were
seen to be responsible for teacher performance. There was also a perception that
Queensland state school principals’ performance is evaluated through the School
Performance Profile (Bloxham, et al., 2015). The importance placed on school
improvement, and on the principal to deliver this, is reflected in the fact that the School
Improvement Profile has been accompanied by the phrase; “improvement is the given,
it’s just the rate of improvement that’s negotiable” (Bloxham, et al., 2015, p. 12).
Bloxham, et al., (2015) described the School Performance Profile as the primary data
set and point of reference employed by supervisors when monitoring Queensland
public schools. They explained, principals must answer questions about what has
happened within their area of responsibility (their school) and provide an account of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 101
practice; what has happened (or not) and why it has (or has not) happened. Within
Education Queensland the answers are evaluated by the principal’s supervisor against
an expectation of improvement or performance achievement established at higher
levels of the education system (Bloxham, et al., 2015).
It is through such processes that principals are being held to account and concepts such
as professionalism and leadership are becoming datafied and this datafication is
influencing principal leadership practices (Thompson & Mockler, 2016). Where once
principals were driven by democratic or social justice goals, they are now increasingly
induced to speak to, and of, data sets, both internally and in the public domain, as
presented by NAPLAN and the MySchool website (Thompson & Mockler, 2016).
The School Performance Profile has a strong focus on school outcomes and student
learning. Teachers and principals efforts are concentrated on raising student outcomes
in relation to national test scores (Bloxham, et al., 2015). The School Performance
Profile measures many aspects of learning and data and influences school learning
practices. Current school principals are described as the ‘accountability generation’
where the improvement of school data is now seen to be a critical measure of
leadership success (Heffernen, 2017). These school results in addition to the
satisfaction and commitment of staff and satisfaction of parents and students are
measured and reported publicly, each year, as part of systemic reviews (Masters,
2009). Teacher attrition is not yet one of the headline indicators reported on.
In summarising research regarding instructional leadership, to be truly effective
instructional leaders should avoid restrictive and intimidating approaches to teachers,
102 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
as well as approaches that encourage compliance for compliance sake based on a
narrow definition of teaching. Furthermore, the preparation and continuing
development of instructional leaders should de-emphasis principals’ direct micro
management (or transactional instruction) of teachers where the principal visits every
classroom to lead the instructional process. Programs should teach practising and
aspiring principals how to develop relational aspects of leadership such as professional
relationships, dialogue and collegiality among staff to build a culture where embedded
and real change can occur. Principals alone cannot fulfil all of a school’s needs for
instructional leadership (Neumerski, 2013), which leaves room for mid-career teachers
to take on leadership roles and for principal leadership practices to facilitate this.
As noted previously, this literature review acknowledges other forms of leadership
models such as distributed and collaborative leadership, but has focussed on the three
most common leadership practices advocated by Education Queensland within the last
30 years. From a traditional transactional model of leadership, Queensland schools
were led through the Focus on Schools (Education Queensland, 1990) and Leading
Schools (Education Queensland, 1997) documents into a more autonomous
transformational model where schools at local level could direct change independent
of the greater system. The Master’s Report (2009) redirected schools to have a primary
focus on measurable literacy and numeracy outcomes and recommended an
instructional leadership approach be taken by school principals.
A comparison of the leadership practices of each of these three leadership styles as
described in the literature is provided in Table 2.1 to show how the shifting policy has
emphasised some leadership practices over others, while some remained constant. The
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 103
leadership practices identified in this table have been drawn from the literature and
represent key practices authors described and identified as relating to each leadership
theory.
Table 2.1 Leadership practices - comparison of the three common leadership models
Leadership Practices that may influence mid-career teacher commitment
Relevant leadership theories
Transactional (Burns, 1978)
Transformational (Burns, 1978)
Instructional (Murphy, 1988)
Promoting a vision and inspiring √ √
Reinforcing hierarchical structures √ √ √
Practices delivered within traditional leadership framework
√
Mutual benefits √ √ √
Extrinsically motivated √
Separate purposes for individuals √
United goals √
Intrinsically motivated √
Short term objectives √
Long term objectives √ √
Concerned with the individual and personalised
√ √
Inspiring √
Capacity building √
Narrow scope √ √
Outcome focussed √ √
104 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Embedded change √
While it can be seen that there has been distinct changes in leadership practices over
time, Watson (2005) stated that leadership “models are not mutually exclusive and can
operate concurrently” (p.53). The vast majority of research into principal leadership
practices looked at an existing model of leadership and tested how this model impacted
on teacher satisfaction and commitment. There is an absence of research from the
participants’ perspective with most research taking an ‘outsider’s’ perspective when
undertaking the study. This study aims to address the gap in research and obtain an
‘insider’s’ view by questioning mid-career teachers to seek what practices they wish
their principals to display.
There are areas of practice that may not be prioritised in a leadership theory or
framework, yet mid-career teachers may identify as a concern. For example, across
Australia, classroom misbehaviour of students is an area many teachers want support
from their school principal. If not supported adequately by the school leader it is an
issue that can lead to teacher work commitment declining. A 2017 survey conducted
with teachers across Australia (n = 960), found that the most important needs for
change within schools to improve teachers’ well-being according to teachers were
smaller class sizes and improved measures for student behaviour management
(Garrick, Mak, Cathcart, Winwood, Bakker, & Lushington, 2017). These results
provide an insight to principals in regard to areas to consider for organisational change
that teachers are reporting as most important for their own well-being and work
commitment.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 105
The student suspension figures in Queensland state schools 2006 - 2013 illustrate the
Queensland story over time suggesting student misbehaviour is increasing in line with
studies done in other jurisdictions. There was an upward trend in the rate of short and
long suspensions in Queensland state schools over the period 2006 to 2010. The rate
of exclusions and enrolment cancellations more than doubled between 2006 and 2013,
from 0.6 to 1.3 per 1000 students per term (Education Queensland, 2014). Furthermore
when examining latest figures from Education Queensland’s Annual Reporting for the
years after the ones already referenced, they indicate that the rate of suspensions and
exclusions has continued to increase. The intensification of these issues will have a
significant impact on teacher work commitment and are issues a school principal is in
a position to influence through leadership practices.
2.7 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK EDUCATION QUEENSLAND SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Historically the leadership practices of Queensland school principals were not
centrally directed. It was left to the individual principals to determine what was best
for them and their school. The ‘success’ of this leadership, it could be argued, was as
diverse as the models and adaptations employed. The 1990’s saw significant changes
to Queensland state school leadership with the move to school-based management
(Cranston, 2002) although no clearer direction for leadership was provided. The Focus
on Schools (1990) policy document provided state schools with increased
responsibility for decision making through initiating a decentralised management
system. This was further refined in in 1997 with the Leading Schools policy. The start
of the 21st century marked increased societal changes which demanded that school
leaders become more accountable (Cranston, 2002). Greater scrutiny on student
106 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
outcomes was expected in an environment of increased litigious claims and public
accountability and transparency.
While changes in school accountability and leadership policy were obvious, individual
school principals were still required to interpret what these policies meant for each
school within the new framework of increased autonomy. There was no guiding policy
on what effective school leadership practices looked like. The Masters Report (2009)
changed this ad hoc approach to school leadership and presented a style of leadership
– instructional - to be implemented across all Queensland school sites. The existing
leadership framework of Education Queensland was amended in 2010 in direct
response to the Masters Report (2009) to ensure Queensland state school principals
had an “unrelenting focus on instructional leadership”.
The Masters Report (2009) was commissioned by the Queensland government as a
political response to Queensland students’ results in the national testing processes
(NAPLAN – National Assessment Process, Literacy and Numeracy) which were
introduced throughout Australian education jurisdictions in 2007. The results of these
first truly comparative tests to be implemented in Australian schools showed
Queensland to consistently be place sixth out of the eight jurisdictions amongst all year
levels tested – years 3, 5, 7 and 9 – in each different strand of literacy and numeracy.
In his report, Masters (2009) gave many recommendations for Education Queensland
to undertake to help raise student performance. He particularly gave emphasis to the
importance of high quality teaching and school leadership practices for this
improvement to occur.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 107
Two responses to Masters’ recommendations about school leadership by Education
Queensland and the Queensland State Government were to firstly establish the
Queensland Educational Leaders Institute (QELI) to help develop school leaders and
secondly, direct the focus of school leaders to be in classrooms working with teachers
as collegial guides and offer direct instruction and feedback to teachers’ pedagogy.
This model of leadership with principals’ in classrooms is seen as a key way of raising
student results and saw Education Queensland promoting this model of instructional
leadership as an effective and required practice in Queensland schools (Masters, 2009).
Prior to the Masters Report (2009), transactional and transformational frameworks for
leadership also held some prominence within Education Queensland giving guidance
to school principal’s leadership to lead school direction in line with the greater
system’s articulated policy.
It was this shift in leadership focus which gave rise to the current Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) policy framework. This framework reflects
contemporary thinking of school leadership and isolates key skills and knowledge a
school principal is expected to possess and preferred practices to demonstrate. This
notion that the school leadership role can be broken into skills and practices was not
isolated to Queensland. Within Australia, the Australian Institute for Teaching and
School Leadership (AITSL) created a nation-wide framework for school leaders - the
Australian Professional Standard for Principals (AITSL, 2015) - based on standards of
practice with the intention of establishing consistent role description and expectations
across all promotional panels and a clear framework for school leadership
development. While the AITSL framework is implemented within Queensland state
108 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
schools and serves as a guide for school leadership development principals, Education
Queensland’s Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was used as the
underpinning framework for this study as it is still the basis for Queensland principal
selection and promotion.
Beneath the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework sits
additionally resources which identify and describe the leadership capabilities,
behaviours and practices for educators across the different levels of leadership in
Queensland schools. The Principals’ Capability and Leadership Resource for Large
Schools (Education Queensland, 2011) was most relevant to this study as it outlined
the leadership practices of school principals in large schools of a size where this
research was conducted. The leadership capabilities framework of Education
Queensland is linked to the Australian Professional Standard for Principals (AITSL,
2014) and as such was determined the best tool to analyse mid-career teachers’
perceptions of the impact of principal leadership practices on their work commitment.
2.8 LEADERSHIP MATTERS FRAMEWORK (EDUCATION QUEENSLAND, 2010)
The Leadership Matters framework (Education Queensland, 2010) classifies principal
leadership into five leadership domains. Each domain pertains to an area of school
leadership which is seen as an essential part of the principal’s repertoire of skills,
knowledge and practices. In summary, these leadership domains encompass;
Relational leadership – the way in which a principal interacts with all relevant
school stakeholders
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 109
Personal leadership – the way in which a principal conducts themselves and
demonstrates their core beliefs
Educational leadership – the way a principal understands and leads the
curriculum and learning on a school site
Organisational leadership – the way a principal can lead the facilities,
resources, staff, policies and programs to maximise student learning
Intellectual leadership – the way a principal is able to conceptualise the
school direction, overcome problems and create new solutions to deliver the
school vision.
While the specific leadership practices under each domain are not explicitly outlined,
the description of each domain allows for the easy classification of enacted practices
to the appropriate domain. Many of these leadership practices are discussed in the
literature and can influence teacher commitment. Some of the significant practices
and their implication to teacher commitment are discussed below.
2.8.1 Strategic vision
This idea of creating and articulating a vision to staff resonates with Depree (1989)
who states that, “the only kind of leadership worth following is based on vision” (p
131). By sharing the vision staff can gain an understanding of the why behind the
practice and also of where the organisation is going and how it is going to get there.
Hoyle’s (1995) concurs with this view of visionary leadership by stating that co-
workers of visionary leaders are loyal. An earlier study by Conger (1989) into leaders
who create a clear vision found workers involved in collaborative vision creating to be
trusting of their colleagues and leaders, like their jobs, work longer hours without
110 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
complaint and be more committed to their work than staff working with non-visionary
leaders.
While these earlier studies had a clear focus on vision, without linking it to power,
later studies into policy enactment and power relationships in schools (Spillane,
Diamond, Burch, Hallett, Jita, & Zoltners, 2002; Braun, Ball, Maguire, & Hoskins,
2011) saw sharing a vision and enacting practices to deliver this vision, particularly in
terms of system policy enactment, as a key aspect of distributive power and shared
leadership.
The leadership practices of creating a vision also encompass the communitive and
relational practices which accompany the vision intent to ensure the vision is shared
and supported. The recent research around creating a common, shared vision affirms
the earlier work of Conger (1989).
2.8.2 Feedback
Behnke and Steins (2016) and Kelley and Dikkers (2016) identified school principals
being open and acting on feedback as a crucial component of effective school
leadership. The research of Behnke and Steins (2016) was a study on the impact of
feedback to principals from school inspectors in Germany, while Kelley and Dikkers
(2016) undertook a quantitative study of middle and high school principals and staff
in a Chicago school district. This research noted two distinct and equally important
types of feedback which are essential to effective school leadership.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 111
The first form of feedback is organisational feedback where the staff give opinions
around the systems in the school including school programs and school operations.
This form of feedback is more concerned with the organisational domain of leadership
as it is focussed on policies and the school, not the leader. This kind of feedback is
common in schools. The second form of feedback is the personal feedback which is
concerned with the individual school principal and their demonstrated leadership
practices. This feedback has much deeper ramifications for school change and teacher
commitment as it does not just change surface policies and school organisation, but
can instil deeper permanent change in the principal’s leadership practices.
2.8.3 Interpersonal practices
The relational practices of the school principal are pivotal in forming the culture of a
school (Boyd, et al., 2011). How the principal interacts with members of the school
community sets the framework for other interactions within the school. In their studies
Price (2012) and Pas, Bradshaw and Hershfeldt (2012) found that the relational tone
of a school can have a significant effect, either positive or negative, on teacher work
commitment. If the principal sets a positive tone with their interactions, this tone can
cascade through the other members of the organisation. Positive relationships
generally mean an increase in teacher satisfaction and a positive impact on their work
commitment.
Conversely, neutral or negative work relationships resulted in declining satisfaction
and work commitment. Additionally, if the principal demonstrated negative relational
practices, these are often adopted by others within the organisation. While the
relational practices of all employees can impact on a school community; it is the impact
112 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
of school leaders and their leadership practices which ultimately can influence whether
a teacher remains in the profession (Boyd, et al., 2011).
While each teacher as an individual may need different specific leadership practices to
experience a positive culture, a constant conclusion from current research into school
culture and relationships (such as Boyd, et al., 2011; Goddard & Goddard, 2006;
Goddard & O’Brien, 2003), positions the school principal as the person at a school
who can influence this most significantly. Researchers such as Price (2012) and Pas,
et al., (2012) have clearly linked the tone of the school to teacher work commitment.
Pas, et al., (2012) concluded that establishing a supportive relationship culture within
a school has a positive impact on teacher work commitment. A negative work
relationship culture generally results in declining work commitment. The school
principal is the pivotal person in forming a relational culture within a school because
how they act and interact with other staff has the greatest impact on teacher work
commitment than any other person on a school site (Boyd, et al., 2011).
2.8.4 Coaching and mentoring
The leadership practices of coaching and mentoring can be effective processes which
can impact positively on mid-career teacher work commitment when done effectively
(Amoroso, 2002; Carpenter, 2004; Hudson, 2103). Buckley, et al., (2004) identified
the importance of having the right resources and support to ensure a positive culture
to peer coaching and mentoring. Their study found that a lack of effective teacher
mentoring was an identified reason for a decline in work commitment. At this point it
is salient to note the clear difference between mentoring and coaching. Within the
Queensland educational context mentoring is usually associated with beginning
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 113
teachers. Since 2015 all beginning teachers in Queensland have been assigned an
experienced, trained teacher as their mentor (Education Queensland, 2014a).
Mentoring in this sense is a program being expanded and invested in by Education
Queensland.
Coaching, in contrast, is defined as being relevant to all teachers not just for teachers
beginning their career (Knight, 2009). A coach has a specific area of expertise and will
use their expertise to improve the skills of all staff. Many primary schools in
Queensland were assigned, Reading, Literacy or Maths coaches to work with all
teachers, regardless of their career stage, to help improve outcomes for their students.
Coaching is seen as a partnership arrangement as opposed to the more hierarchical
arrangement of mentoring.
Coaching and mentoring practices are important to teachers’ work commitment on two
levels as they can impact positively on both the teacher being mentored/coached and
the mentor/coach themselves (Hudson, 2013). Lovely (2012) however, cautioned that
the beginning teachers, often have a different view to work and life than mid-career
teacher and beginning teachers can become disenchanted by mentors who are negative,
lacked content knowledge and failed to offer new ideas. On the other hand, by working
with beginning teachers, the mid-career teacher can be re-enthused, and thus re-
committed to their work, by the beginning teachers through working closely and
sharing their passion as well as learning new skills particularly in the area of
technology (Lovely, 2012). Clearly any coaching or mentoring must be implemented
effectively to have a positive impact on all involved and to do this requires the correct
114 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
organisational support of the school through the leadership practices of the school
principal.
It is clear in the research (Buckley, et al., 2004; Hudson, 2013; Lovely, 2012) that if
mid-career teachers are undertaking mentoring or coaching roles, it is important that
they are supported and perhaps mentored themselves. These teachers need to be
supported with the extra responsibilities to ensure that the additional load does not
negatively impact on their work commitment. This support could be ensuring time-off
face to face teaching for the mentoring teacher which is something built in to the
current Education Queensland mentoring for beginning teacher program.
2.8.5 Inspirational
Inspiration is a key practice of transformational leadership identified in contemporary
literature as a necessity for motivation and sharing of a common vision. When
implemented effectively leadership practices which inspire teachers can increase their
work commitment. Ogbonnaya and Nielsen (2016) identified four dimensions of
transformational leadership one of which is described as ‘inspirational motivation.’ An
inspirational motivation leader can formulate a vision, communicate this vision in a
precise and consistent manner and set realistic expectations for followers to achieve
the vision (Ogbonnaya & Nielsen, 2016). They help lift staff performance and harness
everyone in the same direction. This is particularly necessary when working in an
industry such as education which sees frequent changes in policy and direction and
requires quick adaption to change. School leaders need to be change agents and
transmit a sense of mission and endeavour to inspire teachers (Leithwood & Sleegers,
2006; Ogbonnaya & Nielsen, 2016).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 115
2.8.6 Integrity
The importance of the personal leadership practices of integrity and trust to a
committed workplace, were highlighted by Covey (2006) and reinforced more recently
by Starr (2016) and Ciulla (2016). These researchers concluded that if workers do not
believe in the integrity of the leader, or have trust that the leaders will make ethical
decisions, workers’ commitment will decline. Star (2016) and Ciulla (2016) found that
people are reluctant to work for or undertake interactions with a person they do not
have trust in, highlighting the significance of the personal leadership domain. While a
leader can employ other people to undertake many of the operational factors – and in
schools these factors might include facilities management, budgeting and curriculum
aspects of school leadership – it is critical that a leader build trust throughout their staff
via leadership practices of inspiration, integrity and honesty. These practices are of
great importance to a work place, and are the sole responsibility of the leader. While
Covey’s (2006) and Ciulla’s (2016) work was based on general leadership in a variety
of industries and work settings, Starr’s (2016) research had an educational context
developing core value statements in public schools in Maryland. All three studies had
a similar context in that they share similar pressures of rapid change and performance
expectations. Due to these similarities, the conclusions of all three researchers resonate
strongly with school leadership and have implications for both educational systems
and individual school leaders.
2.8.7 Managing change and workload
Riley (2014) noted the increasing work load and tension in which school principals
operate trying to implement the broad systemic requirements while also attending to
116 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
the local needs and wellbeing of staff. Today’s school principal must manage constant
multi-directional change and deliver the required benchmark outcomes while
maintaining a consistent strategic direction for their staff (Mills & McGregor, 2016).
Principals need to deliver the systemic requirements in tandem to supporting the
diverse needs of their school staff. This tension is a key point in the research of
Spillane, Diamond, Burch, Hallett, Jita and Zoltners (2002) and later in the research of
Riley (2014a) and Gallant and Riley (2013). This research concluded that school
principals face numerous dilemmas particularly around policy enactment and engaging
teachers. Principals need to meet the demands of a policy system while building
teacher support as the eventual enactors of the policy. At the same time, many teachers
have grown frustrated with the fads that have plagued education systems and want
more incremental and less immediate change. Principals who do this well can
positively impact on teacher work commitment; conversely if the teachers’ perception
is that the principal is not coping, the work commitment of staff decreases.
In this era of school change and accountability, teachers too are feeling the strain as
workloads and demands across the school increase. It is therefore important that
principals are aware of what they are asking of mid-career teachers particularly when
wanting to harness their knowledge and expertise for the benefit of other teachers in
the school. Terry (1997) identified additional workload and responsibilities as a
catalyst for reduced work commitment in teachers, therefore recognition of teachers
through extra tasks must be viewed with caution. Later studies (Eberhard, et al., 2000)
identified alternative forms of teacher recognition such as acknowledgement, and/or
affirmation from school principals as leading to greater commitment in mid-career
teachers.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 117
The ability to implement appropriate and effective change is of critical importance to
school leaders (Maxwell & Riley, 2016; Morrison, 2017). The Gonski (2011) review
into Federal Government funding of Australian State and Territory school systems has
seen unprecedented monies being allocated to schools above traditional school funds.
In Queensland these funds have been given directly to individual schools that have the
independence to decide the best form of investment for their community. The school
principal is responsible for allocating this money, reporting on the success of each
initiative to the community at the end of each year and has to instigate and manage
change.
Increasingly the school principal has become a change agent entrusted to implement
changing educational agenda from political, policy level to a school practical level
(Riley, 2014). These changes have increased in frequency over the past decade placing
greater importance on individual principal change management leadership practices.
Effective change management requires a clear and defined vision which all staff can
understand and align with. Results from Morrison’s (2017) mixed methods case study
in an international school found that the principal leadership characteristics most
frequently linked to effective change included: (i) being visionary; (ii) being
committed to school/staff; and (iii) creating a collegial/supportive work environment.
Additional research such as Szeto and Cheng (2017) and Day, Townsend, Knight and
Richardson (2016) also highlighted the importance of a school principal’s ability to
create and sharing a clear school vision as a key practice in formulating a culture which
impacts positively on teachers.
118 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
2.8.8 Individualised leadership
Recognising individual differences and developing shared school leadership, can be
ways to positively influence teacher work commitment. This view of leadership has
been reinforced again in later research into transformational leadership and the
changing agendas and expectations of leadership (Hewlett, Sherbin & Sumberg, 2009;
Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006).
Leading from the middle via a transformational leadership model was seen as the best
way to drive school improvement in the early part of this century. Much literature
focussed on school leadership and the influence it can have on student achievement.
The concept of leading from the middle assumed a hierarchical construct to
conceptualise the leadership structure within a school. While the school principal is
located at the top of the hierarchy, the middle level of leadership is an important level
between the principal and teachers which plays a pivotal role in transformational and
distributive leadership models (Grootenboer, Rönnerman & Edwards-Groves, 2017).
Middle leaders are those who have an acknowledged leadership position, but are also
involved in teaching in the classroom. The emphasis on middle leadership took the
focus off the principal as being the sole position of influence within the school and
entrusted department heads and senior teacher leaders to be equally responsible for
leading the school and transforming the school culture and workplace practises
(Grootenboer, et al., 2017).
2.9 CONCLUSION
Teacher work commitment and attrition is one of the more serious issues facing
educational systems today. Much research has been done focusing on early stage
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 119
teachers and reasons for their attrition, however, mid-career stage teachers have not
been the subject of the same rigorous studies. The disengagement of these mid-career
stage teachers is a growing concern and understanding the dynamics of this group will
help to retain teachers who have expressed a desire to remain in the profession long
term.
Research indicates that mid-career teachers will make decisions about leaving the
profession based on many factors but the underlying reason is their dissatisfaction and
waning commitment to the role. While factors influencing teacher attrition can be both
intrinsic and extrinsic, one of the most influential factors on mid-career teacher work
commitment is the leadership practices of the school principal. The principal can set
the tone for the school setting and this tone and culture has a significant impact on
teacher satisfaction. What the existing research into school leadership acknowledges
and proves is that being a school principal is a complex and multifaceted role. School
principals display a range of leadership practices which have an impact on the work
commitment of teachers. Different researchers and theorists have espoused the certain
strengths of one leadership framework or other while acknowledging that school
leadership exists in a context which may greatly differ from school to school.
While the research discussed has looked at categories of principals’ leadership
practices in isolation and then also looked at groups of practices which have been
formed into contemporary leadership models, no research has originated at the base of
the organisational structure asking mid-career teachers to define what leadership
practices they wish their principals to display without the question being attached to
120 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
an overriding leadership filter aimed at finding the strengths and weaknesses of a
defined leadership style.
Most research into principal leadership practices have usually been done with a
specific leadership framework in mind and then test the effects this has on teacher
satisfaction and work commitment. Studies have looked at the effects transactional,
transformational and instructional leaders have on teachers, or have searched for
teacher reaction to the effects of different leadership models on targeted principal
practices in isolation. Studies have also looked at what principal practices may
improve student outcomes and school results with no regard for what these may mean
for teachers if teachers view these as desired principal leadership practice. Studies have
also looked at what practices can influence teacher satisfaction and commitment as a
cause and effect study relating to outcomes of the practices principals choose.
No leadership practice research appears to have occurred in Queensland schools from
the mid-career teachers’ perspective of what they may need from a principal without
the constraints of a specific leadership framework. Specifically there is an absence of
any research addressing through a qualitative study, teachers’ views of principal
leadership practices. Existing studies seem to imply a top down structure where the
principal’s practices are imposed onto teachers and the outcomes are then looked at to
assess the effectiveness of that leadership behaviour.
This study aimed to further the existing research by asking what principal leadership
practices mid-career teachers want their principals to demonstrate to help maintain
their work commitment and ultimately retain them in the profession. While research
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 121
and studies have examined school leadership behaviours in depth from many
perspectives, the following question have yet to be researched in schools:
1. What are the specific school principal leadership practices which impact most
on mid-career teachers’ work commitment from the perspective of mid-career
teachers?
2. To what extent do mid-career teachers’ views of leadership practices, in
relation to their work commitment, align with the leadership practices outlined
in Education Queensland’s Leadership Matters document?
3. What alignment exists between the views of mid-career teachers and school
principals in relation to principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher
work commitment?
The limitations of previous research in schools around the new paradigms of leadership
have been that they have been examined with an emphasis on the impacts of each
leadership style and exploring what impact each type of style may have on teachers at
a school. Leadership needs to be responsive to the needs and opinions of teachers. This
study in Queensland state schools has focussed on the teachers and asked what
leadership practices they would like to see from their principals to help improve their
work commitment.
122 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Chapter 3: Research Design
3.1 CHAPTER PREVIEW
This chapter discusses the research design and methods used to investigate mid-career
teachers’ views of school principals’ leadership practices and uncover which specific
practices affect mid-career teacher job commitment. First, an introduction and
overview of the study (Section 3.2) and the focus research questions are identified
(Section 3.3). Next, the conceptual framework is described and contextualised (Section
3.4) and the design of this research is described (Section 3.5). The data analysis is
explained in Section 3.6 followed by the validity and reliability of the research design
and data (Section 3.7). Ethical issues related to this research are then outlined (Section
3.8), before a final chapter summary is provided (Section 3.9).
3.2 INTRODUCTION
This study investigated mid-career teachers’ perceptions of school principals’
leadership practices in relation to teacher work commitment. The literature has shown
that principals can have an impact on mid-career teacher work commitment through
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 123
direct and indirect means (Aydin, Sarier, & Uysal, 2013; John, 2017; Ling & Ling,
2016; Pillay, Goddard, & Wilss, 2005). Yet further research is required to understand
specifically how school principals influence mid-career teacher work commitment
through specific principal leadership practices.
It is important to gain an insight into mid-career teachers’ perceptions on school
leadership practices as these practices can shape a teacher’s work commitment and
subsequent decision to leave or remain in the teaching role. This study addressed the
following research questions related to school principals’ leadership practices and the
impact these may have on mid-career teacher commitment from the teachers’
perspective.
3.3 RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The three central research questions which directed the research design were:
1. What are the specific school principal leadership practices which impact most
on mid-career teachers’ work commitment from the perspective of mid-career
teachers?
2. To what extent do mid-career teachers’ views of leadership practices, in
relation to their work commitment, align with the leadership practices outlined
in Education Queensland’s Leadership Matters document?
3. What alignment exists between the views of mid-career teachers and school
principals in relation to principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher
work commitment?
124 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Question one aimed to gain an understanding of mid-career teachers’ perceptions
about school principal leadership practices in schools in which they have worked. The
teachers were asked to give their perspectives of how principals’ leadership practices
affected their work commitment. The research question aimed to focus the
participants’ responses to the principal leadership practices that impacted their work
commitment rather than external factors over which a school principal has little or no
control. The terms ‘leadership practices’ and ‘work commitment’ were clearly defined
to the participants by the researcher through direct questions in the interviews and the
oral instructions associated with the survey. In this way participants were guided to
talk about the leadership practices which impacted on their commitment to the teaching
profession as a whole and not just their commitment to a school or principal.
Question two focussed on the possible implications for current policy and practice.
The mid-career teachers’ responses were analysed in relation to the leadership
practices outlined in the current leadership framework Leadership Matters policy
document of Education Queensland (Education Queensland, 2010). The purpose of
this analysis was to determine the degree to which the findings from the mid-career
teachers’ views of effective leadership, in regards to their work commitment, aligned
with the sought after leadership practices of Education Queensland.
Question three was used to determine if there was a difference in perception between
what mid-career teachers sought from principal leadership in relation to their work
commitment and what principals believed mid-career teachers needed. This
comparison was deemed an important aspect of this research in two ways. Firstly the
school principal is the person who determines what leadership practices are used to
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 125
implement policy and procedures on each school site. Therefore, it is critically
important the leadership practices they impart to teachers align with the needs of these
teachers to maximise their work commitment. Secondly research has shown that there
is often a difference in perception between what the school leader believes is the
impact of their leadership practices on teachers and the beliefs of the actual teachers
(Branson, 2007).
As stated previously, for this research, the term ‘work commitment’ was defined by
the researcher for participants to ensure it was interpreted as the act of leaving the
teaching profession not just leaving a school or school role. There was an underpinning
belief that if teachers became uncommitted to the profession they would leave and look
for other work outside of teaching – the essence of the definition of attrition adopted
by this research. It was also assumed that mid-career teachers with substantial
experience would be able to accurately reflect on different leadership practices of their
school principals and rate how these have impacted on their own work commitment.
Similarly, it was believed that experienced principals such as those interviewed, would
be well positioned to discuss the impact of their own leadership practices on mid-
career teacher work commitment.
To gain understanding of each group’s perceptions, a group of former mid-career
teachers and a group of current principals were interviewed to ascertain their views
through a semi-structured, interview methodology. Additionally, 142 current mid-
career teachers were asked to respond to a survey around principals’ leadership
practices and how these practices impacted on their work commitment.
126 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
3.4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK
School leadership is one of the more multi-facetted subjects of social science research.
Numerous studies outline the importance of effective school leadership and many
contemporary educational researchers believe effective leadership by school principals
is essential to improve student and school performance. Paradoxically, researchers are
not so clear in articulating which school principal leadership practices secure the
desired results. While most of the current research into school leadership is based on
observations of what school leaders do and what results they achieve (Spillane,
Halverson, & Diamond, 2004), this current study focussed on the leadership practices
from the perspectives of mid-career teachers. It is a situated, social and cultural
perspective of school leadership.
Leaders’ actions in and on the world are mediated by a range of artefacts,
organisational structures and social interactions (Lantolf & Poehner, 2014; Scott &
Palincsar, 2013). Schools are historic formations constructed to meet society’s needs
for labour and people’s need for learning and development (Vennebo & Ottesen,
2011). Leadership practices within a school are contingent to resources and local
needs. School leadership involves the identification, acquisition, allocation,
coordination, and use of social, material and cultural resources necessary to establish
the conditions for the possibility of teaching and learning (Spillane, Halverson, &
Diamond, 2001). A school principal may make decisions or set an agenda, however
even though positions are regulated through formal roles, the outcomes may only be
achieved through the principal’s interactions with staff (Vennebo & Ottesen, 2011).
School principals cannot just rely on their formal position of authority; it is the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 127
outcomes of interactions and leadership practices that determine the success of a led
endeavour.
This research acknowledges the current challenges of principalship, including the
increased accountability for system initiatives and processes. At the same time, this
research acknowledges that mid-career teachers may not be aware of the growing
complexities of school leadership and may continue to hold a narrow view and
understanding of the current pressures on leaders. This research aimed to explore the
practices that are valued by the broader system as well as mid-career practitioners.
An outline of desired principal knowledge, skills and practices to deliver these
requirements effectively, in the view of Education Queensland, has been developed in
the form of the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework. This
framework was adopted to analyse the data in this research as currently it informs the
selection of school principals by Education Queensland. The five leadership domains
of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) and associated practices are
outlined below in Figure 3.1.
128 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
EQ Leadership Matters leadership domains Organisational Concerned with a leader’s ability to manage people, finance, facilities, policies and systems. Examples include: Maintaining facilities and budgets Developing, implementing and monitoring planning management and reporting systems Applying policies and legislative requirements at local level Partnerships and networks Personal Concerned with how an individual leader conducts them self and sets their moral compass. These are the leadership practices that define who they are as a person and how they act in all situations. Examples include: Honesty and integrity Inspiring respect, trust and support Resilient Remaining composed in challenging and complex situations Emotionally mature
Educational Concerned with a leader’s ability to understand latest educational research. Develop and deliver curriculum at the school level and monitor and adapt these to improve student outcomes. Examples include Curriculum, pedagogy and assessment knowledge Learning models and philosophy Inclusive practices and differentiating
Relational Concerned with how a leader acts and interacts with people particularly staff. These are the interpersonal skills which build the relations between others. Examples include: Valuing individuals Honest and genuine interactions Manners, courtesy and respect Developing shared leadership and collective responsibility Professional interactions
Intellectual Concerned with how a leader can use analysis and problem solving to overcome problems and deliver innovative solutions. It is also concerned with positioning the school in the right direction. Examples include Being futures orientated Managing priorities
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 129
Creating a culture committed to learning Generating solutions and implement strategies
Figure 3.1 Descriptions of leadership practices under each of the five domains outlined in Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010)
This framework offered a theoretical grounding for studying school principals’
leadership practices, enabling investigations of practice to go beyond observing and
recording what a school leader does or teachers’ feedback on a prescribed and
determined leadership style. It framed inquiry into school principal leadership practice
using mid-career teachers’ views on effective leadership practices in relation to work
commitment to develop more thorough understandings of school leadership practices.
By using this framework which underpins the day to day leadership practices of state
school principals in Queensland, this study hoped that school principals and
educational jurisdictions around the world would be able to use this research as a
reflection tool to interpret and think about their own leadership practices and inform
future activity.
3.5 RESEARCH DESIGN
The research questions were investigated using a two phase mixed-method approach
(i.e. combining quantitative and qualitative methods). The mixed method design was
selected as it utilises the strengths of both qualitative and quantitative research and
allows more insight into understanding the research questions than either form in
isolation (Bryman, 2017; Creswell, 2012). These two forms of data are separate but
connected with the initial qualitative results informing the second quantitative data
collection (Creswell, 2012). This multiphase mixed-method design employed a
“combination of concurrent and sequential designs” that “builds upon basic
convergent, explanatory, exploratory and embedded designs” (Creswell, 2012, p.547).
130 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
In this study, the multiphase design was used to explore qualitative data first, then
through an explanatory sequential design, used a quantitative data collection method
design.
For this study, a qualitative data collection was used as the initial collection instrument
in an exploratory nature to inform the quantitative phase of the study. This qualitative
aspect involved semi-structured interviews to establish parameters and determine other
aspects of this research that may not have been included in the literature and initial
draft of the survey instrument (Appendix A), which were explored further in the
multiphase design. The initial qualitative data collection involved two participant
groups:
a) mid-career teachers no longer in the teaching profession, and
b) current primary school principals
Participants from both groups were interviewed individually to ascertain their
perceptions on leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment. The
leadership practices identified in these interviews were used to inform the data
collection instrument for the subsequent quantitative stage of the study.
The quantitative part of this study utilised a survey (Appendix B), constructed through
the literature, as a key source of data collection (Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). The
survey design provided a qualitative and numeric description of trends, attitudes and
opinions of a population by studying a sample group from that population. From the
sample results, generalisations and claims can be made about the greater population
(Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). Creswell (2012) highlighted the straight forward nature
of this design as a main strength and believes that it is easy to implement because the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 131
steps fall into clear and separate stages. The research design is presented below in
Figure 3.2 and the research time line in Table 3.1.
Phase 1 Phase 2
Figure 3.2 Research design to investigate mid-career teachers’ views on principals’ leadership
practices
Table 3.1 Timeline of research implementation
Research Timeline
Phase 1 Prepared the interview format Sept. 2013 – Jun. 2014 Invited participants (n = 2 x 5) Conducted the interviews Analysed content
Interviews of mid-career teachers who have left the teaching profession. (n = 5)
Test survey instrument on trial teacher group (n = 20)
Questionnaire/Survey Sample group of mid- career teachers in Qld state primary schools. (n =142)
Interviews of current Education Queensland primary school principals. (n = 5)
132 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Phase 2 Survey construction Aug 2014 – June 2016 Tested survey through pilot sample Identified participants (n = 142) Administered Survey Analysed data
3.5.1 Participant overview
This research took place within state government primary schools governed by
Education Queensland. Education Queensland operates approximately 920 primary
schools throughout Queensland and employs around 16 000 primary school teachers.
Of this total number of primary schools, approximately one hundred and forty band 8,
9 or 10 schools (500 students or more) are located within the South East Region. It is
from these schools that mid-career teachers were specifically located to align with the
aims of this study. It is widely acknowledged that education is an aging profession
(O’Brien, Goddard, & Keeffe, 2007) so a significant number of primary teachers from
the selected schools would fall into the mid-career classification i.e. teaching longer
than five years. Exact numbers for this cohort could not be located from Education
Queensland.
The sample size for both the interview groups and the number of surveys (Appendix
B) undertaken in this study was determined by deferring to past research, the relevant
literature and experts in the field to ensure the participant numbers were adequate.
Inappropriate, inadequate or excessive sample sizes can influence the quality and
accuracy of research (Bartlett, Kotrlik, & Higgins, 2001; Bryman, 2017). Using an
adequate sample size, along with high quality data collection methods, produces more
reliable, valid and generalisable results (Bartlett, et al., 2001). An advantage of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 133
quantitative methods is the ability to use smaller groups of people to make inferences
about larger groups that would be prohibitively expensive to study (Creswell, 2012).
The same can be true for qualitative sample groups (Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012).
In determining the sample size for qualitative interviews with former teachers and
current principals in phase one of this study, it was important to assess the total
population available in each group to ensure the participation group was both
representative of this population and large enough to establish valid data.
Group 1: Mid-career teaches who had recently left the teaching profession to pursue
another career n = 5. This group proved difficult to determine in size due to an absence
of systemic tracking and identification of this cohort. Previously, money was offered
for Queensland state school teachers to leave the teaching profession and pursue a
different career in an effort to renew the teaching workforce in Queensland (Keogh &
Garrick, 2011). This program existed for several years and the statistics of these
specific teachers were recorded. This program has not been offered since 2013 and
apart from the cohort of teachers who took the payout (and numbers were restricted)
no other data on mid-career teacher attrition appears to be centrally and systemically
recorded in Queensland.
Group 2: The school principal participants n = 5 were principals from the South East
Region appointed to large state primary schools (band 8, 9 and 10) with student
populations of greater than 500. The total number of schools of this size, within the
South East Region, was listed as approximately 140 in Education Queensland’s 2015
Annual Report (Education Queensland, 2015). Each school has one principal
134 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
appointed meaning that the total population of principals which the sample group was
chosen from was 140.
The sample size for the quantitative survey used in phase two was based on Kline
(2005) who asserts that in quantitative data collection, the sample size is determined
by multiplying the number of items on the instrument with the number of response
options. In this case the survey instrument had five Likert scale options and 30 items
meaning the sample group should be around 150 participants. From the 150 participant
surveys returned, eight were removed as counted invalid due to anomalies in their
response data. These anomalies included; more than one response option indicated for
a survey item, personal details indicating the person was not suited to the research i.e.
not a mid-career teacher, and blank or incomplete surveys. Through this elimination
process the final sample size for the surveys was n = 142 and this number was deemed
to be representative (Kline, 2005).
3.5.2 Teacher interview participants
Five Education Queensland primary school mid-career teachers who had left the
teaching profession were located and agreed to be interviewed for the purpose of this
study (Table 3.2). The mid-career teachers (n = 5) were located through professional
teacher networks, school cluster groups and through social media. From this approach,
eight initial participants contacted the researcher willing to take part in the interviews.
These eight teachers were then screened to ensure they were suitable for the research
project (Bryman, 2017; Nardi, 2018).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 135
Three of the candidates were eliminated through this screening process as being
unsuitable (Bryman, 2017; Nardi, 2018). One former teacher had left teaching more
than twelve years ago and it was felt that this timeframe was too long for them to
accurately recount if the leadership practices of the principal played any role in the
decision to leave. It was also felt that education had changed greatly within this twelve
year period and principal selection and leadership expectations had also changed
therefore this ex-teacher may not be reflective of contemporary practices. Only
teachers who had left the profession within three years of the interviews, and had
secured employment in another field were considered as suitable for this current
research.
A second candidate was eliminated based on their feedback that they were having a
break from teaching, had not engaged in any other employment and may return to
teaching in the future. This context did not fit the definition of attrition described by
the current research, so this candidate was removed from the list of potential
participants. A final candidate was eliminated based on the fact that they had served at
the same school as another participant, at the same time under the same principal. To
ensure a broader return of data and a broader view of teacher perspectives it was
determined to select participants from different school sites who had experienced
different school leaders. Through this initial screening, five ex mid-career teachers
were selected as suitable participants for the interviews.
Once identified as a suitable participant for this research (Bryman, 2017; Lewis, 2015;
Maxwell, 2012), contact was made with the former teachers and the parameters and
extent of the research explained. Each participant was then offered an invitation to
136 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
participate in the interviews (Appendix I). Interview participation was strictly
voluntary and interviews were conducted at a convenient time and location suggested
by each participant. No school sites were used for these teacher interviews. The option
of a phone interview was given to the former teachers as a convenient option, however
all participants elected to be interviewed in person. Two of the participants elected to
meet at a local coffee shop, two more at their new place of work and one agreed to
meet the researcher at the university as it was deemed a central location by the
participant.
The digitally-recorded information gathered through the interviews was transcribed by
the researcher and sent to each participant to confirm their accuracy and confirm their
permission to use the data. Data from the five interviews was then interpreted and
coded and used to identify leadership practices to inform the categories of practices
for the survey instrument used in the second phase of this study.
The five former teachers who participated in the interviews had all made a decision to
leave their teaching career before reaching retirement age. This study was concerned
with the reasons which influenced each of these teachers to leave the teaching
profession early before retirement, and if any of these reasons were related to
principals’ leadership practices. While Queensland teachers have no official retirement
age (Queensland Teachers’ Union, 2016), teachers cannot access their superannuation
as a lump sum – an act closely associated with retirement – until they reach 60 years
of age. The Webster dictionary (2017) defines retirement as “the withdrawal from the
action of working life.” This action of leaving the workforce is generally associated
with accessing one’s superannuation to provide funds for the non-working years of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 137
life, linking retirement closely to the 60 year age threshold. As each of the teachers in
this study were below the age of 60 and have also engaged in alternative work careers
since leaving teaching, it was concluded that they were not at the stage of retirement
and had left teaching for other reasons.
The five participants had an average teaching career of 15.2 years in various state
schools and regions in Queensland and consisted of two males and three females
(Table 3.2). All teacher participants had left the teaching profession within three years
of the interview date.
Table 3.2 Mid-career teacher gender and professional context.
Participants Gender Experience
Teacher Years as a teacher
1 F 17
2 M 20
3 M 12
4 F 8
5 F 19
An underlying assumption held by the researcher was that teachers of this experience
and seniority, having worked at several school sites under several principals
throughout their careers would be well placed to comment on different leadership
practices they had experienced (Lassig, Doherty, & Moore, 2015). They would also be
well placed to discuss the impact these leadership practices may have had on their
work commitment (Jacobsen & Andersen, 2015). It was also assumed that these
teachers would be able isolate and identify the key reason(s) which led to their decision
to leave the teaching profession (Jacobsen & Andersen, 2015).
138 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The participants’ words were taken at face value and their own articulated beliefs were
used to help form conclusions from their interviews (Creswell, 2012; Maxwell, 2012).
The assumption described above, underpinned the phrasing of one of the initial
interview question to the participants: “What reasons can you share for making your
decision to leave the teaching profession?” This initial question sought to identify if
principal leadership practices had any influence on the teachers’ decision to leave
teaching. The interviews were semi-structured and the initial question schedule can be
found in Appendix E.
A second key assumption made by the researcher was that the participants would be
able to recognise if principal leadership practices played a role in their decision making
process to leave teaching. Hence the research question was framed with an expectation
that the participants would be able to give clear reasons for choosing to leave teaching
and link these reasons to principal leadership practices if they felt warranted. A final
assumption by the researcher was that if the participants attributed principal leadership
practices as their key reason for leaving the teaching profession, their answers in the
interview, recounting their principal’s school leadership practices, would be framed
from a negative perspective.
All five participants expressed a willingness to share their stories and experiences of
school principal leadership practices which they had experienced under different
school principals. The participants were also able to articulate their key reason(s) for
leaving the teaching profession. Throughout all interviews, there appeared no outward
evidence of reluctance or difficulty amongst the interviewees in sharing their thoughts.
Each of the participants openly shared their experiences, recollections, dissatisfactions
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 139
and ultimately their reasons for leaving teaching. Their reasons for leaving were quite
clear for each participant and each one could not only articulate this reason but also
identify the critical factors which they believed contributed to their reasons.
These interviews were approached with great sensitivity as it was acknowledged that
the participants may be distressed by their change of career and surrounding
circumstances (Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). To help support the participants, the
topic questions were eased into the interview after a period of setting the scene and
putting the participant at ease. It was reinforced to the participant that they could cease
the interview at any time or not respond to any question that may be too distressing.
The researcher had also planned to discontinue an interview at any stage if the
participant became obviously too distressed or emotional and continuing on would
impact negatively on their well-being. The anonymity of the participant was stressed
before the interview, along with the fact that the interviews were not about a specific
principal (even though it might be for them) but rather about the leadership practices
in general (Appendix E). The purpose of the interview; to uncover former mid-career
teacher views about the impact principal leadership behaviours had on their work
commitment, was clearly stated at the beginning of the interview (Appendix E). To
ensure that participants felt at ease, they were invited to bring a support person to the
interview if they wished, however none took up this offer.
The interviews were based on Creswell’s (2012) design and included the following
central question:
What reasons can you share for making your decision to leave the teaching
profession?
140 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The interview structure was centred on principal leadership practices and used probing,
sub questions to ensure that the interview stayed within parameters required and that
the teachers’ responses were clear (Creswell, 2012; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012).
However, the participants were able to lead the direction of the discussion and talked
about issues of their choice. Principals’ practices were the focus of discussion, not the
principals themselves, and for this reason the participant was asked not to identify the
principal by name or the associated school(s). Any inadvertent references to the
principal or school were deleted in the transcript data from the interviews.
3.5.3 Principal interview participants
Part two of this first phase of research design was interviews with current school
principals. These second series of interviews sought to uncover five current school
principals’ beliefs about mid-career teachers’ work commitment and the perceived
impact of principals’ leadership practices on teacher commitment. The interviews
explored the link between principal leadership practices and mid-career teachers’ job
commitment by asking the principals what they had done to enhance the work
commitment of mid-career teachers and to comment on the effectiveness of their
response in that situation. The interviews with the principals (n = 5) were semi-
structured in design focusing on the key mid-career teacher issues (Creswell, 2012;
Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). The semi-structured format allowed the participants to
lead the direction whilst remaining within the intended parameters of the research
intent (Appendix F).
The principals’ views were seen as significant within the context of the wider study to
address the key research questions and explore the potential alignment and tensions
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 141
between the mid-career teachers and principals’ views. These principals’ perspectives
were also used to identify the impact of specific leadership practices on mid-career
teacher work commitment and informed the survey instrument for phase two of this
research.
Five Education Queensland primary school principals were located and interviewed to
ascertain their perspectives on the relationship between leadership practices and
teacher work commitment. The principals were selected through invitation email
through their professional work account asking for participants. Additional requests
were sent through principal professional networks. Information was given outlining
the research aims asking for volunteers and explaining the conditions of principal
participation, such as size of school and time served as a school principal. Ten initial
responses were received however, five of these were deemed unsuitable. One response
was from a high school principal which was not accepted as high schools have very
different leadership structures to primary schools as explained in Chapter 1. For
consistency of context only primary school principals were interviewed.
Two other respondents were eliminated due to the fact that they were only newly acting
in the principal role for less than six months. To ensure depth of leadership knowledge
and experience to give richer data, short term acting principals were not accepted for
interview. Similarly, a fourth respondent was also deemed unsuitable as they had only
just been promoted into their first principal position the previous term. It was felt that
with only ten weeks experience as a principal they may not be in a position to comment
knowledgeably about the practices they implement to impact on mid-career teacher
work commitment. A final respondent was ruled out due to the school they led being
142 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
small and located in regional Queensland. For consistency of data return and to ensure
the school would have a large proportion of mid-career teachers on staff, only
principals of larger Metropolitan schools were interviewed.
The final five applicants were a mix of gender and deemed a suitable sample for the
interviews (Lewis, 2015). The group consisted of three females and two males who
were given an invitation to participate in the interviews (Appendix I). The size of the
current schools led by these principals varied between 500 (Band 8) and 1000 plus
students (Band 10) and were located in metropolitan areas in the south east corner of
Queensland, Australia. The five principals had an average experience of 7.8 years as
school principals and all had been school leaders at more than one school site (Table
3.3).
Table 3.3 Principal gender and professional context.
Participants Gender Experience Current School Size
Principal Years as a Principal
1 M 12 (Band 9*)
2 F 6 (Band 9)
3 M 9 (Band 10)
4 F 4 (Band 8)
5 F 8 (Band 9) *School band is determined by number of students enrolled in the school, the larger the band the larger the school. Approx sizes of schools - Band 8 > 500 students, Band 9 > 700 students, Band 10 > 900 students.
An underlying assumption of the researcher was that principals of this experience and
seniority, leading schools of such size, would have a history of leading mid-career
teachers (Heffernan, 2017). As such, the researcher also assumed these principals
would be aware of the impact of their own leadership practices can have on the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 143
commitment of mid-career teachers. This understanding underpinned the phrasing of
the opening interview question to the principals (Appendix F), ‘What leadership
practices, as a principal, have you implemented to enhance the work commitment of
mid-career teachers and encourage them to remain in teaching?’ This initial question
sought to identify the leadership practices that had a positive impact on mid-career
teacher commitment. A second key assumption made by the researcher was that the
principals’ leadership practices would be aimed at enhancing teacher commitment
rather than decreasing it. Hence the research question was framed with an expectation
that the principals would have enacted practices which increased mid-career teacher
commitment leading to the principals’ answers being framed from a positive
perspective.
The questions followed the design suggested by qualitative researchers such as
Creswell (2012), Lewis (2015) and Maxwell (2012) and focused on two central
questions which convey an open and emerging design by beginning with the word
“what”, as suggested by Creswell (2012). The central questions were based around the
principals’ own leadership practices as school leaders and were followed up with no
more than five sub questions. The two central questions for the school principal
participants were:
What leadership practices, as a principal, have you implemented to enhance
the work commitment of mid-career teachers and encourage them to remain in
teaching?
What has been the effectiveness of some of those practices you may have used?
144 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Sub-questions were used to narrow the focus of the study and ensure the interview
remained on task. They were also used to clarify the principal’s responses to ensure
the answers were clear and unambiguous.
The participants were able to self-direct answers within the parameters of the
interviews and research intent, and were given much scope as to the particular details
involving mid-career teachers they wished to discuss. The semi-structured nature of
the interview ensured that the choice of discussion was based upon the sphere of
influence principals have within a school and not on external factors (such as salary
and transfer procedures) over which the principal has little control.
For the convenience of the participants and to encourage maximum participation, the
interviews were held at the current school site of the principal being interviewed if this
was agreeable, or at an alternative suitable site suggested by the participant (e.g.,
university setting). The five principals interviewed elected to be interviewed at their
school site. The principals were all working within the South East educational region
of Queensland at the time of interview and permission was gained from Education
Queensland to conduct the research within this region (Appendix G).
The interviews were digitally recorded to allow a more natural style for the interviewer
and insure an accurate representation of participant responses (Creswell, 2012; Lewis,
2015; Maxwell, 2012). To further ensure the accuracy of the interviews, the
subsequent transcriptions of the interviews were sent to each participant for
endorsement and confirmation of content. Upon confirmation of data, the transcripts
were analysed and the leadership practices used by the principals examined and used
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 145
to inform the survey instrument which formed phase two of this study concerned with
quantitative data collection.
3.5.4 Phase two – Quantitative survey instrument: Developing, testing, refining and implementing the survey instrument.
Phase two was the second and numerically largest component of this study. It involved
the creating and testing of a 30 item survey instrument (Appendix B) which was
administered to a cross-section of 142 currently serving, mid-career teachers to
measure their views of principals’ leadership practices and the impact on their teaching
commitment. The survey items were informed by an expert in survey design, current
literature and by the data from the phase one interviews of both former teachers and
principals, and tested through a pilot group process which is outlined in detail below
(Appendix C).
This survey instrument (Appendix B) developed to collect the quantitative data from
mid-career teachers was a one-time survey, which illuminated any concerns around
attrition experienced in longitudinal or repeated study designs. A cross-sectional
survey method was selected as the preferred method for this study as it provides a
snapshot of the greater, targeted population (Bryman, 2017; Cresswell, 2012; Nardi,
2018). This method has been used in a number of other valid and reliable studies giving
credibility to the design. The cross-sectional approach ensured that a complete set of
data was available after administration of the survey, and there was no need to wait for
growth data to accumulate. Additionally, it was relatively easy to administer and score
and, was conducted cost effectively in a short span of time (Bryman, 2017; Cresswell,
2012; Nardi, 2018). The ease of gathering data was also conducive to gaining
respondent participation (Bragg, 2003). Finally, by adopting a cross sectional survey
146 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
approach the issue of sample mortality which faces many researchers who adopt a
longitudinal methodology was not a problem. Sample mortality is the loss of
respondents over time which can mean that respondents who remain in the study are
unlikely to be representative of the population as the sample that was originally drawn
(Cohen, Manion, & Morrison, 2017).
The survey instrument was developed in conjunction with an expert in the field from
Queensland University of Technology. The initial survey was based on the existing
leadership literature and the descriptions of leadership practices outlined in Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). From these sources a first draft of the survey
was constructed. This survey was then given to a survey expert from Queensland
University of Technology who provided feedback and guidance to refine the survey
instrument. This feedback included changing the wording of some survey items so that
they all aligned in tone and description. A second change was also recommended
which was to ensure that each statement was constructed to avoid any double concept
issues by isolating only one concept at a time and compound statements were
separated. From this feedback an initial survey of 27 items was completed (Appendix
A).
Before the survey was finalised the data from the phase one qualitative interviews with
mid-career teachers and school principals were analysed and the coded themes were
cross checked against the survey items. From this checking, three emerging themes
appeared which could not easily be classified under the existing survey items. These
themes were about teachers feeling supported in their classroom work, feeling support
for their family/personal needs and having their views valued. These themes were
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 147
translated into three additional survey items meaning the updated survey which was
administered to mid-career teachers contained 30 survey items (Appendix B).
This updated survey was then administered as a pilot (Appendix C) to a test sample of
teachers (n = 20). The survey was used with this pilot group of twenty teachers to
undergo an iterative process to establish the content validity of the instrument and to
assess the questions and format (Creswell, 2012; Nardi, 2018). The pilot group was
also used to gain feedback on the ease of administration, time it took to undertake and
to ensure that the teachers’ interpretation of survey items matched the item intent. The
pilot group of teachers were volunteers drawn from one school (the researcher’s own)
who did not take any further participation in this study. This ensured no teacher in the
pilot group was selected to undertake the formal survey and have prior knowledge or
participation with the survey content. The pilot group were not asked to respond to the
instrument statements directly, but instead respond to their understanding of the
statements and the ease in which they feel they could respond (Appendix C).
The pilot group confirmed that the survey was user friendly and easy for participants
to understand. Completing the survey took approximately 20 minutes and participants
did not feel that they were identifying or isolating specific schools or school leaders.
While they did not suggest changes to the survey items or structure, it was suggested
that terms such as ‘work commitment’ could be interpreted in different ways and they
needed clarification. Hence the researcher ensured that this term was clearly explained
to participants in the introductory talk preceding each survey group before the survey
was administered, as explained in the earlier chapters of this research.
148 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The survey instrument construction followed Creswell’s (2012) design incorporating
the following features of quantitative research instruments. The variables in each
statement were able to be measured separately and reinforced the cause and effect logic
of quantitative research. The variables were assessed in relation to their impact on an
independent variable and the instrument tested a research question not a hypothesis.
Each statement was constructed to avoid any double concept issues by isolating only
one concept at a time.
The final survey design (Appendix B) consisted of three components. The first
component was a short open-ended response question to garner the initial and first
thoughts of mid-career teachers without the prompts or guides from subsequent survey
questions. The second component of the survey instrument comprised a questionnaire
five-part Likert scale, which asked teachers (n =142) to rate how important each
leadership practice statement is to them in regards to their work commitment. The final
component of the survey asked the teacher participants to identify their top five survey
items from the 30 listed, which they felt had the greatest impact on their work
commitment. Additionally the final survey design also collected demographic
information regarding the participants to help organise and classify the results
(Appendix B).
Survey administration was through schools of specific size, as described previously,
in the South East Region of Education Queensland. This region has a high proportion
of mid-career teachers due to (a) the geographic spread of students in Queensland the
fact that the vast majority of state schools and teachers are located in the south east
corner of Queensland, and (b) many teachers who have undertaken their remote of
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 149
rural service early in their career elect to return to the south east corner meaning a good
percentage of staff are passed their five year mark in these schools and would be
described as mid-career teachers under the definition used in this study.
Schools in Education Queensland are given a band size (5 to 11) dependent on their
student numbers. Primary schools of band size 8, 9 or 10 (student populations between
approx. 550 and 1000) within these regions were targeted for the survey administration
as their specific characteristics usually mean there is a significantly high proportion of
mid-career teachers, who are the target group for this survey, employed within them.
Band 8 to 10 schools within the nominated region are all located in urban locations
and have a more than 30 staff. Generally the majority of the staff would have served
in other locations as part of the state wide transfer system and are thus past the early-
career five year mark.
Additionally, by selecting primary schools within this geographical area and school
size ensured a similar cultural context within each school, specifically in the leadership
structure as described previously. Primary schools of these specific sizes have a
principal and one or two deputy principals as part of the administrative team. Using
similar sized schools, across similar sites with similar leadership structures ensured a
similar cultural context which shaped this research as a macro look at Education
Queensland urban primary school leadership.
To conduct the survey, permission was sought firstly from Education Queensland
(Appendix G), secondly from each identified school principal to address staff at a staff
meeting and inform them of proposed survey, and thirdly from each individual
150 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
participant (Appendix J). All participation was voluntary and anonymous and this
research adopted an active ‘opt in’ process from each participant to be involved. This
ethical structure has been used in other research such as Grady, Eckstein, Berkman,
Brock, Cook-Deegan, Fullerton, Greely, Hansson, Hull, Kim and Lo (2015), Houghton
(2015), and Townsend and Wallace, (2016). By using this ‘opt in’ methodology it was
rightfully assumed that permission was being given by each participant, through their
actions and activity, negating the need for a formal permission document. Assurances
were given to the principal and the teachers that the survey was not about the current
(or any) individual school principal but rather an instrument to determine views on
principals’ leadership practices in general. At no time was a principal or school listed
or identified.
To assist in engaging teachers to participate in the study and ensure a higher response
rate, a personal approach was taken by having the researcher attend school staff
meetings as an education colleague who was undertaking research. The researcher
clearly explained the research aims and process and administered the survey only with
teachers who actively agreed to be a part of the process and fulfilled the required
criteria. The researcher attempted to collect all surveys on the day of administration
but also left a secured and enclosed collection box at the school to encourage maximum
participation. Multiple schools were approached to conduct the survey to ensure the
quota of teachers required (142) was reached and to ensure a multitude of school
leadership practices were encompassed in the research. The target group demographic
of mid-career teachers usually respond better to the described direct personal approach,
rather than an email or online survey and this face to face methodology garnered very
high participation rates at each school site.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 151
3.6 DATA ANALYSIS
This research was of mixed method design and used both qualitative and quantitative
data (Bryman, 2017; Creswell, 2012). Qualitative data (interviews) and quantitative
data (survey) were used to investigate different phases of this study. The initial
qualitative data was analysed and used in an exploratory way to further inform the
quantitative instrument (survey). The survey was then administered to 142
participants. The quantitative data was then coded and analysed to determine the data
influence.
Qualitative data from the interviews was analysed using Creswell’s (2012) eight steps
model (Figure 3.3) that engage a researcher in a systematic process of analysis. This
analysis assists the researcher in identifying themes or perspectives and to report on
them. While Creswell’s (2012) model suggests a linear or hierarchical approach, he
highlights that the model should be seen as interactive and interrelated and not always
applied in the order presented.
Interpreting the meaning of themes/descriptions
Interrelating themes/descriptions
Themes Descriptions
152 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
↑
Figure 3.3 Data analysis in qualitative research (Creswell, 2009)
3.6.1 Interview data analysis
A content analysis of the interview data was undertaken from the interview transcripts
(Saldaña, 2015; Bernard, Wutich, & Ryan, 2016). Content themes were isolated and
then coded and referenced against the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) leadership domains. This is a common analytic approach used in mixed-methods
studies (Fakis, Hilliam, Stoneley, & Townsend, 2014). Each specific theme raised by
the interview participants was coded as a significant factor as they were used by the
participants to explain how their work commitment was impacted on from their
perspective (Saldaña, 2015; Bernard, et al., 2016).
By this process, 43 distinct codes were identified from the teacher interviews (see
Table 4.2) and 38 codes for the principal interviews (see Table 5.2). These codes were
then aligned with the descriptive statements of the five leadership domains as outlined
in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). Examples of this coding process
are explained further in Chapter 4 and are illustrated in brief below:
Principal didn’t know my name -> social skills -> relational leadership domain
Principal did not want our feedback -> self-reflection -> personal leadership domain
Coding the data
Reading through all data
Organising and preparing data for analysis
Raw data
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 153
I gave them curriculum programs to lead -> curriculum -> educational leadership
domain
The alignment of the coded statements to the Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010) domains proved very straight forward as each of the leadership
domains has explicit practices outlined which align with the broader domain
description (Figure 3.1). This made it very simple to align the coded themes to the
correct leadership domain with minimal need for personal interpretation (Saldaña,
2015; Bernard, et al., 2016). When a coded theme initially appeared to fit under more
than one of the leadership domains, the context of the answers, phrasing and choice of
language was used to help interpret and determine the most suitable leadership domain
(Saldaña, 2015; Bernard, et al., 2016); this occurred on several occasions. If a coded
theme could not be split between two domains, it would have been placed in both
domains, however using the analysis process outlined above there was no need to
utilise this option. Every coded theme was confidently placed within a single most
appropriate leadership domain.
The frequency of coding for each leadership domain was then used to determine the
impact the leadership practices of the five domains had on mid-career work
commitment from both the teachers’ and principals’ perspectives (Figures 4.1 and 5.1
respectively). This does not mean the other domains are of lessor importance to school
leadership, but only that from the perspective of the interview participants, some
domains were more frequently referred to, implying that these had a greater impact on
mid-career teacher work commitment. The findings from the teacher qualitative
interviews are described in Chapter 4 and the findings from the principal interviews
are described in Chapter 5.
154 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
3.6.2 Survey data analysis
The quantitative survey data was analysed in three separate ways reflecting the three
different components of the survey.
Component 1 - The initial short answer questions were analysed and coded for themes
using an identical process to the qualitative interviews described above (Saldaña, 2015;
Bernard, et al., 2016). The extracted coded themes were then mapped against the five
leadership domains of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) outlined in
Figure 3.1, in the same fashion as the interview data, to gauge the impact of each
domain on the teachers’ work commitment, using descriptive statistics.
Component 2 - The second five-part Likert scale 30 item survey component was
analysed using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software package.
The Likert scale has been used in many statistical studies similar to this one, and is an
effective way to collect and sort data (Joshi, Kale, Chandel, & Pal, 2015). Data from
the five-point Likert scale was entered into the Statistical Package for Social Science
(SPSS) software package to generate percentages, mean scores and standard
deviations. From the five-point scale (very important = VI, important = I, neither
important nor unimportant = N, unimportant = U, very unimportant = VU) important
and very important percentages were grouped together as part of the statistical analysis
of the 142 mid-career teachers’ responses. This grouping of responses made it easy to
determine the percentage of mid-career teachers who rated an item as important to
their work commitment. Mean scores showed where the responses are averaged, and
standard deviation (SD) illustrated the spread of responses around this mean score.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 155
Each of the 30 survey statements were mapped in accordance to the five leadership
domains of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) i.e., organisational,
personal, educational, relational and intellectual (Appendix D), and as such, each
construct of the instrument was analysed using Cronbach Alpha scores to ascertain the
internal consistency (see Section 3.7.2). In this way it was possible to identify each
statement with a leadership domain and subsequently measure the impact of each
domain on the teachers’ work commitment from the teachers’ perspectives. Cronbach's
alpha is one of the most widely used measures of reliability in the social
and organisational sciences (Bonett & Wright, 2015) and aligned well with the study
into teacher work commitment.
Component 3 - The final top five component of the survey asked the teacher
participants to identify their top five survey items from the 30 listed, which they felt
had the greatest impact on their work commitment. As described above, the survey
items were mapped against the five leadership domains of Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) (Appendix D) so it was then possible to code the
frequency of each of the leadership domains to help gain an insight into the impact of
each domain in relation to mid-career work commitment. The findings from the
teacher quantitative surveys are described in Chapter 6.
3.7 VALIDITY AND RELIABILITY
The validity of this research design has been documented by outlining the steps and
processes undertaken; however in this section, the accuracy and credibility of the study
156 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
is formally addressed. Design validity is a checking of the accuracy of the findings by
employing research procedures (Gibbs, 2007).
3.7.1 Qualitative validity
According to Creswell and Miller (2000), validity can be a strength of qualitative
research with this method lending itself to accuracy, authenticity, trustworthiness and
credibility. To ensure the validity of research Creswell (2012) suggests employing one
or more of the eight primary strategies available to check the accuracy of the findings.
Three of these strategies were employed to test the qualitative validity of this study,
namely: Triangulation using different data sources to justify themes, member checking
taking conclusions or themes back to participants to determine whether they are
accurate, and an external auditor to review the entire project (Creswell, 2012).
3.7.2 Quantitative validity
The survey instrument used was designed specifically for this research study. The
survey items were constructed from the literature and assessed by an expert in the field
for content and construct validity. Through the Statistical Package for the Social
Sciences (SPSS) program, a factor analysis provided an indication of the eigenvalues,
percentage of variances and Cronbach alpha scores associated with the five leadership
domains identified by Education Queensland in Leadership Matters (2010) (i.e.,
relational, educational, intellectual, organisational and personal). Eigenvalues greater
than 1 were extracted for each domain with percentage of variance ranging from 43.3%
to 60.7%. All domains had acceptable Cronbach alpha scores (i.e., >.70; see Creswell,
2012). These results inferred that the survey had internal consistency and reliability
for further analysis and are displayed in Table 3.4.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 157
Table 3.4 Results of Factor Analysis for Each of the Five Instructional Leadership Domains
Factor Eigenvalue % of variance Cronbach alphaRelational 3.031 43.3 0.77 Educational 3.036 60.7 0.84 Intellectual 2.287 57.2 0.74 Organisational 3.122 44.6 0.78 Personal 2.773 46.2 0.76
This study’s validity was enhanced by using a Likert scale and descriptive statistics to
report on the findings. The number of participants engaged was derived from the
literature and may be considered representative of the population. These numbers are
also considered acceptable for making generalisations relevant to the specific context.
In line with Creswell (2012), the step-by-step procedures followed by this study are
outlined, and the data collection methods are accurate and explanatory. All interviews
were conducted in the strictest of confidence and with full permission of each
participant for recorded answers to be transcribed for research purposes. An expert in
the field was engaged to review the final data and conclusions to reduce the impact of
any researcher bias (Saldaña, 2015; Bernard, et al., 2016).
3.7.3 Reliability
Reliability is concerned with whether a research approach is consistent and reliable
(Gibbs, 2007). Yin (2003) suggests that qualitative researchers should document
procedures and steps to determine if the approach is reliable and use a detailed protocol
and data base. To ensure reliability of this study two of Gibb’s (2007) reliability
procedures were employed. Checking of transcripts with each participant ensured that
they did not contain obvious mistakes made during transcription. Additionally,
consistent coding was employed by constant comparing data with the codes so that
there was no drift in the definition of meaning or interpretations during coding.
158 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Increased consistency in coding was also achieved by using a third party to cross check
the codes used in relation to the transcriptions (Saldaña, 2015; Bernard, et al., 2016).
3.8 ETHICAL ISSUES
Although some issues on ethics have been discussed or incidentally mentioned earlier
in this chapter, it is salient to mention specific ethical practices as an independent
section of this research. The importance of ethical research is paramount in the
literature including guides of how to undertake ethical research by O’Leary (2004) and
Thomas (2017). This current study was undertaken within, and strictly adhered to, the
ethical standards of research outlined by both the Queensland University of
Technology and Education Queensland.
The researcher sought and received permission and ethics approval from Education
Queensland (Appendix G) and the Queensland University of Technology (Appendix
H) to undertake this research (Queensland University of Technology, Ethics
Committee - ethics approval number 1300000364). Participants in the interviews were
provided with informed consent forms based on the Queensland University of
Technology template (Appendix 1). This ensured a transparent and ethical approach
to the interviews and subsequent data analysis (O’Leary, 2004; Thomas, 2017). The
survey participants were provided with the university’s Research Information Form
(Appendix J). This form explained the details and parameters of the research and also
stated that the return of the completed survey was accepted as an indication of each
individual’s consent to participate in this project. This method of achieving consent is
viewed as valid and ethical by many studies concerning quantitative research and is
explained in research methodology guides such as O’Leary (2004) and Thomas (2017).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 159
To further enhance the transparency and ethical approaches underpinning this
research, every step of data collection operated under an ‘opt in’ framework for all
participants. This meant each participant had to actively initiate actions to participate
in this research and these actions helped determine their consent to take part. Once
consent to be a part of this research was given; all participants were assured of privacy,
anonymity and confidentiality as an inbuilt aspect of conducting ethical research
(O’Leary, 2004; Thomas, 2017). With respect to the surveys and interviews,
anonymity ensured that schools and individuals were not impacted upon in a negative
way or disadvantaged by the publication of this research as per the permission
parameters outlined by Education Queensland (Appendix G).
In addition to gaining consent from all participants described above, the permission of
the principals of the schools where the mid-career teachers participating in the study
were located, even where the principal was not directly involved in the study
themselves, was also sought. As previously outlined, due to the fact that the
researcher, was employed as a state primary school principal in an Education
Queensland school, and to avoid any conflict of interest or contamination of data, no
staff from the researcher’s school (or staff who had worked with the researcher as their
school principal at other schools) took part in this study - except to test the survey
instrument without directly responding to it. The hierarchical power structure that
exists between staff and the school principal could taint responses of staff members or
place them in an uncomfortable professional position if they had been asked to take
part in this study; hence no staff members with any history with the researcher as their
school principal were asked to participate in this research.
160 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
All data collected was stored electronically on a secure site, with only the researcher
having access to the raw, original transcripts and surveys. The transcripts of each
interview were sent to each participant immediately after the interview, for them to
confirm the accuracy of the transcript before it was used in the data analysis stage.
Participants were able to edit the transcripts to ensure accuracy of intent and ensure
they were satisfied with their representations. Once transcripts were transcribed and
confirmed, the original recordings were deleted making it impossible for anyone to
trace and attribute specific responses to any one person.
Finally, to ensure that this study was conducted in an ethical manner, an annual ethics
report was submitted to the Queensland University of Technology during the duration
of this research to ensure ongoing ethics approval. It was determined that this study
was classed as ‘low risk’ and would not operate in any area of sensitivity or
controversy for the university or Education Queensland. This classification was
primarily determined because this study did not involve any students and the
anticipated results were determined to be of benefit to all parties involved and not be
seen as critical or adversarial.
3.9 CHAPTER SUMMARY
Chapter 3 provided an overview of the research aims and design, in conjunction with
the stages and timeframes for the implementation of each phase of this research. The
data collection and analysis processes, both qualitative and quantitative, were
described outlining the sequential and informing nature of the data gathering
throughout the two phases. Phase 1 was concerned with gathering data from
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 161
interviews, in conjunction with the literature, to inform the development of an
instrument that measures mid-career teachers’ views of school principal leadership
practices in regards to the teachers’ work commitment. Phase 2 involved administering
the survey instrument to explore mid-career teachers’ views of principals’ leadership
practices that may affect their work commitment.
The methods in which the data from each phase were discussed and the data collection
methods reviewed and supported by the university’s Ethics Committee and Education
Queensland ensured the validity of this research and that the research was conducted
in the appropriate ethical manner. Additionally two experts in the field of research
design and analysis, including an associate professor in educational research provided
advice and suggestions for conducting this research ensuring the intended research
design delivered accurate and valid findings. Chapters 4, 5 and 6 present the findings
of the data collected from the two groups of interviews and the survey instrument.
Chapter 4: Data findings – Qualitative interviews: Mid-career teachers
162 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
who have chosen to leave the teaching profession.
4.1 CHAPTER PREVIEW
This chapter presents the findings from part one of the qualitative interviews, the
former mid-career teachers, which formed the first phase of the multiphase, mixed-
methods, explanatory design (Creswell, 2012). These interviews explored the
perceptions of former state primary school, mid-career teachers (n = 5) who had made
the decision to leave the teaching profession and seek other employment. The
interviews sought to explore if principals’ leadership practices had any impact on the
teachers’ decision to leave teaching. Section 4.2 gives an overview of the themes
which emerged from the interviews.
The interviews are then divided into two sections based on the participants’ stated
reasons for leaving teaching; Section 4.3 pertains to participants who identified that
they left the teaching profession for personal reasons, while Section 4.4 describes the
participants who left teaching for reasons related to school principal leadership
practices. Section 4.4 also provides the interview findings of these participants, in
relation to the five identified leadership domains of Education Queensland’s leadership
framework Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) and evaluates the
significance of each domain in relation to the interview data. This data was analysed
inductively to identify major themes within principal leadership practices and the
impact these were perceived to have on mid-career teacher work commitment (Price,
2012). A summary and conclusion of the participants’ interviews are given in Section
4.5.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 163
4.2 OVERVIEW OF INTERVIEW THEMES
A content analysis of the interview data as described in Chapter 3 was undertaken from
the interview transcripts. Content themes were isolated and then coded and referenced
against the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) leadership domains.
This is a common analytic approach used in mixed-methods studies (Fakis, Hilliam,
Stoneley, & Townsend, 2014). Each specific theme raised by the interview participants
was coded as a significant factor as they were used by the participants to explain their
perspective of how their work commitment was impacted (Saldaña, 2015; Bernard,
Wutich, & Ryan, 2016).
These codes were then mapped against the description of leadership practices under
each of the five leadership domains in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010). If, for example, the theme raised by the participant was about the principal’s
interactions with staff it was classified under the relational domain. If it was about how
the principal led the teaching and learning programs, it was classified under
educational leadership and so on. Examples of how the coded themes emerged from
the data include:
Teacher 1 - Even knowing your name would be nice – interpersonal skills ->
relational leadership
Teacher 4 - Not being able to say good morning or how was your weekend –
staff relationships -> relational leadership
Teacher 4 - We were either manipulated or ignored while told we had a say –
respect -> personal leadership
164 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Teacher 5 - For example one principal after working with him for over 10
years couldn’t even make eye contact and say hello – interpersonal skills –
relational leadership
The coding protocol for the ex-teacher interviews is outlined below in Table 4.1.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 165
Table 4.1 Identified leadership practices from former mid-career teacher interviews coded under the
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) leadership domains.
Specific Leadership Codes from Teachers’ Interview
Content Theme Leadership Domain Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010)
Building relationships between staff Creating a positive culture Applying departmental policies Managing resources
Team culture Policy enactment Resources
Organisational
Showing respect for staff x 4 Trustworthy Ethical Being ethical Be able to take feedback Emotionally ready for feedback Emotionally mature Inspiring to staff Inspiring towards staff
Respect Ethical Feedback Position readiness Inspiring
Personal
Leading curriculum requirements Curriculum Educational Feeling devalued x 2 Valuing individual staff Feeling of value Valuing staff Building relationships with staff No relationship with staff Building relationships Being approachable x 2 Approachable Approachable to staff Developing shared leadership x 3 Having interpersonal skills x 2 Knowing your name Having consistent interactions with all staff members Consistent interactions with staff
Valuing staff Staff relationships Approachable Shared leadership Interpersonal skills Consistent interactions
Relational
Creating a shared vision Sharing a vision with staff collaboratively Sharing a vision Managing priorities x 2 Generating solutions to problems
Vision Managing priorities Solutions focussed
Intellectual
166 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
As described previously, Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was used
as the analytical tool for the interview data as it was the current leadership framework
used by Education Queensland, the jurisdiction where this research was undertaken
and under which the school principals of the interview participants would be operating.
The frequency of coding was used to determine the impact each of the five leadership
domains had on mid-career work commitment from the perspective of the teacher
participants.
From the teachers’ perspectives the relational domain of leadership was the domain
which had the greatest impact on their work commitment. Almost half of all the coded
statements from the teachers were classified within the principal’s relational leadership
domain. The second most frequently commented domain was the personal domain
highlighting the importance both relational and personal leadership practices have on
teacher’s work commitment from teachers’ own perspectives. The frequency of coded
practices from the interview data is displayed below in Figure 4.1.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 167
Figure 4.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from former mid-career
teacher interviews.
The five teacher participants approached for this study each had an individual set of
experiences and stories to share about their reasons for leaving the teaching profession.
As anticipated, the participants had firm views of what contributed to their decision to
leave teaching, which they clearly outlined in the interviews. While there were some
positively phrased themes, or comparisons made between what participants had
experienced under different school leaders, the majority of the responses focused on
what they needed from a principal but did not receive, and the perceived short comings
of that principals’ leadership practices.
While each participant’s recount differed from the others, outlining five different
contexts and experiences, the participants could be placed into two distinct groups.
Two of the five participants (Group 1) did not identify principal leadership practices
Relational 47%
Organisational 9%
Educational2%
Personal28%
Intellectual14%
Percentage
168 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
to be influential on their decision to leave the teaching profession, but rather cited other
reasons. The remaining three participants interviewed (Group 2) made direct
references to principal leadership practices and their waning commitment which
contributed to their decision to leave teaching and change professions. Although these
two groups can be placed apart in terms of their reasons for leaving teaching, it should
be noted that inferences about the principal’s role were made by both groups
illustrating a commonly held belief about the influence that principals’ leadership
practices exert on teacher commitment. The interview data are described below in the
following sections illustrating how the research findings were determined.
4.3 GROUP 1 – ALTERNATE REASONS FOR LEAVING TEACHING WITH INFERENCES FOR SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Participants 2 and 3 both indicated that the decision to leave teaching was a personal
one reached by them alone in relation to where they were in their teaching career.
Participant 2 stated, “The main reason I left 18 months ago was to look for extra
challenges in my work life. I didn’t dislike teaching; I felt I had reached the end of a
career path.” Participant 3 said, “An opportunity arose in the sports management area
to take on a job and I accepted that position.” While reaching this decision may have
been influenced by many factors, neither participant directly attributed principal
leadership practices as the key contributor, but rather stated they made the decision to
look for new career challenges. These two teachers are represented in the research of
such as Becton, Walker and Jones-Farmer (2014), and Donald, Baruch and Ashleigh
(2017) as the percentage of mid-career teachers who just wish for a change of career
and do not see teaching as a lifelong profession.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 169
Participant 2 was quite explicit in saying, “The school principal’s leadership did not
impact on my decision to leave, and the decision was solely mine.” Similarly
Participant 3 stated, “…there wasn’t really anything from the school I was at that
pushed me to leave or encouraged me to leave.” It appeared that both participants had
experienced a marked decrease in commitment to teaching, but neither participant
attributed this to the principal’s leadership as noted in previous research (Becton, et
al., 2014; Donald, et al., 2017).
Participants 2 and 3 appeared to be examples of people who sought a career change
when they believed the time was right (Hall, 1976). In their own words, the leadership
practices of their principals were not attributed in influencing this decision and in fact,
if anything, the positive way in which they describe their experiences of their last
school and principal may have actually kept them in the profession a little bit longer
than if they had had negative experiences with their leadership as was the case with
the other teachers interviewed. Participant 3 stated, “I was very happy where I was at
and the transition (to leave teaching) was made more difficult because of that.” While
Participant 2 said, “My last school was a great school, great clientele, good
administration staff very supportive of what I did and a good principal.” Both of these
participants articulated that the decision to leave teaching after a number of years, was
their decision alone, motivated by an individual need for a career change as described
by Hall (1976), Becton, et al., (2014), Donald, et al., (2017) and other researchers, and
was not influenced, in their opinion, by their principals’ leadership practices.
Participant 2 had been a teacher for 20 years with Education Queensland before
choosing to leave “to look for extra challenges in my work life.” They felt a sense of
170 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
reaching “the end of a career path and there wasn’t anywhere else for me to try and
advance my career.” Participant 2 stated, “I didn’t dislike teaching, it was more of a
boredom factor for me as those challenges of a day to day teacher were just not there
for me anymore.” Participant 2 relayed some specific relational and personal
leadership practices of the school principal around trust, honesty, principal
approachability and their work autonomy, which positively enhanced their
commitment towards teaching. Examples included: “I felt pretty supported in
everything I did”, and “I know I had the trust of the admin staff.” In fact despite leaving
the teaching profession, all recollections of school leadership practices expressed by
Participant 2 were framed in a positive way.
Similar to Participant 2, Participant 3 gave personal reasons for leaving the teaching
profession, not reasons linked to school principal leadership practices. Participant 3
had taught for 12 years as a classroom teacher before leaving to undertake a new
position away from teaching. When asked to summarise their reason for leaving the
teaching profession, Participant 3 stated:
I felt that I was at a position in my life that I was going to go down a couple of lines.
One was going to go down the administrative side of the school and stick with
education, or find something else outside of school. I decided, an opportunity arose in
the sports management area to take on a job and I accepted that position.
This statement resonates closely with the interview content of Participant 2 and
highlights a personal reason for seeking a career change.
When probed further to ascertain the reasons for feeling they had reached a career
juncture, Participant 3 stated: “I didn’t feel my teaching practices were as good as
other teachers and I felt that my interests lay more in sports administration as opposed
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 171
to teaching.” This statement revealed a level of self-reflection and a belief that students
and schools deserve the highest levels of teacher practices and teachers not up to this
standard should consider leaving the profession. At no time did Participant 3 allude to
any school leader helping them reach this decision, or of any school leader assessing
them as inferior to their teaching peers but instead referred to their own personal
beliefs: “I’ve certainly believed in the idea that, if you are not committed to teaching
then do something about it.”
Participant 3 spoke of the impact a non-committed or less competent teacher has on
students and the school leadership team: “the only people who suffer are obviously the
students so therefore I thought that I could assist (my school principal) by leaving (and
letting others who were more committed do the job).” They summarised their view
stating that “the reasons why I opted out of teaching were simply because I felt that
other people were more deserving of doing this (role).” Participant 3 went on to clearly
state that the decision to leave teaching had, “nothing really to do with the system at
all, nothing to do with the school, nothing to do with the school leadership….. I (just)
wanted to branch out and do something different.”
Participant 3 is an example of the distinction between being happy at work and being
committed to work (Triwahyuni & Ekowati, 2017). While they were happy with the
leadership practices and the culture of work, declining levels of intrinsic motivations
led to a loss of commitment to the teaching role. Participant 3 recalled how the
mismatch of being content but not committed added a tension to their decision to leave
teaching: “In actual fact, I was very happy where I was at and the transition was made
172 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
more difficult because of that.” As Participant 3 described, being happy and supportive
of the leadership practices just made the decision to leave the profession more difficult.
These two participants demonstrated a protean or individual approach to their career
paths. From their perspectives, principal leadership practices did not play a part in their
decision to leave teaching. Predominantly individual factors underpinned their stated
reasons for a career change, although it could be argued that some school and
leadership factors were implied in their responses. The remaining three participants,
however, identified principal leadership practices in their interviews as the key reasons
for leaving the teaching profession.
4.4 GROUP 2 – REASONS FOR LEAVING TEACHING RELATED TO SCHOOL LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Participants 1, 4 and 5 clearly articulated in their interviews principal leadership
practices as the key reason for leaving teaching. Participant 1 stated, “I left because I
felt devalued by the school principal.” Participant 4 said, “I left because of the
principal’s leadership.” And Participant 5 relayed, “I was becoming very negative
because of the principals I worked for and how they were treating me.”
These statements align with previous studies (such as Dajani, 2014; Hudson, 2009;
Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008; Rice, 2014), which identified direct links
between the work commitment of mid-career teachers and the leadership practices of
the school principal. Most significantly and relevant to this current study is the link
between declining work commitment and mid-career teacher attrition.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 173
These three participants spoke from a deficit perspective outlining the shortcomings
of leadership practices and the absence of the leadership practices they felt they needed
to maintain their work commitment. Examples of such statements included from
Participant 4, “…his relational leadership was non-existent.”, and from Participant 5,
“He couldn’t even make eye contact and say hello.” There were some positively
phrased statements such as:
“I like the boss to know if a family member is sick and care how I am feeling,
or know that my child is graduating school.” (Participant 4), and,
‘…a principal who can at least say hello to you.”(Participant 5)
Yet even though these statements were phrased positively, they described beliefs of
how the participants believed a principal should have acted, not recollections of what
they actually experienced from their principals.
The participants also made comparisons between what they had experienced under
different school leaders which highlighted some additional positive practices such as
feeling valued, working collaboratively and being recognised for their individual areas
of expertise. Participant 1 said, “I had a principal like this once and they made me feel
enthusiastic and connected to school and wanting to work, however my experience is
that these principals are rare.” However, despite some positive recollections, this
group primarily discussed their decisions to leave teaching as directly influenced by
poor leadership approaches. This is clearly illustrated by comments made by
Participant 4:
(His) whole dismissive and condescending attitude made me seethe. It was a good
school with good staff, doing a wonderful job, but this principal’s way of doing
business was counter-productive to the school and really declined my commitment to
the point I wanted to leave.
174 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
It is evident from these interviews that leadership actions were a determining factor in
these three participants’ choice to leave the teaching profession, and this reinforces
previous research findings (see Dajani, 2014; Hudson, 2009; Leithwood, et al., 2008;
Rice, 2014). What the previous research doesn’t explore to any depth was which
specific leadership practices of a principal had the most influence on a mid-career
teachers’ work commitment. To help determine this influence, this current study used
the five domains of leadership identified by Education Queensland in their framework
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) to help organise the interview data
and indicate the potential impact of each domain and the associated leadership
practices.
The interview data are presented below under the five identified leadership domains
of Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). Based on the frequency of
responses from within the interview data (Table 4.3), the five domains of leadership
were placed in order of significance in relation to mid-career teacher work
commitment from the perspective of these teachers. This order was: relational,
personal, intellectual, organisational and educational. The domains and associated data
are discussed in this order of response frequency in the following sections.
4.4.1 Relational leadership practices
Relational leadership practices were the most frequent leadership domain referred to
by the participants. This was of little surprise as many researchers such as Leithwood
and Sleegers (2006) and Ogbonnaya and Nielsen (2016) have highlighted the
importance of relational leadership in building work commitment. The relational
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 175
leadership domain accounted for 47% of the total coded statements in the teacher
interviews undertaken for this study. Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) outlines specific practices such as being able to work with others and
interpersonal skills as significant aspects of this domain. From the interview data it can
be concluded that a principal’s relational leadership is clearly influential and
significant to the commitment level of mid-career teachers. Participant 4 commented,
“We were working in a people industry, yet his relational leadership was non-
existent.” The interviewed teachers mentioned practices concerned with the principal
displaying: interpersonal skills, valuing others, being approachable, being consistent,
recognising individual differences of staff, devolving leadership and being open to
feedback.
The theme of relational leadership came through strongly in the interview data from
Participants 1, 4 and 5 with three specific areas common to all three participants; a
need to feel valued, establishment of collaborative leadership practices which included
mid-career teachers in decision making, and basic interpersonal skills. These relational
leadership practices are referred to in the transformational leadership research
(Leithwood & Sleegers, 2006; Ogbonnaya, Daniels, Connolly, van Veldhoven, &
Nielsen, 2016; Ogbonnaya & Nielsen, 2016) which stated the importance of leaders
treating each employee as an individual, valuing their input and including them in the
decision-making process. Where teachers felt devalued and had no say in the decision
making at their school, their commitment to teaching declined. The findings of these
studies were reinforced within these current interviews as the participants stated that
it was an absence of such practices that led to their decisions to leave teaching.
176 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
A feeling of being devalued was articulated by all three participants and given as a
reason for their declining work commitment. They stated that the relational leadership
practices of their principals decreased their sense of value as a staff member which in
turn led to a declining work commitment. This need to feel valued has been linked to
work commitment in other studies into teacher career change. Howes and Goodman-
Delahunty (2014) interviewed former teachers (n = 15) from around Australia about
their careers and career decision making. The transcribed interview responses were
analyzed using contextualizing and categorizing methods similar to this study. Howes
and Goodman-Delahunty (2014) found the theme of feeling undervalued common
among participants as a reason for why they changed careers. Participants felt valued
in subsequent careers when prior skills were recognized and opportunities existed to
acquire and apply new skills. Howes and Goodman-Delahunty’s (2014) study stressed
the importance of a work place which values individual members and their
contributions as key to workplace commitment a theme echoed in this current study.
It was clear for their statements that Participants 1, 4 and 5 did not feel valued in their
workplace. Participant 1: “…things we were passionate about were completely
devalued, the staff felt devalued.” Participant 4 said something similar: “When I feel
respected and valued I am energised to do so much more and commit to the school.
These practises (of my principal) made me feel the opposite.” While Participant 5
stated, “I believe, what he was really thinking was – what you are telling me is not
important and I really am not interested.” Further examples of specific leadership
practices which led to feelings of being de-valued, raised by these two participants in
their interviews included; the principal emailing an issue instead of discussing it in
person, the principal entering a classroom without knocking or acknowledging the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 177
teacher, and a principal who would not acknowledge you first before ploughing into a
work conversation.
Participant 5 recounted two past principals whose leadership practices contributed to
their declining work commitment. One principal “didn’t seem to care that I didn’t
know about him and his values and what he thinks and I certainly never felt he wanted
to know about me.” While the other principal according to Participant 5, “was even
worse, he made out like he cared but you knew he didn’t.” This first comment describes
a principal whose leadership style privileges the power of the role rather than
distributed leadership (Hulpia, Devos, & Van Keer, 2009). This principal saw
themselves as separate to their staff, disconnected and didn’t see the importance of
staff opinions. The second comment describes a principal who was perceived as
disingenuous and of having a false facade masking their true intentions of actions and
values (Sparrowe, 2005).
Participant 5 wanted a principal who was, “easy to talk to, who is approachable and
open to listening to other people’s views without dismissing them.” Instead Participant
5 felt that their principal did not value staff opinions, experiences or expert knowledge.
Participant 5 explained that the principal had a phrase they commonly used to
acknowledge and then close down the conversation. This phrase was, ‘Thank you for
that information’. This phrase was often used by the principal to respond to staff
comments and Participant 5 felt was the principal’s way of ignoring teacher opinion:
“You knew he would never take your opinion seriously.” It was a strategy which not
only left Participant 5 feeling devalued, but also, from their perspective, created a
culture of distrust throughout the staff.
178 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Participant 5 described this phrase in very negative terms and linked this feeling of
negativity, and the associated impact on their work commitment, directly to their
principal.
It was a condescending phrase which was used to shut you up and say that your
opinion was of no worth. All of us on staff knew it and in fact staff members started
using it amongst themselves when they wished to tell someone that they were not
interested in their opinion or that their opinion didn’t count. Which was exactly how
the principal made you feel with this phrase and, I believe, what he was really thinking
was – what you are telling me is not important and I really am not interested. F**k
you! That’s how this phrase made me feel
Participant 5’s comments reveal a deep resentment for this practice and illustrated how
important a sense of being valued was to this particular teacher. The absence of this,
and an autocratic leadership style, impacted negatively on their work commitment.
A final theme associated with the domain of relational leadership raised by the
participants in their interview was the interpersonal skills of their principal. To
Participant 4 this was a key issue which was lacking in their recollection:
The principal sets the tone for the school and our tone at XXXXX was not good. The
principal had no time for the interpersonals, or that may be unfair, he may have had
no training in interpersonals. Whatever the reason we were working in a people
industry yet his relational leadership was non-existent.
In his book, Thompson (2015) highlighted the importance of interpersonal skills for
workplace leaders to promote positive and productive work cultures. Thompson
(2015) concluded that managers who had excellent technical skills, but lacked people
skills, were likely to be highly ineffective in their role.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 179
Other relational leadership practices that were mentioned by the interview participants
as lacking from their school principals included from Participant 1: “Knowing your
name.”, from Participant 4: “Saying good morning.”, “Knowing a bit about my
family.”, “Talking in person instead of through emails.”, and from Participant 5:
“Acknowledging me when walking past.”, “Making eye contact and saying hello.”
Participants reported that the absence of these practices were pivotal in creating a
negative tone within the school. The participants believed this negative tone not only
reduced their individual work commitment but had a marked effect on the overall
running of the school. This point resonates with both De Nobile (2016), and Deal and
Peterson (2016) who highlighted that principal relational leadership practices can have
a significant effect on teacher attitudes and work commitment.
Participant 5 clearly believes that the principal’s relational leadership practices are
pivotal to school tone, stating, “That’s where it all starts. The principal sets the tone
for the school and our tone was not good.” Reynolds and Teddlie (2000) described the
school principal’s role as the most influential site leader and as such playing a pivotal
role in impacting on teacher commitment. This view of the importance of the school
principal in respect to the school tone or culture has been reinforced by later studies
such as De Nobile (2016), and Deal and Peterson (2016) and by the comments in these
current interviews.
Participant 4 summed up the importance of a principal’s relational leadership practices
and made a good distinction between the professional relationships related to the
180 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
school tone and culture as opposed to a principal who is just friendly or wishes to
socialise with staff. Participant 4 stated:
I didn’t need a social club where we sat around drinking coffee and gossip, but I do feel
having a boss who acknowledges you before getting down to business is important. This
may sound trivial but it sets a tone of respect and care.
From the perspective of these three teachers through their interview transcripts, the
relational leadership practices of their school principals, and in their cases the lack of
these, led to a significant decrease in their work commitment and contributed very
clearly to their decision to leave the teaching profession.
4.4.2 Personal leadership practices
Personal leadership practices were the second most mentioned domain based on the
frequency of answers from the participants’ interviews. This domain accounted for
28% of the total coded statements. According to Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010), the domain of personal leadership encompasses how a school
leader conducts their school business and acts as a role model or inspiration to others.
Personal leadership includes a leader’s integrity and moral compass and is called upon
when making ethical decisions. Some of these personal leadership practices are
implied through (and can be closely linked to) the relational domain; however there
are specific practices which align under the personal domain described in Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). These particular practices include; acting in
an ethical manner, showing respect, being inspiring, being trustworthy and being
emotionally ready for leadership, being able to accept personal feedback and showing
respect for staff.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 181
The importance of ethical leadership has been established through empirical research
such as Chughtai, Byrne and Flood (2015) and has significant implications for
organisations. Chughtai, et al., (2015) found that practising ethical leadership can
prove positive for employees, improving work commitment and work culture. These
same conclusions were heard in the interview transcripts of this current study as the
participants described the personal leadership practices of their past principals.
Participant 4 stated, “I think (he) would get more respect by being honest than playing
us for fools.” While Participant 5 said, “To make him look good we were important,
yet every other day we were of no importance. Is that leadership?” While the
participants made many mentions of personal leadership practices in respect to their
work commitment, the above statements demonstrated that they were primarily from
a deficit perspective, described as leadership practices absent from their principals,
which led to a decline in their work commitment.
Participant 5’s responses aligned strongly to the findings of recent research (Ciulla,
2016; Starr, 2016) which summarised the importance of having a leader who is
inspirational and genuine in their interactions. In their summary of what they believed
were the shortcomings of their principal. Participant 5 stated their principal was:
Great with making buildings and grounds look good and maintenance was very
well addressed, but that is just managing and technical is not what I needed
from a leader. (The principal) had no charisma, no personality, so was unable
to share a vision or inspire me.
The lack of personal leadership from their school leaders led to a declined work
commitment for both Participants 1 and 5.
182 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Participant 1 stated that they, “didn’t feel respected by the school principal” even
though they felt their experience and service at the school positioned them well to give
informed opinions. This perceived lack of respect led to a declining work commitment
with Participant 1 stated, “The more I felt disrespected, the more I thought about
leaving teaching”. Participant 4 also highlighted the importance of respect from their
principal: “When I feel respected and valued I am energised to do so much more and
commit to the school.” Participant 4, however, felt their principal, “made me feel the
opposite.”
The participants interviewed also expressed a need to have a school leader whose
personal leadership practices made them open to feedback from staff. Kelley and
Dikkers (2016) stressed the importance of a principal accepting feedback from staff
and receiving the feedback in a professional manner, as opposed to a personal or
emotional way. Professionally received feedback is seen as constructive and used to
develop and refine organisationally systems whereas personally received feedback is
viewed as targeting the person and is much harder to be viewed objectively (Kelley &
Dikkers, 2016). Participant 4 particularly stressed the importance of a leader accepting
feedback about them: “A good leader listens to staff. My principal refused to listen and
saw any feedback as negative.”
When principals appear closed to feedback or discussion, it often has a negative impact
on teachers’ work commitment. The research of Behnke and Steins (2016) and Kelley
and Dikkers (2016) identified two different forms of feedback in schools which
enhance effective school leadership. The first form of feedback is organisational
feedback where the staff gives opinions around the systems in the school including
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 183
school programs and school operations. The second form of feedback is the personal
feedback which is concerned with the individual school principal and their
demonstrated leadership practices.
The participants in this current research commented on both forms of feedback
described above; however the majority of their comments would fall within the latter
description of feedback within the principal’s personal leadership domain (Behnke &
Steins, 2016; Kelley & Dikkers, 2016). Participant 4 stated their principal: “Could not
accept feedback about any of his decisions and had a dismissive and condescending
attitude (towards it).” Participant 4 also believed that not only did their principal not
like the personal feedback; the principal saw feedback as a fault of the teacher. As
Participant 4 stated,
When I addressed the principal (about a concern) in what I thought was a professional
way, it was dismissed as my issue. In fact I remember being told that I need to learn
to be adaptable and professional. I was quite insulted.
The perceived inability of their school principal to accept feedback led to some
negative outcomes within the school which were recognised and described by
Participant 4: “More and more of the staffroom talk was negative, morale was down
and people were just unhappy and sick leave increased.” The whole school appeared
to suffer from the enacted personal leadership practices of the school principal.
In addition to their principal being unable to accept professional feedback, the
interviewed participants also stated that they felt their principals were unable to inspire
them. The ability of a leader to inspire others can be linked to transformational
leadership characteristics (Avolio & Yammarino, 2013; Hartog, Muijen, & Koopman,
2011). By inspiring teachers, school leaders can enhance their staff’s commitment
184 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
however, in its absence; work commitment can decline as appears to be the case of the
teachers in this current study. Participant 4 stated, “Instead of inspiring me, valuing
me and supporting me I was treated with no respect or common courtesy, manipulated
and belittled.” Kotter (2008) identified this as a problem in many work places
undergoing change, if the leader cannot inspire their staff, then staff start to disconnect
with the workplace. He argued that effective change management relies on the
personal leadership traits of the workplace leader (Kotter, 2008). These conclusions
were reflected in other comments from Participant 4 describing their waning work
commitment, “You can only work like this for so long. It was draining and I was losing
my commitment for teaching.”
Another theme of personal leadership which was identified from the participants’
interviews was centred on the trust, honesty and genuineness of principal interactions
with staff. According to Participant 5 it is not enough to pretend to care, it is important
to their work commitment that the principal demonstrates genuine care. The theme of
authentic interactions was raised further by Participant 5 as they recalled how a
principal only appeared to be friendly and genuine when it mattered to him. Participant
5 stated:
When someone important came to visit he made out like he was everyone’s best buddy.
He would come into class and share a joke with the guest which was just insulting. To
make him look good we were important yet every other day we were of no importance.
Is that leadership?
Consistency of interactions and a genuineness of interactions build trust between staff
and their principal. Without this trust, positive and productive relationship cannot
occur and work commitment will decline (Meyer, Le Fevre, & Robinson, 2017;
Seifert, Brockner, Bianchi, & Moon, 2016).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 185
Recent studies have shown the significance of trust on a school climate and
relationships between the school principal and staff (Meyer, et al., 2017; Seifert, et al.,
2016). Where trust between the principal and staff is positive a manifestation of this
connection is more open and honest relationships which lead to a more positive school
climate and greater teacher commitment. A key finding of this present study was the
importance of a principal’s personal leadership traits, such as trust, in relation to mid-
career teacher work commitment. In the eyes of mid-career teachers, these personal
leadership traits illustrate who the principal is as a leader, are vital to work commitment
and cannot be contracted out to anyone else on the school site.
Finally, collaborative leadership practices and shared leadership within the school
were other themes raised by the interviewed participants. Participants noted that when
these leadership practices were lacking there was a resultant decline in their perceived
work commitment. When Participant 1 was asked what leadership practices could have
improved their work commitment, they responded, “A principal who worked more
collaboratively.” When asked to give specific examples of what collaborative
leadership practices may look like, Participant 1 suggested a principal who would, “sit
down with staff and say this is what we need to do, and why we need to do it and here
is a draft solution.” Participant 1 would have liked the principal to ask the teachers if
they could see any problems and help propose solutions so that we could all “work
together to solve problems for everybody and not create problems for somebody else.”
Participant 1 believed that the lack of consultation and collaborative leadership at their
school often led to a cycle of constantly emerging issues that could have been averted.
186 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
They felt this was frustrating and counterproductive and could have been avoided with
better communication and including all stakeholders in initial discussion.
Participant 4 described a principal who claimed to be collaborative, “however it was
obvious that the decisions or outcomes were already decided way before the
discussion.” Participant 4 felt their principal wanted to appear to be consultative,
however their actions demonstrated otherwise. They felt they “were either
manipulated or ignored” by their principal and this was “insulting.” Participant 4 felt
staff shouldn’t be told they can have a say when in reality issues were already decided.
Participant 4 stated, “If it isn’t open to discussion, be up front and honest and say that.
I think you would get more respect for being honest than playing us for fools.”
Participant 5 described similar experiences in regards to the tensions between the
rhetoric and practices of collaborative leadership. Participant 5 stated, “In all my time
at that school I don’t believe staff influenced one decision yet the principal would
constantly say how collaborative he was. It was his way or the highway.”
4.4.3 Intellectual leadership practices
Statements from the interviewed participants classified in the domain of intellectual
leadership practices accounted for 14% of the total codes. This made the intellectual
leadership domain the third most significant in regard to mid-career teacher work
commitment, from the perspective of the interviewed participants. Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) defines intellectual leadership practices within this
domain as: the ability to solve problems, creating innovative ways to implement
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 187
policy, and analysing and interpreting situations to find solutions and the ability to
create a vision.
Primarily, leadership practices in the intellectual domain allow a principal to create
and develop processes to deliver the educational agenda at school taking into account
each individual school’s context. Two main themes raised by the teachers relating to
intellectual leadership were the school principal’s ability to manage changing priorities
and establish clear priorities for a clear school direction. These abilities are not
mutually exclusive and are often linked in change management literature by change
management writers such as Morrison (2017). According to Participant 5, “There was
no (school) vision.” This theme was repeated by Participant 4 stating their principal
had, “No consistent or strategic direction. There was no vision.” Participant 4 did not
feel they knew where the school was headed or how each new decision from the
principal aligned with an overall strategic view. Participant 4 felt, “We were jumping
to initiatives with no consistent or strategic direction…and staff found out different
information at different times.” This comment is reflective of the fact that in
Queensland, schools have experienced a plethora of change over the past 15 years and
the education agenda has become increasingly more politicised which has resulted in
significant policy change with every change of government (Halse, 2004).
Participant 4 acknowledged that a key tension of today’s school principals is balancing
the top down agendas with supporting and maintaining staff commitment, a point
noted clearly in the work of Riley (2014a). A principal’s intellectual leadership
practices act as the filter for the competing agendas and helps to determine the
importance of each agenda item, where it fits in the larger school vision and how best
188 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
to support its implementation. Participant 4 did not feel this support stating, “My
principal…never filtered info, so often (the result was) the next week we were doing
something totally different to the week before.”
The absence of these intellectual leadership practices impacted negatively on
Participant 4 and, from their perspective, led to a decline in their work commitment.
Managing priorities and instilling a vision were two key intellectual leadership
practices which impacted on the work commitment of these two participants.
4.4.4 Organisational leadership practices
Organisational leadership is defined by Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) as being concerned with the culture of a school and how school systems are
organised. Specific practices under this leadership domain include: managing
resources, building relationships between staff, managing corporate demands,
applying policies and creating a positive learning culture within the school. This theme
was fourth in frequency accounting for only 9% of the themes coded from the
participant interviews.
The phrasing of the comments once again suggested that these participants felt these
practices were lacking in their school principal at their individual schools, for example
Participant 4 said, “Maybe for the future EQ (Education Queensland) should develop
and promote leaders not just people who can manage to implement their tasks with no
regard for the tone at schools.” Participant 5 felt the principal was putting energy into
the wrong things: “The boss was great with making buildings and grounds look good
and maintenance was very well addressed, but that is just managing and technical not
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 189
what I needed from a leader.” This point illustrates that for Participant 5’s work
commitment; general school organisation has very little impact and much less than the
principal’s relational and personal leadership.
While the interview participants did mention leadership practices in the organisational
domain, it can be concluded from the frequency of responses and the depth of
discussion that this domain was not as significant as the previous three in regards to
their work commitment. It should also be noted that some of the organisational
practices which were mentioned positively by the participants such as; support for
mandatory policies and curriculum, planning time and professional development to do
their job effectively, are systems driven, part of a state wide approach to rolling out
initiatives and independent of principal decision making. The linking of these by the
participants and the association with school principals serves to show the relationship
between the school principal’s performance and the system’s expectations. These two
factors cannot be easily separated and have a mutually reinforcing aspect. Many
practices implemented by school principals are initiated by the greater system, how
they are implemented is primarily determined by the individual leadership practices of
each principal (Riley, 2014a).
4.4.5 Educational leadership practices
The leadership domain of educational leadership practices was the least mentioned
theme in the participants’ interviews accounting for 2% of responses. The domain of
educational leadership in respect to the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) framework primarily is concerned with leading the curriculum and pedagogy of
a school site. It takes into account knowledge of curriculum frameworks, learning
190 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
theories, developing systems to lead curriculum requirements and also in developing
curriculum leadership among teachers. Educational leadership requires the school
leader to possess contemporary knowledge around these particular areas and use this
knowledge to deliver curriculum and learning leadership within a school.
From the participants’ perspectives and frequency of response, the leadership domain
of educational was of least importance in relation to their work commitment. Only one
direct comment was made in respect to this domain and that was directed around a
principal’s ability to lead curriculum requirements but was tempered with a
qualification around how they delivered these requirements. Participant 4 said of their
principal, “Their curriculum knowledge was great… but when you deal with the people
the ‘how’ is much more important than the ‘what’.” Overall in comparison to the depth
and frequency of responses related to other domains, it was apparent that the
educational domain was of least significance to the teacher work commitment from
their perspective of these participants.
4.5 CHAPTER SUMMARY
The interviews in this chapter set out to determine through qualitative methodology,
the impact principal leadership practices, organised under the leadership domains of
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) had on mid-career teachers’ work
commitment from the teachers’ own perspective. The interviews sought to uncover if
there was a measurable difference between the leadership domains from the teachers’
perspective. Transcripts of the interviews gave an insight into the five participants’
stories and the reasons they recalled for leaving the teaching profession. Two of these
participants believed they left teaching for purely personal reasons unconnected to the
school leadership, while the other three participants clearly felt that their principal’s
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 191
leadership practices played a role in their declining work commitment which led to
their decision to leave teaching.
Two interview participants also commented on the changing nature of education and
how the school focus had changed over time, in their opinion, to data and numbers and
not students. Participant 1 said they, “Felt like teaching was becoming more about data
or the school look than it was about the kids we were teaching.” Participant felt
something similar:
School was becoming a business of production lines and outcomes driven which is
fine if it is acknowledged that we all have a different start line. I felt this was never
referred to yet it seemed we all had the same finish line making it a very unfair and
uneven model.
While the impact of systems reasons on teacher commitment was outside of the scope
of this study, it is acknowledged that educational systems are asking greater
accountability of teachers which may also impact on work commitment (Ingersoll,
Merrill, & May, 2016). What this study also acknowledges is the role the principal
plays in delivering the system expectations at individual school sites (Riley 2014a).
The way these expectations are interpreted and enacted in schools through principal
leadership practices, is directly related to this current study.
The participants who linked their decision to leave teaching to their principal’s
leadership practices recounted these practices predominantly from a distinctly deficit
perspective. Participant 1, “I left because I felt devalued by the school principal.”
Participant 4, “I left because of the principal’s leadership.” Participant 5, “I was
becoming very negative because of the principals I worked for and how they were
treating me.” The interviews illustrated that the leadership practices these three
192 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
participants experienced, did not meet their expectations and left them feeling less
committed towards their work. So much so, that even though they had left teaching
several years ago, their initial recollections and responses to why they left teaching
were immediately linked to their school principal.
As the interviews progressed, the content became more differentiated and
individualised as each participant expanded on their own understandings and beliefs.
Each participant had a different context to their story, but spoke of common leadership
practices, primarily relational and personal practices, they believed impacted on their
work commitment. It was also clear from their responses that each participant had high
expectations of their school principal and strong beliefs about what leadership
practices their principal should display. Participant 1 wanted a principal who, “would
listen and value the opinion and experience of long serving teachers, who took time to
understand a school before making changes and got out around the school meeting
the staff, leading people not leading a facility.” Participant 4 described their feeling
of not having school principals who met their expectations as:
It is frightening that people can rise to such high and influential positions in schools
yet have no idea of how to lead diverse people. I am not sure if EQ promotes people
who are leaders with leadership practices or just people who do all the compliance
tasks.
While Participant 5 articulated their experience of school leadership, as “There are
schools filled with principals who have strengths in one narrow area that makes for a
great gimmick or shallow story, however when put under the pump they have no
respect from staff or strong leadership practices.”
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 193
The coded themes from the participants’ interviews were used to establish how each
of the leadership domains defined in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) impacted on the mid-career teachers’ work commitment from the participants’
perspectives. While the comments in the participant’ interviews covered all five of the
leadership domains, closer analysis of the interview data showed that each domain was
not commented on equally. While the frequency of coded data informed the
significance of each leadership domain, there is caution in using this simple
methodology to emphasise absolute ranking of the domains, or to claim certain
leadership practices have little impact or are less important, just because of the
frequency of such data. The different frequency of the codes may be due to other
factors, such as a certain domain is simpler by nature, so requires less discussion.
While some could argue that it may be risky to claim that the frequency of codes
proportionally represents the level of importance of each domain, this research
believes that frequency is a valid measure of impact between the domains. Researchers
such as Glaser and Strauss (2017) and Zhang and Wildemuth (2016) advocate that in
qualitative research, frequency coding is a valid way to determine trends and
extrapolate information. In these current semi-structured interviews, participants were
free to discuss the practices which had the greatest impact on their work commitment
from their perspective. The participants talked about what was important to them. By
coding the responses to determine the frequency of certain practices it is quite
legitimate and valid to draw conclusions for the interview cohort, from their
perspectives, about the impact different practices had on the teachers’ work
commitment (Glaser & Strauss, 2017; Zhang & Wildemuth, 2016).
194 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Through this frequency of responses methodology it was concluded that the principals’
relational leadership practices had the greatest impact on mid-career teacher work
commitment closely followed by the personal leadership domain. Of note from the
interviews is that the connection between relational leadership practices and teachers’
work commitment was presented as a positive correlational, that is, as relational
leadership practices decreased or increased, so too did mid-career teacher work
commitment. The participants presented their interviews from a deficit perspective
relating either; practices which were missing from their principal or recounting
practices which had a negative impact on their work commitment. The data indicated
that the two leadership domains of educational and organisational were of the least
importance in regard to the work commitment of mid-career teachers. These two
domains did not feature prominently in the interview data.
Significantly, the data from the interviews in this chapter, based on the perspectives of
former mid-career teacher, outlined the perceived absence of leadership practices in
their school principals. Three of the five participants stated that they felt their school
principal was lacking the leadership practices needed to enhance their work
commitment. The position of these teacher participants raised questions about whether
the school principals were aware of their leadership practices and how these practices
impacted on the commitment of mid-career teachers.
The teachers interviewed were experienced teachers who had served past the five year
mark of their careers and had viewed teaching as a long term career. In their words, it
was the leadership practices of their school principals which impacted on their work
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 195
commitment and caused them to reassess their profession. Participant 4 stated this fact
very clearly:
I had always seen teaching as a lifelong job and I enjoyed the day to day contact with
children, however at this school so much happened that sucked the enjoyment out of
teaching and made my job less enjoyable and much of this can be attribute to the
principal. He set the tone, he set the processes and I believe that these were wrong.
Instead of inspiring me, valuing me and supporting me I was treated with no respect
or common courtesy, manipulated and belittled.
The impact of principals’ leadership practices, particularly within the relational and
personal domains, proved pivotal to teachers’ work commitment from the perspective
of these three interview teachers. When delivered well the leadership practices can
enhance a teacher’s work commitment, conversely when absent or delivered
ineffective they can contribute to teacher declining work commitment and ultimately
work place attrition. As Participant 5 stated, “My two principals never got the best out
of me, in fact they made me negative, angry and lose commitment. So it came down to
put up with it and be quiet or leave and I chose to leave.”
By developing a better understanding the link between specific principal leadership
practices and mid-career teacher work commitment, it is hoped that teacher attrition
may be stemmed. Through this understanding school principals can better develop
their leadership practise to add to a teacher’s work commitment rather than erode it.
From a teacher’s perspective it is clear that to do this principals need to enhance their
relational and personal leadership practices and make these a focus of their genuine
daily actions.
196 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Chapter 5 examines mid-career teacher work commitment from the perspective of five
school principals to ascertain the perspectives of school principals in relation to their
leadership practices and teacher commitment. This principal interview data is then
compared with the teacher interview data discussed in this chapter to look for
alignment or differences in perspectives.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 197
Chapter 5: Data findings – Qualitative Interviews: Principals
5.1 CHAPTER PREVIEW
This chapter presents part two of the findings from the first phase of the multiphase,
mixed-methods, explanatory design research (Creswell, 2012). Part two involved
interviews with current primary school principals (n = 5) which explored principals’
perceptions leadership practices in relation to mid-career teacher work commitment.
Section 5.2 gives an overview of the themes which emerged from the principals’
interviews. Section 5.3 provides the principal interview findings in relation to the five
identified leadership domains of Education Queensland’s leadership framework
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) and evaluates the significance of
each domain in relation to the interview data from the principals’ perspectives. This
data was analysed inductively to identify major themes within principal leadership
practices and the perceived impact these have on teacher work commitment (Price,
2011). The results were used to refine the survey instrument and inform the overall
conclusions. A summary and conclusion of the principal interviews is given in Section
5.4 before a comparison of the two qualitative interview groups, teachers and
principals, is given in Section 5.5. A final chapter summary is provided in section 5.6.
5.2 OVERVIEW OF INTERVIEW THEMES
Similar to the ex-teacher interviews and as described in Chapter 3, the principal
interviews were transcribed and a content analysis undertaken (Fakis, Hilliam,
Stoneley, & Townsend, 2014). From this analysis, content themes were isolated,
coded and then mapped against the description of leadership practices of the five
198 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
leadership domains outlined in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). As
per the teacher interviews, each specific theme raised by the principals was considered
as a significant factor as to what principals believed mid-career teachers need to remain
committed to the teaching profession and was coded in this way. If, for example, the
theme raised by the principal was concerned with leading curriculum programs, the
practice was classified under the educational domain. If the practice was about
involved in developing systems and procedures within the school it was classified as
an organisational leadership practice and so on. Examples of how the coded themes
emerged from the data included:
Principal 1 - Looking at how we structure roles within the school in terms of
leadership so that teachers have an opportunity – shared leadership ->
relational leadership
Principal 2 - Foster strong relationships between a teacher and their
colleagues, certainly with their learning teams, their teaching team – peer
support networks –> organisational leadership
Principal 4 - Finding a way to engage and enthuse them – inspiring ->
personal leadership
As with the previous interviews, the significance of each domain on the work
commitment of mid-career teachers, this time from the perspective of school
principals, was determined through a combination of frequency data and the
interpretation of statements against the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) framework.
While coding the interview data it became apparent that some themes mentioned by
the principals, such as teachers leading programs, could be classified under more than
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 199
one category. On these occasions, identical to the teacher interviews, the context the
leadership practice was described in, and/or further explanation from the principal’s
transcript was used to determine the implementation of the leadership practices and
the appropriate leadership domain. For example if the leadership example was based
on a curriculum perspective for improving curriculum knowledge, the practice would
be listed under the educational leadership domain as it referred to leading improvement
in educational programs. Conversely, if the practice was about broadening school
leadership through asking mid-career teachers to take on a general leadership role, the
practice was listed under the organisational leadership domain as it was benefiting the
school in a more general organisational purpose.
If a coded theme could not be accurately assigned to one specific domain, it was
planned to place it in more than one. However, this contingency did not arise and all
coded themes were able to be assigned comfortably to one of the leadership domains
with no need for a double allocation, or could not be placed within the framework at
all. Themes which did not fit under the existing leadership domains were classed as
emerging themes. Practices such as reciprocal trust and a feedback culture are not
explicitly noted in the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework
but were mentioned in the principals’ interviews. These practices were not used in the
analysis process as the intent of this research was to evaluate and compare the impact
of the existing five leadership domains and not construct new categories or redesign
the framework. Using the existing leadership framework was not seen as restrictive;
rather it was seen as very appropriate to the aim of this study which was comparing
the impact of each domain on work commitment.
200 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The significance of aligning the mentioned leadership practices was not to see if they
aligned to the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework – it was
assumed that they would. This alignment was used to see if the five described
leadership domains impacted equally on teacher work commitment from the
perspective of the principals interviewed or whether some domains had greater
importance. Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was not designed as a
hierarchical framework, instead all five leadership domains were approached and
presented equally with none highlighted as more important than the others. It was
therefore important to use the frequency data to check if the interview participants felt
all five domains were equal or whether some played greater importance in relation to
work commitment. The coding protocol of themes from the principal interviews is
outlined below in Table 5.1.
Table 5.1 Identified leadership practices from principal interviews coded under the Leadership Matters
(2010) leadership domains.
Specific Leadership Codes from Principals’ Interview
Content Theme Leadership Domain
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 201
(Leadership Matters, Education Queensland, 2010)
Creating a culture committed to learning x2 Creating the right culture Creating a positive school culture Creating a learning culture Managing resources effectively Building relationships between staff Managing and filtering the conflicting agendas Applying mandatory policies
Culture Resources Peer support networks Implementing Policy
Organisational
Inspiring towards staff x 2 Showing respect for staff Acting ethically Being trustworthy
Inspiring Respect Trust and Ethical
Personal
Leading curriculum requirements x 3 Having curriculum knowledge x 2 Having Pedagogical knowledge Having Curriculum credibility Articulating a school curriculum plan
Curriculum Leadership Curriculum Expertise
Educational
Valuing individual staff members and their input x 5 Developing shared leadership with staff x 2 Building relationships with staff x 2 Being approachable x 3 Having good interpersonal skills Interpersonal skills – getting on with people Being consistent with staff
Valuing staff Shared Leadership Relationships Approachable Interpersonal Skills Consistent interactions
Relational
Creating a program and sharing a the vision Vision Intellectual
After analysing and classifying the principal interview data, 38 codes were identified
and the impact of each of the five leadership domains on mid-career teacher work
commitment, from the principals’ perspectives, could be determined using the
frequency of response in relation to each leadership domain. The three leadership
domains identified from Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) by the
principals as being most influential to mid-career teacher work commitment were:
202 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
relational, organisational and educational. The frequency of principal responses in
relation to the five leadership domains is displayed below in Figure 5.1.
Figure 5.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from principal
interviews.
5.3 PRINCIPAL INTERVIEW FINDINGS IN RELATION TO THE FIVE LEADERSHIP DOMAINS
The data findings from these principal interviews are presented below, under the five
leadership domains outlined in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010).
Each domain has associated practices which are considered demonstrative of this
particular area which have been identified and articulated as part of the Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) document. Based on the frequency of
responses the five domains of leadership were placed in order of significance in
relation to mid-career teacher work commitment (Figure 5.1). The domains and
Relational 45%
Organisational 21%
Educational18%
Personal13%
Intellectual3%
Percentage
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 203
associated data are discussed in this order of response frequency in the following
sections.
5.3.1 Relational leadership practices
Relational leadership practices were the most frequent leadership domain identified
from interview data accounting for 45% of the total coded statements. According to
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) the relational leadership domain
includes a wide range of practices encompassing how a school principal interacts with
their staff and other people within the school community. From the interview data, the
principals identified several leadership practices within the relational domain which,
from their perspectives, were of great significance when looking at mid-career teacher
work commitment. Examples of these practices include: the leader’s interpersonal
skills, the leader valuing staff, the leader being approachable, having consistency in
their personal interactions with staff, recognising individual differences of staff,
devolving leadership and being open to feedback.
Within this theme of relational leadership, the interviewed principals isolated a variety
of specific leadership practices which they believe impacted on mid-career teacher
work commitment. Three of the principals (Principals 1, 2 and 5) identified the
importance of recognition for mid-career teachers, specifically recognising and
acknowledging their areas of expertise. This recognition can be done in many ways
with the research of Firestone (2014) identifying two main forms; external recognition
using economic and extrinsic incentives, and internal recognition using psychology
and intrinsic incentives. Terry (1997) states principals need to be aware that additional
204 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
workloads or tasks maybe counterproductive to teacher recognition and can be viewed
as burdens not rewards.
The principals in these current interviews talked about using teacher expertise and
harnessing this knowledge. Principal 1 stated, “…use their expertise to support others
with their knowledge.” Principal 2 said, “I recognise staff strengths and provide
opportunities for them to influence others along with opportunities to lead other staff
teams.” While Principal 5 commented, “I try to identify and recognise their areas of
expertise.” The principals did not mention giving official leadership roles or additional
workloads to mid-career teachers. Instead it was about repositioning the teachers to
use their existing areas of expertise to help train other staff as they undertake their
regular job, not necessarily being taken out of the classroom to do this.
The principals in this study described their practices of teacher recognition aligned
with the findings from by Eberhard, Reinhardt-Mondragon and Stottlemyer (2000)
which focussed on teacher acknowledgement and accolades rather than delegation of
additional work tasks as Terry (1997) cautions. This distinction of teacher recognition
is evident from statements such as Principal 1 who stated, “I like to acknowledge them
(mid-career teachers) and recognise them in the greater school community by publicly
noting their talents or achievements.” and Principal 2, “I tell them what I see as their
strengths and acknowledge their experience and what they do well.” These two
principals did not mention assigning these teachers any extra tasks.
Creating a level of leadership for all teachers is mentioned in the research of Tubin
(2017) as a way of involving teachers in the decision making processes of schools and
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 205
using their individual expertise to help school improvement. Tubin (2017) suggested
empowering teachers and allowing them to lead their schools to success. Principals 1,
2 and 5 spoke of leadership roles in the form of mentoring or supervising less
experienced teachers as a way of enhancing the mid-career teachers’ work
commitment. They believed that when mid-career teachers were given these roles of
supporting beginner teachers their commitment to the school and profession was
enhanced. This positive impact on commitment is based on more than just feeling
appreciated. Principal 2 said it is, “About them reinvigorating that same process that
got them in (to teaching) and hooked (so) that they can also hook into and help other
people. I think it is that whole notion of success.” In addition to feeling successful with
an increased work commitment, the mid-career teachers would also be positioned to
positively influence other staff members within the school.
Providing opportunities for shared school leadership practices, as opposed to purely
curriculum leadership described in the educational domain section, was seen by
Principals 1, 2 and 3 as important to enhancing mid-career work commitment.
Principal 1 stated, “The majority of teachers I am talking about …don’t want to leave
the classroom and they don’t want to work in an administrative capacity but still want
to be leaders within the school.” This point has been recognised by Education
Queensland which has initiated a process of creating classroom based leadership
positions from 2019, notably Lead Teachers and Highly Accomplished Teachers, as
described by AITSL’s National Professional Standards for Teachers (AITSL, 2011b)
to give mid-career teachers leadership recognition and opportunities while still
primarily undertaking the classroom teacher role. The Queensland Teachers’ Union
reinforced the classroom based nature of these roles stating both Highly Accomplished
206 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
and Lead Teacher roles are about classroom teachers remaining in the classroom
(QTU, 2016).
Additional leadership practices described in the principals’ interviews to increase
teacher commitment included: supporting aspiring leaders, giving experienced
teachers a key stake in setting the strategic direction of a school and deferring to the
experience and expertise of mid-career teachers when making school wide decisions.
Principal 1 summed up this last point in their interview stating, “We structure roles
within the school in terms of leadership so that teachers have an opportunity that may
not be a paid leadership role but certainly use their expertise and have a say in how
the school is operating.” Similarly, Principal 5 stated, “We try and share the leadership
responsibilities and roles. What we are trying to do with that is say; you are part of
the leadership team.” This notion of shared leadership is reflected in the theory of
collaborative or distributed approach to school leadership (Bush & Glover, 2014).
In describing shared leadership amongst mid-career teachers, the principals recounted
many leadership models. This is may reflect the many models of leadership which
have existed in Education Queensland during these principals’ service (Focus on
Schools, 1990; Leading Schools, 1997; Masters Report, 2009). Initially the principals
recounted leadership practices that reflected a transactional perspective; a belief that
time in the role means some expected returns (Burns, 1978; Hartog, Muijen, &
Koopman, 2011; Wahyuni, Christiananta, & Eliyana, 2014). The principals’
comments reflected the notion that the teachers had achieved a place in the school
based on time in the job and were now expected to undertake other roles due to this
seniority. Principal 5 stated, “We talk about them being senior staff and looking for
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 207
additional roles they can play within the school.” and Principal 1, “They are at a stage
in their career where they can give back to the school and undertake more in line with
their seniority.”
However as the interviews progressed, the principals began to refer to more
transformational leadership practices (Baylor, 1990; Burns, 1978; Murray & Feitler,
1989) that included mentoring, shared decision making, developing of leadership roles
based in the classrooms and individualising career support for each teacher. Comments
supporting this shift of philosophy included Principal 1 reflecting and stating, “I find
that having them involved in the decision making makes a big difference.” Principal 3
stated, “Different teachers have different triggers for commitment and expectations.”
Principal 2 agreed with a differentiated approach and explained, “It’s not that one
model fits every person, it is about a variety of models.” The articulation of different
leadership styles and practices highlighted one of the key challenges for school
leadership identified by Gonzales and Lambert (2014) which was; different teachers
respond to different leadership approaches.
One principal, Principal 3, described this concept of differentiation for mid-career
teachers explicitly. Principal 3 articulated knowledge of providing different
opportunities, in different ways to different staff to enhance their work commitment.
Principal 3 stated:
Teaching is a people based profession, to get the best out of people you need to know
how to get on with them. Different teachers have different triggers for commitment –
some like recognition through artefacts, certificates and others like words of praise
some public in the community others private and more personal. Others like extra time
off, no playground duty, others just want to get on with the job and be told what to do
208 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
while some need to feel every decision is made collaboratively. We aren’t in an
industry where all our ‘units’ are equal and different personalities and people require
different approaches. As a principal I need to know who likes public praise, which
prefers a word on the side. Find out their strengths and utilise them to make them
valued contributors to your school.
While not as explicit as Principal 3, the other principals demonstrated that they too
have an inherent understanding that in respect to school leadership practices and
teacher work commitment, one size does not fit all.
Differentiation and valuing the unique skills of individual teachers was a theme which
underpinned many of the leadership practices stated by the principals. This theme has
been reinforced by other research such as Rhodes, Nevill and Allan (2004) who found
that an individual or differentiated approach worked best when trying to enhance
teacher satisfaction. It was apparent that in the minds of the principals interviewed, the
‘one size fits all model’ was counter-productive to enhancing work place commitment.
Principal 1 commented, “I certainly have looked at things like using the developing
performance framework models, to identify teachers’ strengths and weaknesses.”
Recognising teachers’ strengths was also important to Principal 2 who said, “It is
important that as Principal I recognise staff strengths and provide opportunities for
them.” Principal 3 also agreed and stated, “Find out their (teachers’) strengths and
utilise them.” Finding the strengths and weaknesses of each individual and
differentiating their leadership practices to individuals, was a way these principals
believed could impact positively a mid-career teacher’s work commitment and
according to Gonzales and Lambert (2014) an effective strategy for increasing teacher
commitment.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 209
Even though there was a common belief amongst these three principals about different
teachers requiring different leadership practices to enhance their work commitment,
there was a marked difference in how the principals enacted their leadership practices.
The leadership practices the principals described of themselves gave an insight into
each principal’s beliefs of leadership and power (Priest & Seemiller, 2018). This is
particularly true for practices which describe who decide what is best for the teachers.
Principal 1 stated, “Teachers are at different places at any particular time (they)
identify what they see as their expertise and how they would like to enhance that.” This
principal recognises that strengths can vary amongst staff but most significantly
articulates that staff can identify their own areas strength which demonstrated a strong
belief in teacher agency. Principal 1 appeared to adopt a more teacher centred view
underpinned by shared or distributed power as described by Diamond and Spillane,
(2016) in their study into school leadership. Principal 1’s leadership style attempted
to empower staff evident through phrases such as, “I think by identifying their interest
with them…teachers can then work out what they want to do and their capacity and
how they can enhance that.”
Principals 2 and 4 came from a much different perspective. Principals 2 and 4 viewed
the principal as the person of power on the school site evident through their statements.
Principal 2 said, “I think as principal it behoves me to ensure that I give them… the
full complement of strategies and we have those very regular professional
conversations that allows them to have that full bag of tricks.” Principal 4 believed
that, “As principal I need to change their opinion and take charge of how they feel.”
Principals 2 and 4 portrayed a much more transactional or instructional approach to
210 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
leadership in which the principal decides what is best for each staff member. Principals
2 and 4 highlighted their leadership as ‘doing to’ others with a top down approach
contrasting to the ‘doing with’ side by side approach of Principal 1.
Leadership styles of principals can be influenced by many things such as training and
role models or even past experiences. Lasswell (2017) believed that the personality of
a person and their beliefs of power translate into their leadership style. Mittal and Elias
(2016) also identified personality as foundational to leadership enactment but looked
at this from a cultural perspective determining different leadership practices based on
the leader’s ethnicity or culture.
Another key relational leadership practice raised by two of the principals (Principals 2
and 3) was the principal’s ability to build relationships with staff through strong
interpersonal skills. Principal 3 stated, “Teaching is a people based profession and to
get the best out of people you need to know how to get on with them.” This ability to
relate to people from varying backgrounds and personalities was seen as a key point
in relation to mid-career staff commitment. Principal 3 said, “First and foremost being
a leader is relational….the one (aspect of leadership) you can’t miss, or get an expert
in to do for you, is the relational.” All schools have a range of staff in terms of
experience and beliefs, and according to the responses of these two principals,
interpersonal practices such as being respectful, being polite, knowing people’s names
and stories, allows a school principal to work effectively with them all.
It was also clear that the principals felt that interpersonal skills need to be strongly
underpinned with feelings of trust between staff and the principal and a sense for
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 211
teachers of being valued. Principal 3 showed a deep understanding of this concept
identifying a professional context to the relationships and not just friendships or
popularity and stated; “It is not about socialising and friendships but it is about
professional connectedness (and) trust.” This is a point supported by the research of
Handford and Leithwood (2013) and Scott and Halkias (2016) who highlighted the
importance of trust within a school culture and also identified interpersonal leadership
practices of the school principal as a reason for teachers trusting their school leaders.
Maintaining professional interactions help leaders to achieve the balance of connecting
and understanding staff while still maintaining a position to influence and challenge
staff in a contemporary leadership paradigm (Hewlett, Sherbin, & Sumberg, 2009;
Leithwood, Jantzi, & Steinbach, 1999).
State school principals in Queensland, as part of their role, are expected to have
knowledge of current policy context around school leadership and enact these
standards as a part of their position. What is apparent from the principal interview data
is that different principals enact and interpret policy in divergent ways. This is not
surprising as Riley (2014) outlined, individual school principals are the practical
enactors of system theoretical policies. The process of enacting required policies can
be an accurate mechanism for uncovering the leadership philosophy of the enactor.
The views of each principal participant, and their beliefs around leadership practices,
can be seen from their description of their policy enactment.
Principal 2 responded from a conceptual and principal centred perspective where the
school principal holds the power to make decisions. “I recognise the importance that
staff see I value them and that I recognise the importance of relationship.” Principal
212 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
2’s statements also illustrate a relationship of power of the principal over the staff.
Principal 3 conveyed a complex understanding of relational leadership in terms of
stories, daily connections, trust and professional distance. Principal 3 commented:
First and foremost being a leader is relational….the one (leadership practice) you
can’t get an expert in to do for you ….you have to get the people skills right. Know the
names of your teachers, know their stories. I believe you have to spend time each day
building the trust and connecting.
Principal 3’s comments reveal a deeper belief in reciprocal trust in that the key
relational leadership practices are not one-way, but to be truly effective the principal
needs to be open to mid-career teacher feedback. The importance of trust noted by
Handford and Leithwood (2013) and Scott and Halkias (2016) and the capacity of
being receptive to feedback (Behnke & Steins, 2016: Kelley & Dikkers, 2016) are
practices not explicit in the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010)
framework.
Feedback to school leaders is seen as a vital aspect to positive school leadership
(Behnke & Steins, 2016; Kelley & Dikkers, 2016). To be most effective, this feedback
needs to be both internal to the school from teachers and external from a supervisor or
school inspector. Additionally to be effective feedback needs to be acknowledged and
acted upon by the school leader (Behnke & Steins, 2016). The need for feedback was
only spoken about by Principals 3 and 4 in a general sense around the school operations
and as a one way process from the principal to the teacher. Principal 4 mentioned the
importance of “giving teachers feedback about what is going well” as well as “getting
their feedback about what they believe needs to be done.” Principal 3 discussed the
importance of creating a “school culture where questions can be asked and seen as
constructive” but this was so, “teachers will say when they are struggling and feel they
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 213
will be helped not judged.” The feedback described was either one-way from the
principal down or about programs in the school which may need addressing.
Significantly neither principal acknowledged the personal component of feedback or
valuing teachers commenting on the principal’s own performance; areas Behnke and
Steins (2016) and Kelley and Dikkers (2016) believe are vitally important to successful
school leadership. Principals 3 and 4 did mention the importance of the principal being
seen as approachable and accepting of the views of the teaching staff, but neither
specifically mentioned seeking feedback form staff, only listening to their views.
According to Principal 3, it is important to, “…create a school culture where questions
can be asked and seen as constructive.” These leadership practices portray the
principal as valuing teacher ideas, and creating a positive culture of mutual trust with
everyone working for the same collective goal, however the interviewed principals do
not acknowledge feedback around their own performance as important to teacher work
commitment or part of their school feedback culture.
The importance of a feedback culture which includes personal feedback to the school
leader and its place in good school leadership practices is raised by researchers such
as Behnke and Steins (2016) and Kelley and Dikkers (2016). These studies concluded
that a critical element of improving school culture and thus teacher commitment is
clear and open feedback between all staff, and of the principal, which is accepted
positively by the school principal. While feedback is seen as a vital part of mid-career
teacher commitment by Principals 3 and 4, both describe feedback (as outlined above)
in an organisational sense with teachers giving feedback about the school and systems
as opposed to feedback about their own performance as school leader.
214 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Additional studies into teacher retention rates (Dajani, 2014; Hudson, 2009; Rice,
2014) support the importance of personal, principal feedback and open, two way
respect and communication as vital to retaining teachers in the profession. For
example, Dajani’s (2014) study identified that teachers wanted; principals to treat them
professionally, include them in decision making, trust them, provide subjective
evaluations and be open to feedback themselves. These leadership practices help create
and maintain a positive work environment for all, but were not specifically articulated
by the interviewed principals in this study.
Effective communication practices and the ability to clearly articulate concepts was a
final theme raised by the interviewed principals within the domain of relational
leadership. Effective communication was not just defined as the surface ability to
communicate and impart information, but rather the deeper ability to engage mid-
career teachers in school based decisions and the ability of the principal to clearly
communicate and assist staff in understanding new processes and agendas.
Significantly, Principal 3 used the term ‘control’ to describe the concept of
collaborative decision making with shared power. Principal 3 stated: “I have found
teachers’ feelings of control significantly impacts on how teachers feel and how
committed they are. And this understanding about control comes from clear
communication and practices which include all staff in information exchanges.” From
the context of the interview transcript, it can be assumed that term ‘control’ means
teachers feeling empowered to have a say in their job expectations and changes which
may impact on them. Principal 3 believes this feeling of control can be created through
a distributive leadership framework with teachers having involvement in the broader
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 215
decision processes of a school. By effective two way communication and sharing
decision making, the power of the organisation is diffused and shared amongst the
staff, which Principal 3 believes increases mid-career teacher work commitment.
The frequency of responses (45% of the total coded themes) in the interview transcripts
showed that the relational leadership domain is the most important in regards to mid-
career teacher work commitment from the principals’ perspectives. Significantly, the
principals’ responses demonstrated the range and depth of beliefs around relational
leadership practices of each principal. Principals 1, 4 and 5 while articulating an
understanding and acknowledgement of relational leadership practices, maintained a
formal view in their delivery with a larger system focus. These principals showed
strong alignment to the system policies and used these policies, albeit in differentiated
ways, to underpin their relational leadership practices. They would be described as
compliance driven by Harris (2011) and Nori (2012) in that their focus is on delivering
the systemic policies and being personally accountable for this.
Principal 2 was less reliant on the system procedures and articulated a more personal
understanding of teacher circumstances and leveraged this individual knowledge to
enhance mid-career teacher commitment. Principal 3 demonstrated a more
sophisticated understanding of relational leadership and its impact on teacher
commitment. This included a clearly articulated focus on the well-being of staff and
the need to carefully balance a personal approach with a professional approach, while
still caring for staff and treating each as individuals. Principal 3 showed least concern
for system policies and most concern for the unique needs of each teacher which
underpinned their relational leadership practice.
216 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The importance of this link between the principal’s relational leadership practices and
mid-career teacher work commitment aligns with previous literature concerned with
teacher work commitment and retention (Reynolds & Teddlie, 2000; Dajani, 2014).
Dajani (2014) concluded that numerous principal behaviours impact on teacher job
satisfaction and commitment. Dajani (2014) reported that teachers wanted a school
leader who demonstrates strength within the relational leadership domain. This finding
is reinforced by the beliefs of the interviewed principals in this study. According to
Dajani (2014), when principals are able to demonstrate efficacy in the relational
domain, issues in other areas of school leadership have less impact on teacher work
commitment. In Queensland these other focus areas of school leadership, alluded to
by Dajani (2014), would be the remaining four domains of leadership outlined in
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010).
In comparing the findings of the teacher interviews, the principals agreed with the
teachers that relational leadership practices had the greatest impact on mid-career
teacher work commitment. While both groups agreed on the importance of the
relational leadership practices they did this from vastly different perspectives. The
teachers described the relational practices from a deficit model identifying inadequate
principal performance in this area resulted in a negative impact on their work
commitment. The principals, however spoke in a very positive tone saying that their
relational leadership practices value added to the mid-career teachers. So, while both
groups agreed in the importance of the relational domain, the effectiveness of the
delivery of these practices is a point of contention. This tension between these views
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 217
is discussed further in the comparison of qualitative data section at the end of this
chapter (Section 5.6).
5.3.2 Organisation leadership practices
Organisational leadership practices are concerned with the culture of a school and how
school systems are organised. It can include the chain of command processes and how
information is distributed and shared on a school site along with the other systems and
processes which keep a school organised. Leadership Matters (Education Queensland,
2010) defines leadership practices within this domain to include: managing resources,
building relationships between staff, managing corporate demands, applying policies
and creating a positive learning culture within the school. Leadership practices within
the organisational domain were the second most frequent practices coded from the
principal interviews accounting for 21% of their comments. From the principals’
perspectives, leadership practices in the organisational domain had the second most
important impact on the work commitment of mid-career teachers. Key organisational
practices raised by the principals in their interviews included; managing change within
the school, introducing coaching and mentoring programs for staff, providing
leadership opportunities for mid-career teachers and providing appropriate support to
mid-career teachers when required. The principals did not clarify whether this required
support was determined by the principal or self-identified by the teacher.
Managing change was seen as an important issue at schools which the principals saw
as key practices to their leadership. The significance of change management was noted
by Principal 2 who said, “we’ve had a number of iterations to our curriculum and…when
you change the direction of the curriculum in a very short space of time, it unnerves people.
218 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Some people don’t take to change, and some people take to change very badly.” Principal 4
believed mitigating teachers fear of change was important, “Managing change is one
of the most threatening things to teachers I feel. When change happens you as the
leader have to ensure that your processes support staff through the change and not
support their fears or misgivings.” The educational landscape has changed
significantly in Queensland since the turn of the century with state and federal levels
of government both influencing the education agenda. This politicising of education
has seen more frequent change, and often conflicting reform agendas. Often policies
are ‘rewritten’ as government objectives change or ministers move on (Maguire &
Dillon, 2007; Spillane, 2005). How contemporary school leaders manage change and
interpret shifting agendas while maintaining good-will and commitment with their
staff is critically important (Ball, Maguire, & Braun 2012; Braun, Ball, Maguire, &
Hoskins, 2011; Spillane, Diamond, Burch, Hallett, Jita, & Zoltners, 2002). The
principals in this current study raised the need to effectively manage changing agendas
within the school as important; however they had differing views on how to do this
effectively.
Principal 2 argued that how a principal manages the changing agendas can impact on
the commitment of mid-career teachers: “As principal I need to ensure I filter the
things that we do to ensure alignment to a strategic vision, and that all change is
supported and resourced properly.” This principal stressed that the issue of change
management is of great importance to contemporary school leaders as the role of
educators has changed repeatedly during current teachers work life. Principal 2 noted
that teachers, “Adapt to change differently and for many teachers change is viewed
with a sense of trepidation and negativity”. This participant also believes that the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 219
constant reform agenda “unnerves people. Some people don’t like change!” This
comment reflects research that indicates teachers can become jaded from their
perception of constant change from and making sense of policies where sometimes no
sense is self-evident (Ball, et al., 2012; Spillane, et al., 2002). This is because policies
rarely state exactly what to do and they rarely dictate or determine practice. Policies
cannot simply be implemented, they have to be translated from text to action and put
into practice within each school site (Ball, et al., 2012). The role of interpreting and
managing this change process often falls to the school principal (Riley, 2014a) while
the actual implementation and operationalising of this change often falls to the
teachers, in particular the experienced staff such as mid-career teachers (Maguire,
Braun, & Ball, 2015). Unclear organisational support at schools to support policy
implementation can lead to a decline in teacher commitment (Ball, et al., 2012).
All the participating principals acknowledge the link between ineffectual policy
implementation and declines in teacher work commitment. Their comments indicate
that a common belief that poorly led change processes will have a negative effect on
mid-career teacher work commitment, a point clearly made in school change research.
For example, Principal 3 stated, “When teachers feel nothing will stick and last over
time, the same begins to happen to their commitment.” According to Hargreaves
(2005), managing change is something which takes time to do well and in the words
of Principal 4, is, “One of the most threatening things to teachers.” When
organisational leadership practices are applied well, teachers will feel a sense of
support and direction which can enhance their work commitment (Pillay, Goddard, &
Wilss, 2005). If there is a pattern of ineffective change management, teachers may
experience disillusionment a decline in their work commitment.
220 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Providing leadership opportunities in school is identified as one practice to enhance
work commitment. Lovely’s (2012) study concluded that school leaders should
develop leadership opportunities as early in a teacher’s career as possible. Lovely
(2012) believed this practice serves to motivate and rejuvenate mid-career teachers
work commitment. Principal 3 specifically spoke about the strategy of leveraging the
expertise of mid-career teachers to undertake school based leadership and the resulting
positive impact on their work commitment. This participant believes experienced
teachers often have a lot to offer the school and fellow staff.
Principal 3 outlined, “The leader’s challenge is to keep teachers engaged by…offering
new challenges such as mentoring new teachers.” While teacher mentoring can impact
on experienced teachers’ commitment to their work, another bonus according to
Principal 3 is that the knowledge doesn’t retire with the teacher and is passed on to a
new generation of teachers. Interestingly, this participant’s leadership practice was
very leader centred, with the school leader as the person responsible for keeping
teachers engaged and didn’t state a role the teacher can play in their own commitment
engagement. Additionally this principal placed great importance on the mid-career
teachers’ knowledge and viewed this as a resource to be kept within the system even
if the teacher leaves.
Principal 1 stated that it is vital to ensure mid-career teachers understand any
mentoring role they undertake and are given support for the additional responsibilities
if the role is to have a positive impact on their work commitment. Principal 1 stated,
“If you give a teacher a lead role without a discussion around whether that is what
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 221
they want or not, that can certainly be to the disadvantage of the person’s
commitment.” This quote highlights the importance of a collaborative leadership style,
working with teachers towards a common goal as opposed to imposing tasks on
teachers they may not wish to undertake in a transactional way. While Principal 1 did
not outline what type of support they might provide, it was inferred it would be within
the school principal’s sphere of influence such as additional time-off class to plan and
prepare for their mentoring program as a way of valuing the mid-career teachers’ time
and expertise.
In contrast to the ex-teacher interviews, the interviewed principals believed
organisational leadership practices had a significant impact on mid-career teacher
work commitment and through frequency of response rated this domain the second in
importance. Principal 2 highlighted the importance of organisational leadership
practices stating that to enhance teacher commitment, “I filter the things that we do to
ensure alignment to a strategic vision, that all change is supported and resourced
properly, policies and procedures are in place and everything is organised.” While
the teachers collectively rated this organisational domain fourth in importance out of
the five domains in relation to their work commitment, the principals’ believed that
the way they organised their schools and organised their staff was the second most
important domain in regards to impact on teacher work commitment.
5.3.3 Educational leadership practices
Statements from the principal interviews relating to the domain of educational
leadership accounted for 18% of total codes. This made the educational domain the
third most significant in regard to mid-career teacher work commitment, from the
222 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
perspective of the principals. Educational leadership practices in respect to the
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework primarily are concerned
with leading the curriculum and pedagogy of a school site. This domain takes into
account principal leadership practices around: knowledge of curriculum frameworks,
learning theories, developing systems to lead curriculum requirements and also in
developing curriculum leadership among teachers. Educational leadership practices
assume that the school principal possesses current curriculum knowledge and has the
capacity to develop leadership around curriculum and learning within a school.
Creating roles to lead school curriculum development (as opposed to the school
leadership roles mentioned in the previous section) was identified by all five principals
as an effective way to enhance the teachers’ work commitment. This echoed the beliefs
of Ahmad and Ghavifekr (2017) who stated that leadership for the 21st century should
be inclusive and distributive, and at the same time, promoting leadership capacity
building. Principal 1 highlighted educational leadership practices as providing
opportunities for, “Mid-career teachers to lead and support the school curriculum.”
Principal 1 also described how mid-career teacher commitment is enhanced by,
“Providing opportunities to influence the educational direction of a school” by giving
mid-career teachers an opportunity to “use their expertise and have a say in how the
school is operating.”
The clear assumption here is that by building collaborative and shared curriculum
leadership the mid-career teachers have buy in and ownership over these decisions
(Bush & Glover, 2014), which in turn increases their work commitment. This reflects
the conclusions of Ahmad and Ghavifekr (2017) who summarised that school
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 223
leadership should facilitate learning or leadership for learning not merely student
learning. They argue that it is critical to build an overall school culture that focuses
on the school site as a place for learning for all, albeit not undermining the importance
of the principal in promoting a learning environment.
Principal 2 made similar comments to Principal 1 in regards to leadership of
curriculum and recognising the strengths of mid-career teachers on staff. Principal 2
said, “It is important that as Principal I recognise staff strengths and provide
opportunities for them to influence others, along with opportunities to lead other staff
teams.” While these comments may be seen as delegating responsibility, they are also
about empowering staff by providing the staff ownership of the school direction in
collaboration with the principal.
While Principals 1 and 2 made similar points around the involvement of mid-career
teachers in the curriculum development and direction at their schools, they did this
from quite different perspectives. The choice of language used highlights the different
tones and assumptions emerging between these two principals. Principal 1 ‘used’ mid-
career teacher expertise and stated, "I like to acknowledge them … and use their
expertise.” This suggests that in Principal 1’s leadership construct, teachers are
resources to be utilised and directed in a more traditional, hierarchical form of
leadership (Burns, 1978; Hartog, et al., 2011; Wahyun, et al., 2014). Principal 2
initially outlines a very similar power construct describing how they “allow them those
data cycles” and “allow them to say they are doing alright.” However, later in the
interview, Principal 2 uses the phrase, “provided opportunities” suggesting a more
open and collaborative view of leadership (Bush & Glover, 2014).
224 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Principal 3 and 4 raised the point of making teachers feel valued within curriculum
development and delivery as an important educational leadership practice. Principal 3
stated, “Find out their strengths and utilise them to make them valued contributors to
your school.” Principal 4 felt it was more than just feeling valued, it was about actively
involving teachers and “finding a way to engage them” stating that this may not
necessarily be in a leadership role. Principal 4 recounted the educational leadership
practice of shared decision making around school direction and curriculum decisions
as an important aspect of mid-career teacher work commitment. Principal 4
specifically stated, “I find that having them involved in the decision making makes a
big difference. If they feel like they are involved in decisions around making changes
they are comfortable with it and they support it.” The caution here is to ensure that
the engagement is worthwhile and not just seen as superficial. It is important to not
just get the teachers to feel involved but to be actively engaged and contributing.
In addition to leadership roles, Principal 2 also outlined the educational leadership
practice of professional development as a way of enhancing work commitment.
Principal 2 expressed a belief that the principal must, “enable them to have the
appropriate skill base required for the job to deliver.” Through this comment it is
evident that Principal 2 values learning and growth as part of the role of a teacher.
This ongoing educational support to maintain the mid-career teacher’s commitment is
seen as essential by Principal 2 particularly with the current systemic emphasis on
student outcome data and results (Bloxham, Ehrich, & Iyer, 2015). If class results are
low – which Principal 2 believes can have a demoralising effect on mid-career teachers
– then the school principal should put “in every possible strategy to support the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 225
teacher.” Principal 2 did not specifically outline what specific strategies could be used
to support the teacher, however it could be assumed that this would include
professional development opportunities along with other strategies that might improve
student outcomes such as: reviewing class composition, teacher-aide support during
teaching time, specialist support and teaching resources.
Clearly the principals valued the leadership practices in the educational domain and
consider these as important to mid-career teacher commitment. The principals
identified having the opportunity to lead school based educational programs as having
a positive impact on mid-career teacher work commitment and of greater significance
than their personal leadership as identified by the teachers in their interviews. To the
teachers, the educational domain was the lowest ranked from their perspective ranked
last of the five domains.
5.3.4 Personal leadership practices
The domain of personal leadership practices was the second least mentioned domain
in the principals’ interviews accounting for 13% of coded responses. In contrast, the
ex-teachers in their interviews rated this domain the second most important in regards
to their work commitment. Leadership practices defined within the personal leadership
domain include: acting ethically, showing respect, being inspiring, being trustworthy
and being emotionally ready for leadership. Practices from the personal leadership
domain did not feature prominently in the principals’ responses.
Personal leadership practices were briefly mentioned by all interviewed principals
except Principal 5 but were not discussed at any depth. These comments included
226 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Principal 1 who stated, “I hope to inspire them.” Principal 2 agreed with inspiring
teachers stating, “Leadership is about being inspiring.” Principal 3 mentioned acting
ethically, “You have to spend time each day showing respect. Never deceive the
teachers or play games – act ethically.” While Principal 4 mentioned the importance
of trust and said, “Teachers that do things because they want to do it to help the
principal and (they) trust the principal.”
By these comments the principals identified personal leadership practices, but did not
expand on or justify these brief statements. There appeared a lack of self-reflection
from the principals about their professional conduct and, as mentioned previously, no
apparent drive to seek feedback from staff about their leadership. The principals
appeared to believe that the leadership practices they were implementing were
impacting positively on teacher commitment and there was no evidence of informal or
formal processes of assessing the effectiveness of their leadership practices.
It could be concluded from the interview data that in relation to mid-career work
commitment, these five principals viewed their personal leadership practices did not
having a significant impact on teachers. This is in contrast to the mid-career teacher
interviews described in Chapter 4 which listed the personal domain as the second most
important from their perspective in regards to their work commitment. Even though
personal leadership practices were not mentioned specifically by the principals, some
personal leadership practices could be implied through the elaborations of the
relational leadership practices which were described above and can be closely linked
to personal leadership.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 227
5.3.5 Intellectual leadership practices
The leadership domain of intellectual leadership practices was the least mentioned
theme in the interviews accounting for 3% of principal responses. Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) defines intellectual leadership practices within this
domain as a principal’s ability to: solve problems, create innovative ways to implement
policy, analyse and interpret situations to find solutions, and create a vision. Primarily,
leadership practices in the intellectual domain allow a principal to create and develop
processes to deliver the educational agenda at school allowing for each individual
school’s context. Often these processes are original and require the principal to create
systems where none exist to match specific needs of a specific school at a specific
time.
Intellectual leadership practices were only mentioned once in the principals’
interviews and this was in relation to sharing and articulating the principal’s view of
the school vision. Principal 3 stated that a principal needed a “clearly articulated vision
which could be used to guide decisions and directions and inform how we can deliver
this vision.” These practices can be very positive to a school environment and how this
environment impacts on teacher commitment, however from these current interviews
this domain was only raised once and seen as having little impact on mid-career teacher
work commitment from the principals’ perspectives.
5.4 SUMMARY OF PRINCIPAL INTERVIEWS
Throughout their interviews the school principals drew from their personal experiences
as school leaders to share varying opinions about their leadership practices and mid-
career teachers work commitment. The principals mentioned systemic leadership
228 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
expectations and specific leadership practices based on Education Queensland
programs, as influencing their practices. These programs included, supporting
aspiring leaders (Principals 1 and 2) and providing coaching and mentoring for staff
(Principals 3 and 5), as well as Education Queensland’s Developing Performance
Framework (Principal 1).
All five principals responded to the interview questions from a positive perspective.
That is, they all gave examples of practices they employed which they believed
supports mid-career teacher commitment at their schools. None of the principals
interviewed perceived their leadership practices to have had a negative influence on
teacher commitment, or indicated seeking teacher feedback to determine if their
leadership could be improved or finessed to support teacher commitment.
The interviewed principals stated they did many things to support to mid-career teacher
commitment at their school sites. While they portrayed a common confidence in their
self-reported current leadership practices, there was a shared silence around practices
they felt they could be improved or further developed to support their mid-career
teachers’ work commitment. This apparent lack of reflective and reflexive capabilities
in school principals was reported by Ryan and Bourke (2013) in their study. Ryan and
Bourke (2013) concluded that systems are attempting to shape the teaching profession
through behavioural-heavy standards, with little regard for the attitudinal, emotional
and intellectual dimensions. This point appears to be reinforced by the principals’
interviews and their focus on the relational, organisational and educational domains of
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) which are more behaviour based
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 229
and descriptive than the domains of personal and intellectual leadership which are
based more on emotional intelligence and personal attitudes.
To be effective, school leaders need to be reflective of their own actions and reflexive
to the ever changing and competing agendas demanded of the principal role (Evans,
2011). Evans (2011) argues that enacted professionalism requires reflexive mediation
whereby principals balance their own priorities and beliefs with the school and system
needs. To do this effectively school leaders not only have to be reflective and reflexive,
they also must be able to work within and move about various models of leadership
(Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008). In regards to this current research using
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010), this would be illustrated by
principals working more evenly across all the five domains of leadership and not
demonstrating dominance in a few as reflected in the interviews.
The leadership domains which were prominent in the principal interviews, namely
educational and organisational, could be described as system dominated where the
many policies and procedures are just enacted in the prescribed way. Even the
discussion around relational leadership by the principals was based on engaging
teachers in existing development frameworks as opposed to really engaging at the
personal levels which the teachers expressed they needed. The domains which required
more personal interpretation, analysis, self-reflection and a level of reflexiveness from
the principals to ensure positive delivery i.e. intellectual and personal, were
conspicuously absent from these principal interviews. Yet it is these soft skills (Dixon,
Belnap, Albrecht, & Lee, 2010) that include the ability to communicate, coordinate,
230 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
work under pressure, and solve problems, that school leaders need to be truly
successful.
Predominantly the language choices by the principals interviewed for this study
reflected a hierarchical model of school leadership with its top-down power
relationship that is most often associated with a transactional approach to leadership.
Examples of such language included Principal 1 who stated, “I create opportunities
for them.” Principal 4 stated something similar, “I have found that a way to overcome
their levels of declining enthusiasm is finding a way to engage them.” While Principal
5 said, “I try to give them some professional development around (a role so) that they
can become a key person around this role.”
Additionally, the practices articulated by the principals for improving mid-career
teacher commitment were practices enacted on or for teachers, not developed with
teachers, and appeared to be developed based on systemic programs the principals
identified independently from the teachers. Principal 1 said, “I certainly have looked
at things like using the developing performance framework models, to identify
teachers’ strengths and weaknesses.” This transactional leadership approach framed
the principal as the person and position who knows what is best for the mid-career
teachers underpinned with a belief that the system programs should be used as they
will be of benefit to teachers.
By using models like the developing performance framework to analyse performance,
the principals’ language was reflective of transactional leadership which positions the
greater system processes as the blueprint for leadership practices. For example, the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 231
Principal 1 identified a need or strength of the teacher concerned and then decided
what program will support this need. Another example is Principal 5 who determined
that after 5 or 6 years in the profession, a teacher may be jaded and the principal has
to help “reignite the teacher”. In line with this form of leadership, the interviewed
principals outlined their clear support and compliance with their system’s existing
processes and did not appear to want to change what is in existence or develop new
initiatives at their schools – a true reflection of the accountable generation as described
by Cranston (2002), or their compliance nature as described by Harris (2011) and Nori
(2012).
Over my time as a school leader, the principal role has become highly complex and
increasingly impacted on by changing agendas. Principals today are under immense
pressure to implement constant change and increase student outcomes (Riley, 2014a,
2014b). The increasing pressure on school principals is well documented by Riley
(2014b) in his Australian principal occupational health, safety and wellbeing report.
None of the principals interviewed in this research expressed this pressure or the ever
increasing demands of the role.
During times of change, the principal is the person who must steady the ship when
tension and stresses increase on school sites (Day & Leithwood, 2007). The principal
must manage this change often with a level of resistance from staff. Schools more
than ever are feeling the effects of constant educational reforms, and principals more
than ever are under pressure to both enact these reforms and provide evidence of the
positive impact of the reform (Cranston, 2002; Riley, 2014a). While the principals in
this study did not directly articulate the tensions they are navigating between policy
232 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
and their staff needs, current research would give testament that this is a constant issue
(Gallant & Riley, 2013; Riley, 2014a).
The silence around this issue by the principals in this current research may be more to
do with the questions which were asked or the focus on mid-career teachers rather than
a focus on the escalating demands of principalship. Alternatively this silence could
have been driven by the forum or context of the research and a concern that these
principals do not wish to be seen questioning their employer’s agendas and
requirements. Even beyond their employer, the principals may have felt reluctant to
question the state and federal political agendas or be seen to critique the direction of
registration bodies, such as the Australian Institute for Teachers and School Leaders
and the national framework for school leadership which it developed. As transactional
leaders, all of the principals reflected compliance to the rules and reinforcement of the
existing hierarchy, both key fundamentals to this traditional style of leadership. Why
this might be the case is further discussed in Chapter 7.
The comments from the school principals may also be an insight into how leadership
is valued and measured by their education system. The principals at no time questioned
their system or articulated any reservations about any systemic processes. Initial
answers to interview questions showed a desire to be ‘doing the right thing’ and of
following department rules. Most systems value, promote and encourage people who
align and conform to way of doing business with little acceptance for people who do
not toe the line. It was of no surprise that this alignment with the existing system
processes emerged early in the principals’ answers and showed conformity to system
requirements (Heffernan, 2017).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 233
As the interviews progressed, later answers deviated more and revealed more personal
insights to their beliefs about leadership and how each principal’s own beliefs and
values help them operationalise the system requirements and interpret system
requirements at their own school site (Gallant & Riley, 2013; Riley, 2014a), yet they
still never openly questioned the system. Principal 2 said, “There is so much happening
that we can fall into the trap of a new agenda every week. As principal I need to ensure
I filter the things that we do.” Principal 2 also mentioned helping teachers who are
struggling saying, “Sometimes they drop their ball and I will move heaven and earth
to support them.” But most importantly Principal 2 stated, “You have to model what
you want the school to be like.” These comments indicated that Principal 2 assumed
responsibility for staff commitment and also saw the principal role as influencing the
wellbeing, development and performance of staff.
Gallant and Riley (2013) described this investment in staff as emotional labour and
saw this as an essential requirement to traverse school politics and deliver system
policy within a school context. Examples from the principals which illustrated this
concept included from Principal 4; “I have found that a way to overcome their levels
of declining enthusiasm is finding a way to engage them.” Principal 5 noted, “I try to
give them some professional development around (their strengths and weaknesses).”
It was not questioned by any of the principals that the activation of department policies
is something a principal needs to understand and implement at their school site. Nor
was there any critique evident of current pace of reforms or direction of change.
234 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
As expected in semi-structured interviews, the content of the interviews became more
differentiated and individualised as each of the five principals elaborated on specific
leadership practices they employ at their school site. Each of the principals had a
different perspective of what leadership practices they believed impacted on mid-
career teachers’ commitment and moved beyond a purely transactional approach to
leadership, however their underpinning belief in the power, influence and
responsibility of the principal role remained. The link between the positional power
and different beliefs in what mid-career teachers need for work commitment was
relayed by each principal albeit from different perspectives. It was also clearly evident
that the principals’ perspectives of what mid-career teachers need to enhance their
work commitment, and the actual teachers’ perspectives of what they need, did not
align and had a great deal of discourse in their narratives.
5.5 COMPARISON OF QUALITATIVE INTERVIEWS – TEACHERS AND PRINCIPALS
The data from the qualitative interviews showed limited alignment in perspectives
between the ex-teachers and the school principals. This noted difference was evident
at two distinct levels, firstly on a purely comparative level and secondly on an
implementation level. At a comparative level, each group referred most often to
leadership practices within the relational domain as the most significant practices in
respect to work commitment. While there was agreement by both groups of the
importance of the relational domain, the two groups had very different views on the
impact of the other leadership domains on teacher work commitment.
The teacher group felt that leadership practices within the personal and intellectual
domains were of next significance with the organisational and educational domains
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 235
featuring least frequently in their interviews. Conversely, the principals’ considered
the two leadership domains of personal and intellectual were of the least importance
in regard to the work commitment of mid-career teachers. It is salient to note that the
areas personal and intellectual are also the domains which are less easily measured.
The principals placed greater importance than the teachers on the organisational and
education domains of leadership practices ranking these as the two next in importance
behind the relational domain. The difference in frequency of responses in relation to
each leadership domain from the two sets of interviews at this comparative level is
shown in Table 5.2 and then represented in graph form in Figure 5.2.
Table 5.2 Number of participant responses linked to each leadership domain
Leadership domains Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010)
Principals Ex-teachers
Organisational 8 5 Personal 5 11 Educational 7 1 Relational 17 20 Intellectual 1 6
0
5
10
15
20
25
Organisational Personal Educational Relational Intellectual
Interview Responses
Ex teachers Principals
236 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Figure 5.2 Line graph of interview responses from principals and ex-teachers
At the second implementation level, the interview data highlighted the different
perspectives held by the two participant groups. While both groups agreed at a surface
level that the relational domain had the greatest impact on teacher work commitment,
there was significant differences in the ways the groups discussed the impact of these
practices. From the principal interviews the connection between relational leadership
practices and teachers’ work commitment was presented as a positive correlational,
that is, as one increases the other can increase and vice versa. Additionally, the
principals believed their own on-going leadership practices served to enhance mid-
career teacher commitment. None of the principals mentioned a practice that had
impacted negatively on a teacher’s commitment or needed to be adjusted to ensure
maximum benefit to the teachers.
The former teachers’ perspective aligned with the principals in that the relational
domain had the biggest impact on teacher work commitment. The principals reported
they believed they were performing well as leaders in this area and having a positive
impact. Conversely, the teachers reported that from their experience this domain was
an area of significant concern. Speaking from a deficit perspective, the teachers
identified the leadership practices they considered were missing from their
involvement with school leaders. They focussed primarily on leadership practices they
believed had decreased their own levels of work commitment and contributed to their
decision to leave the teaching profession. While there were some commonalities in
themes between the two groups, the interview data highlights clear tensions between
how leadership practices are perceived and their impact on teacher work commitment.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 237
The contrasting perspectives of the two groups were anticipated by the researcher and
can be explained through the different influencing factors impacting each group. The
interviewed former teachers were individuals who had already left the teaching
profession due to negative experiences or a mismatch between expectations and the
changing realities of the work. Carpenter’s (2015) study into teacher attrition showed
that teachers who left the teaching profession often do so as they feel something was
missing from their ideal of the profession. This absence of ‘something’ led to the
teachers feeling disillusioned and no longer committed to teaching which ultimately
led to them electing to leave teaching (Carpenter, 2015).
The deficit position demonstrated by the teacher group could arguably be attributed to
the fact the interviews were undertaken after the mid-career teachers had already left
teaching. Therefore, the interviews were a retrospective account used to verify the
decisions already made by these individuals. School leaders serve as the mediators
between the requirements of the system and the situated context of the schools where
these policies are lived out. As such, teachers see principals as responsible for
managing the school climate and culture and therefore having a position of power over
work conditions and ultimately the work commitment of teachers (Tschannen-Moran,
2009).
It is reasonable to assume that the participants who attributed their decision to leave
teaching to leadership practices, would position their recount from a deficit
perspective. It would also be logical to conclude that their school principal could be
seen as having a major influence on this decision due to the influence a principal has
238 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
on a school site. Therefore, the teachers’ recount of principal leadership practices
would be positioned from a deficit perspective.
In regards to the principals, as school leaders they were reflecting on their own
practices which could be seen as self-evaluation. Branson’s (2007) study into self-
evaluation of school principals in Queensland concluded that often principal self-
evaluation was not authentic and instead was viewed more positively by the principal
than others in the workplace. As evidenced in their interviews the principals reflected
a very positive evaluation of their own leadership practices and believed their methods
were enhancing their teachers’ work commitment.
The principals’ positive framing of responses to the interview question could be argued
to result from a number of factors that emerged from the construction of the research
and the positional frame of the principals. Firstly, the positive phrasing of the initial
interview question, ‘What have you done to enhance the work commitment of mid-
career teachers?’ served to invite a pro-active, positive answer. This question assumed
that the principals would have done something over their career to positively influence
the commitment of mid-career teachers and may have guided the principals to answer
within this context. The wording of the question framed a positive action answer in
response.
On reflection, in any future interviews this opening question would be rephrased to
provide a neutral statement to mitigate the current, leading positive nature of the
present one. For this study, it is acknowledged that the structure of the initial interview
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 239
question has strongly influenced the data given by the principals inviting a response
aligned to positive action taken in relation to teacher work commitment.
Secondly, the lens the principals may see their world through is based on the
responsibilities, accountabilities and expectations of the role as well as managing a
school (Gallant & Riley, 2013; Riley, 2014a). These agendas and beliefs can change
the way the principals see the role of teachers and leaders and influence the way they
describe their enacted leadership practices. Thirdly, these principals are of an age
where they were appointed to substantive leadership positions without a system of
leadership development or support. There was little mentoring or developing of
leadership skills in this time, therefore developing critical understanding of themselves
as leaders and what it means to be situated leaders was often left to the individual. This
ad-hoc approach to professional learning has resulted in inconsistent understandings
of leadership theory and practice within the broader cohort of principals. It is
reasonable to assume that some of the interviewed principals were drawing mainly on
their own interpretation of effective leadership rather than a research informed
framework when describing their answers.
A final point to explain the differences between the perspectives of the two interview
groups can be drawn from Gardner, Fischer and Hunt’s (2009) research that identified
that often principals and teachers hold conflicting views about leadership. Later
research (Gallant & Riley, 2013) reinforced this view that principals and teachers come
from very different paradigms. The world of school leadership is vastly different from
the world of teachers and tensions often prevail when these two worlds collide (Gallant
& Riley, 2013). Effective leaders need to distinguish between the points of overlap
240 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
and separateness of these two worlds which can be a difficult one to traverse. Each
group, teachers and principals, operate within a multitude of factors unique to their
different roles within the school and the tension between these two cohorts is clearly
evident in these current narratives. The above mentioned points can be used to place
context around the two groups of participants used in this current research.
In summarising the content of their answers, the focus for principals on instructional
leadership, and the practices that sit within these, is reflected in the principals’
comments within the educational and organisational domains. Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) describes the practices in these domains as essential to
providing leadership of curriculum and the leading of the resources, facilities, finances
and staff to deliver the curriculum initiatives. For principals in Education Queensland,
influenced by the pursuit of instructional leadership by the greater system (Masters,
2009), it is of no surprise that these leadership practices are at the forefront of their
thinking.
From a teacher’s perspective these are not the domain of Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) that a principal needs to focus in to improve teacher
work commitment. Teachers want principals to focus their practice within the
relational and personal domains. These domains describe the internal beliefs and
actions of a principal and encompass how they act under pressure and well and the
daily actions and interactions with all members of the school community but
particularly the staff. Above all else, the teachers outline they want a principal who
was approachable, honest, treated them and respected them as individuals and had the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 241
time and social skills to include daily professional courtesy and interactions amongst
their leadership practices.
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) was the selected framework used
to map and understand the interview transcripts from both qualitative study groups. It
was chosen as it was the embedded leadership framework used by Education
Queensland when these interviews were undertaken and also was the primary
leadership framework in place when each of the principals interviewed received their
latest promotion. This framework identifies five separate domains of leadership. It
was used as an analytical tool to classify the statements and themes from the interview
data. Additional to this, the frequency data assisted in determining and comparing the
various impacts that each domain had on mid-career teacher work commitment from
the perspectives of the two groups.
A point to note is that during the time this research was undertaken using the
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework, the national AITSL
(Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership) Professional Standards for
Principals was finalised and released. As noted in Chapter 1, this national framework
also breaks down school leadership into five domains which although not identified
using the same terminology as Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) does
have strong alignment with the descriptors and content of practice under these
domains. This alignment of domains between the two frameworks means that the
results of these current qualitative interviews would remain consistent if the AITSL
Professional Standards for Principals was used in place, or in conjunction with
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). Therefore the results and
242 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
conclusions described in this research are not just limited to the Queensland context,
but can be applied to national and international contexts as well.
5.6 CHAPTER SUMMARY
The findings from the two sets of qualitative interviews described in this chapter and
Chapter 4 were used to help refine and finalise the survey instrument used in the second
phase of this study outlined in Chapter 6. The finalised survey instrument was
administered to current mid-career teachers across several school sites to help
determine a broad view of mid-career teachers’ opinions. Chapter 6 examines the data
concerned with the quantitative survey findings, the findings conclusions which can
be drawn and then compares the survey data with the qualitative data in this chapter
and Chapter 4. This comparison of all data sets ascertained trends of perspective and,
through a comparative analysis, summarised the impact specific principal leadership
practices had on mid-career teacher work commitment.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 243
Chapter 6: Data findings - Quantitative survey: Mid-career teachers
6.1 CHAPTER PREVIEW
This chapter is concerned with the second, quantitative phase of this research into mid-
career teacher work commitment. In describing the quantitative research findings, this
chapter discusses and outlines the results of a survey instrument (Appendix B)
undertaken by current mid-career teachers (n=142). Section 6.2 outlines the
demographics of the survey participants while Section 6.3 describes the survey
instrument. Section 6.4 gives a summary of the initial short answer section of the
survey instrument. Section 6.5 provides the survey results and Section 6.6 gives a
discussion of the survey data in relation to the five identified leadership domains of
Education Queensland’s leadership framework Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010). Section 6.7 discusses the findings from the selection of the top five
survey items by each respondent. A summary of the quantitative data is provided in
Section 6.8, before a comparative discussion of all data, both quantitative and
qualitative is provided in Section 6.9. A chapter summary is provided in Section 6.10.
6.2 DEMOGRAPHICS OF SURVEY PARTICIPANTS
Current serving mid-career teachers were sought to complete the survey to help
determine their perspectives on principal leadership practices and their work
commitment. Mid-career teachers from large size primary schools in metropolitan
Brisbane were approached with an ‘opt in’ invitation to complete the survey (see
Chapter 3). The survey participant group (n = 142) consisted of a large percentage of
female respondents. This gender make-up is consistent with the general population of
244 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
primary school teachers in Queensland which is female dominated. Of the 142 survey
participants, 84.5% identified as female and 14.8% identified as male. This ratio is
indicative of state primary schools in Queensland where males make up 16% of the
teaching workforce (Queensland College of Teachers, 2014). One participant did not
disclose gender.
The average teaching career of the survey participants was 16.4 years placing the group
within the mid-career teacher category. The ages of the survey participants varied,
however the majority considered themselves between 35 and 45 years or older. Of the
participants, 3.5% indicated that they were less than 25 years of age, 26.1%
participants indicated an age of 25 to 35 years, 36.6% participants indicated an age of
35 to 45 years, and 33.8% participants indicated that they were older than 45 years.
In relation to their highest education level of the survey participants, 7.7% indicated a
Diploma, 64.1% indicated a Bachelor degree, 16.9% indicated they had completed
post graduate study, 9.2% indicated a Masters degree and 0.7% indicated they had
completed a Doctorate degree. Two participants did not disclose their highest level of
education. The high frequency of respondents with a Bachelor’s degree is again
consistent with the greater population of teachers in Queensland. Since 1991, all
teachers graduating from teaching degrees in Queensland are awarded a Bachelor’s
degree. Any new teachers seeking to be registered by the Queensland College of
Teachers to be eligible to teach in Queensland schools must have a Bachelor’s degree
or higher. Given the average teaching range and length of service, the majority of
current mid-career teachers in Queensland would be Bachelor qualified at the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 245
commencement of their teaching career. The demographics of the survey participant
group are displayed below in Table 6.1.
Table 6.1 Demographics of survey participants
Number of participants = 142
Gender Av years teaching
Age Qualifications
Female
Male
Non-disclosed
120
21
1
16.4 years < 25yrs
25 –35yrs
35 – 45yrs
>45yrs
5
37
52
48
Diploma
Bachelor
Post Grad
Masters
Doctorate
Non-disclosed
11
91
24
13
1
2
6.3 SURVEY INSTRUMENT
The survey (Appendix B) was constructed so that all the survey items could be viewed
by the participants as being of importance to their work commitment. This prediction
resulted in a high percentage of positive returns to the surveys with uniform agreeance
to the importance of each statement, making it harder to clearly separate statements
from each other. To overcome the anticipated positive responses, two additional steps
were included in the survey to gain a deeper understanding of mid-career teachers
thinking into which specific leadership practices impact most on their work
commitment.
The first step was an initial short answer section with an open ended question which
asked participants to list the leadership practices a principal could enact to improve
their work commitment. By doing this the respondents could list their initial thoughts
about leadership practices and their work commitment without being constraint to the
practices listed on the survey instrument. Once the survey was completed, as a second
step to gain additional insights, the participants were asked to identify their top five
246 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
statements – even if they thought positively about all statements - from the 30 listed
survey items, highlighting the five they believed impacted most on their job
commitment. In this way the participants isolated the five most important leadership
practices from their perspective and a greater distinction between the survey items was
identified to assist in the analysis process.
6.4 SHORT ANSWER QUESTION RESPONSES
Of the 142 completed surveys (Appendix B), 86 participants completed the initial short
answer question giving their unrestricted view on the leadership practices they felt
impacted most significantly on their work commitment. The question simply stated,
‘What leadership practices could a school principal enact to help improve your work
commitment?’ The question was designed with a positive lead to encourage teachers
to note what a principal could do to improve their work commitment even if these
practices were not evident at their work site. The question was also designed to reflect
school principal leadership in general and not be related to a specific person or existing
school site.
The answers to this open ended question varied from short, one word answers focussed
on one specific area of leadership to paragraph answers which encompassed many
separate ideas. As per the interview data, answers were coded based on the theme of
the response with each individual theme treated as a separate idea (Creswell, 2012).
These themes were then coded under the five domains of leadership identified in the
Leadership Matters framework (Education Queensland, 2010).
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 247
From the 86 responses received, 124 codes were assigned, that were then grouped into
the five leadership domains. The groupings of the codes under each leadership domain,
from the short answer responses are recorded below numerically in Table 6.2 and as a
percentage in graph form in Figure 6.1.
Table 6.2 Classification of survey short-answer responses in relation to Leadership Matters (2010)
EQ Leadership Matters leadership domains Response Frequency Organisational 22 Personal 31 Educational 7 Relational 58 Intellectual 6
Figure 6.1 Comparative frequency of coded leadership practices as identified from short answer
responses.
Relational 46%
Organisational 18%
Educational6%
Personal25%
Intellectual5%
Percentage
248 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
6.4.1 Emerging theme from short answer responses
Similar to the interview data, the coding of the short answer questions uncovered
themes which could be classified under more than one of the leadership domains, and
other themes that did not fit under any of the existing categories. This is a common
dilemma for qualitative coding when using an existing framework to organise the
coding protocol (Bryman, 2017; Lewis, 2015; Maxwell, 2012). As previously
explained, a theme could be placed under more than one domain if this was deemed
appropriate. If no appropriate domain could be assigned, the theme was listed as
emerging. Again, it is important to note that the intent of this research was not to create
a new leadership framework with additional leadership categories. Therefore, it was
not seen as relevant or necessary to this current research to create new leadership
domains to account for the emerging themes; this could be the work for future studies
into Queensland school leadership.
One theme that emerged from the short answer responses was around student
behaviour management. This theme was identified 16 times in the short answer
responses. It was a theme difficult to classify as the Leadership Matters document
(Education Queensland, 2010) does not make specific reference to student classroom
behaviours. As described above, the final coding for this theme therefore was based
on the context of the respondent’s answer, a process supported in qualitative research
coding by Bryman (2017), Lewis (2015) and Maxwell (2012).
If the statement was situated around school processes and having clear procedures
and plans for student misbehaviour it was coded as an organisational theme. If,
however the answer’s focus was on the principal’s support of the individual teacher
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 249
and understanding of their issues it was coded as relational. Finally if the response
centred on the principal’s enactment and following the existing policy, it was coded
under the personal domain. Two responses had no further elaboration and were not
coded as the context could not be determined and were treated as an additional
emerging theme.
The focus on student misbehaviour was not surprising as it is a growing issue faced
by teachers around the world. A study by Losen, Hodson, Keith, Michael, Morrison
and Belway (2015) in American schools in the 2011-12 school year examined data
on out of school suspension rates in every school district in the country and found
that nearly 3.5 million public school students were suspended from school at least
once. On average more than 10% of all primary school students enrolled were
suspended in the year of this study (Losen, et al., 2015). This study did not take into
account the misbehaviour of students that did not reach the suspension threshold.
What these figures revealed, is the increasing rates of student misbehaviour and the
impact this can have on teacher’s daily work and subsequently their work
commitment.
Aloe, Shisler, Norris, Nickerson and Rinker (2014) conducted a multivariate meta-
analysis to explore the relationship between student misbehaviour and teacher
burnout. A total of 21 independent samples were included in the analysis. The results
indicated that students’ misbehaviour related significantly with the three dimension
of teacher burnout and was a real problem for many teachers. It is not surprising that
student misbehaviour featured so prominently in these current survey items, and even
though student discipline is not explicitly mentioned in the Leadership Matters
250 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
(Education Queensland, 2010) framework, it is something principals need to address
through their leadership practices to assist teacher work commitment (Aloe, et al.,
2014),
6.4.2 Impact of leadership practices from the mid-career teacher short answer responses
From the short answer data it was determined through the frequency of responses
that the relational domain of leadership described in Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010) had the greatest impact on mid-career teacher work commitment
from the teachers’ perspectives. Nearly one half (46%) of all coded themes were
classified in this area. Specific practices within this area included principals
demonstrating personable skills, being approachable, having open, honest and
consistent interactions with all staff, valuing teachers and being a good listener and
communicator.
A principal’s personal leadership practices were rated second most important in the
short answer responses accounting for 25% or coded themes. In particular a
principal’s honesty, trust, emotional maturity, ability to remain composed and to set
high standards and act as a professional role model for staff were mentioned as
practices that would improve a teacher’s work commitment. These responses aligned
well with the research of a leader’s soft skills and the impact they have on fellow
workers (Dixon, Belnap, Albrecht, & Lee, 2010).
Organisational leadership practices were rated third most important on impacting
teacher’s work commitment providing 18% of coded themes. The practices
mentioned not only covered the processes and policies within the school and the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 251
adherence to these in particular in respect to student behaviour management
strategies, but also included receiving feedback from the school principal on work
performance and having a say in which professional development teachers could
attend. The educational and intellectual domains did not feature prominently in the
short answer responses accounting for 6% and 5% of responses respectively.
By coding the frequency of responses from the short answer survey question under
the five identified leadership domains, it was possible to rate the importance of each
domain and make comparisons between them. The mid-career teacher short answer
responses clearly showed that the relational leadership practices of their school
principal had the most impact on their work commitment, followed by the personal.
These results align with the teacher qualitative interview data of phase one which
also identified relational and then personal leadership as the two most significant
domains in relation to mid-career teacher work commitment.
6.5 SURVEY DATA
The survey instrument (Appendix B) tested a correlation between principals’
leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment. The survey
(Appendix B) consisted of 30 statements which were answered on a Likert scale of
1-5 corresponding with Very Unimportant to Very Important to determine how
important each teacher rated each statement in comparison to their job commitment.
The results of the survey were grouped under each of the leadership domains, and are
displayed in Tables 6.3 to 6.7. These tables show the number of respondents who felt
the statement was “Important” or “Very Important” in relation to their job
commitment, the average response for each statement and the percentage of teachers
252 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
who listed each statement as one of the top five leadership practices that relate to
their work commitment. The 30 statements are shown aligned to the five leadership
domains described in Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) in
Appendix D.
6.6 SURVEY RESPONSES AND THE IMPACT OF THE DOMAINS OF LEADERSHIPS PRACTICE
The relational leadership domain proved statistically to be the domain of most
significance to mid-career work commitment according to the survey data. Of the 30
survey items, seven were coded as being descriptors of relational leadership practices
(Appendix D) within the Leadership Matters framework (Education Queensland,
2010). Table 6.3 shows 94.3% or more of participants considered the survey items
within the relational leadership domain as important or very important with a small
standard deviation range (SD=0.30 – 0.63). Having interpersonal skills and showing
respect for staff were considered leadership practices in the top 5 by 46.8% and
44.6% of participants respectively (Table 6.3).
Table 6.3 Descriptive Statistics of “Relational”
Item and descriptor %* Mean SD Top 5 %** 1. Having interpersonal skills 99.3 4.82 0.40 46.8 8. Valuing individual staff members 97.2 4.80 0.46 23.7 11. Approachable to staff 99.3 4.87 0.36 30.9 17. Consistent interactions with staff 99.3 4.72 0.50 33.0 19. Building relationships with staff 100 4.69 0.46 10.0 27. Respect for staff 100 4.90 0.30 44.6 29. Supportive of personal/family needs 94.3 4.49 0.63 15.1 *% = percentage of participants who considered the statement important or very important **% = percentage of participants who nominated the particular item as one of their Top 5
The importance the mid-career teacher participants placed on their principals’
interpersonal skills and the principals’ interaction with school staff was evident in the
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 253
survey data and aligned neatly with other studies into teacher work commitment (such
as Meyer, Stanley, & Parfyonova, 2012) who also highlighted the importance of school
principal interpersonal skills and positive staff interactions as vital in building a
positive school culture.
There was 100% agreement by participants for principals “building relationships with
staff” and having “respect for staff” (Table 6.3). Respect for people appears central to
relationship building (Hudson, 2016) and respect can manifest itself in the way a
principal values and approaches staff. It may also manifest itself in how the principal
builds relations with staff through consistent interactions and being supportive of the
personal and family needs of teachers. Respect is associated with the principal’s
interpersonal skills and may be linked to affective commitment (Meyer, et al., 2012)
or emotional commitment establishing a sense of pride and loyalty in the organisation
(e.g., John & Taylor, 2014). In relation to teacher retention, Brown’s (2014) study
highlights how teachers consider it important that the principal “treats us with respect
as professionals” (p. 74). Thus, according to participants, there appears a strong
possibility that a principal’s relational domain may have influence on a teacher’s work
commitment.
While overall there was high consistency in the importance of the items linked to
relational leadership practices, and through frequency of responses and percentage of
participants nominating relational items in their top five it can been seen to be the most
significant domain in relational to work commitment, it should be noted that there was
a significant difference in the opinions by gender in the survey. In five of the seven
items there was a clear statistical difference between the opinion of the male (n=21)
254 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
and female (n=121) respondents (7% of males rated these items as not important or
very important as opposed to 1% of females). The female respondents consistently
rated the relational items much higher than their male colleagues indicating that these
practices are of much more significance to them than to the male mid-career teachers.
Considering that primary teaching in Queensland is a female dominated profession,
the perspectives of the female participants and the importance of relational leadership
practices of principals on their work commitment, should weigh heavily on any
conclusions drawn from this current study.
Tables 6.4 and 6.5 relate to the educational and intellectual leadership domains. These
domains indicate high percentages of importance and a low standard deviation range
across all items. However, unlike relational leadership (Table 6.3), the highest
percentage of participants indicating a top 5 for these two domains were Item 24
(creating a commitment to learning, Table 6.4) at 20.9% and Item 3 (displaying
intellectual capacity of the role, Table 6.5) with 18.7%. Indeed, there were more than
90% who did not consider “leading curriculum requirements”, “having curriculum
knowledge”, “having pedagogical knowledge” “managing priorities” and “generating
solutions to problems” in their Top 5 on leadership practices that may impact on mid-
career teachers’ work commitment.
This data raises implications about the current focus on instructional leadership in
Education Queensland schools (Masters, 2009) as this focus does not match what
teachers indicate they need for their work commitment. From the teachers’
perspectives, the leadership practices associated with instructional leadership, many of
which would fall in the educational leadership domain, did not rate as important as
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 255
practices within the relational and personal domains in their responses in relation to
their work commitment.
Table 6.4 Descriptive Statistics of “Educational”
Item and descriptor %* Mean SD Top 5 %** 2. Possessing educational knowledge 98.6 4.71 0.48 12.0 6. Leading curriculum requirements 96.5 4.33 0.54 3.6 13. Having curriculum knowledge 96.5 4.39 0.61 7.2 15. Having pedagogical knowledge 97.2 4.44 0.58 7.9 24. Creating a culture committed to Learning 98.6 4.63 0.54 20.9 *% = percentage of participants who considered the statement important or very important **% = percentage of participants who nominated the particular item as one of their top 5
Table 6.5 Descriptive Statistics of “Intellectual”
Item and descriptor %* Mean SD Top 5 %** 3. Intellectual capacity for role 99.3 4.68 0.48 18.7 22. Articulating a school vision 94.3 4.49 0.65 10.8 23. Managing priorities 96.5 4.55 0.57 6.5 25. Generating solutions to problems 97.2 4.58 0.55 7.9 *% = percentage of participants who considered the statement important or very important **% = percentage of participants who nominated the particular item as one of their Top 5
While over 90% of participants rated the items in the educational and intellectual
domains as important or very important, the mean percentage of the total items in each
domain was statistically less than those in the relational domain. By using the mean
percentage of the items in each domain as a way of comparing the significance of each
from the teachers’ perspectives, the educational domain rated third most frequent, and
the intellectual fourth in relation to work commitment from the five leadership
domains (Figure 6.2).
Additionally greater than 80% of survey participants did not consider any of the items
in the Intellectual domain in their top 5 leadership practices that may impact on their
work commitment (Table 6.5), raising implications for transformational leadership
256 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
models. Transformational leadership employs practices within the intellectual domain
to model ideals transform teachers into leaders (McCarley, Peters, & Decman, 2016).
If this domain did not rate highly on the mid-career teachers’ surveys, it could be
concluded that transformational leadership does not have a significant impact on
teacher work commitment from the teachers’ perspectives. In regards to the
educational domain, greater than 80% of survey participants did not consider four of
the five items in their top 5 leadership practices. The single item that did rate above
20% of consideration in the educational domain was “creating an environment
committed to learning” and yet this was only nominated by 21% of the participants
(Table 6.4).
Again a gender distinction can be made between participants when analysing the
responses to items within these two leadership domains. Within the educational
leadership domain, male participants considered the principals’ “having curriculum
knowledge” and “having pedagogical knowledge” as more significant to their work
commitment than their female colleagues (95% of male respondents compared to 90%
of females). While within the intellectual domain it was seen that a principal’s ability
in “articulating a school vision” was seen by females (98%) to be statistically of greater
importance to their work commitment than it was to males (94%).
Data associated with the domains of organisational (Table 6.6) and personal (Table
6.7) indicated high percentages of importance and a low standard deviation range
across all items. Organisational leadership practices, however, proved to be of lesser
importance in respect to work commitment than practices from the personal leadership
domain. Within the organisational domain the highest percentage of participants
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 257
indicating a top 5 for each item was 21.6% for Item 28 (“providing support for your
classroom work”), (Table 6.6). However, there were three items within the personal
domain which more than a third of participants highlighted as leadership practices that
may impact on a mid-career teachers’ work commitment. “Acting in an ethical
manner”, “being trustworthy”, and “valuing staff views” were considered as a priority
by more than 33% of participants (Table 6.7) making personal leadership items second
only to relational leadership items in regards to the participants’ top 5. Personal
leadership was the only other domain where items received 100% agreement by
participants about their importance to work commitment. “Acting in an ethical
manner” and “being trustworthy” were practices rated as important or very important
by all survey participants (Table 6.7).
Table 6.6 Descriptive Statistics of “Organisational”
Item and descriptor %* Mean SD Top 5 %** 4. Managing resources effectively 95.8 4.46 0.58 4.3 7. Applying mandatory policies 95.1 4.40 0.61 1.4 9. Adhering to mandatory legislation 92.9 4.46 0.65 5.8 18. Creating partnerships 90.1 4.37 0.70 7.9 21. Shared leadership with staff 86.6 4.28 0.83 10.8 26. Built relationships between staff 91.6 4.40 0.66 5.8 28. Support for your classroom work 97.9 4.68 0.51 21.6 *% = percentage of participants who considered the statement important or very important **% = percentage of participants who nominated the particular item as one of their Top 5
Table 6.7 Descriptive Statistics of “Personal”
Item and descriptor %* Mean SD Top 5 %** 5. Acting in an ethical manner 100 4.86 0.35 38.1 10. Being trustworthy 100 4.89 0.32 33.1 12. Composed in challenging situations 97.2 4.63 0.57 9.4 14. Being emotionally mature 95.1 4.62 0.58 13.7 16. Resilience in work practices 95.8 4.55 0.58 1.4 20. Inspiring towards staff 97.9 4.53 0.54 6.5 30. Valuing staff views 99.3 4.76 0.52 41.7 *% = percentage of participants who considered the statement important or very important **% = percentage of participants who nominated the particular item as one of their Top 5
258 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
The only item in the survey to receive a very unimportant rating was item 21 “shared
leadership with staff” which falls within the organisational domain. Item 21 was also
the survey item with the lowest percentage of participants who rated it as important or
very important. When analysing the mean frequency of important or very important
for each leadership domain, organisational items were rated fifth by participants while
the personal domain was second behind relational leadership (Figure 6.2).
Figure 6.2 Bar graph of mean % of frequency for ‘very important’ and ‘important’ responses of mid-
career teachers for each leadership domain.
Within the personal leadership domain, once again there was distinct difference in the
survey data based on gender. Similar to the relational domain, female respondents
consistently rated items in the personal leadership domain of significantly greater
importance than their male colleagues (98% of females compared to 94% of male
respondents). The female respondents noted five of the seven items in the personal
leadership domain (items 12, 14, 16, 20 and 30) as statistically of greater importance
90
91
92
93
94
95
96
97
98
99
Relational Educational Intellectual Organisational Personal
Series 1
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 259
in relation to work commitment than their male counterparts. While both genders
recognised the importance of the relational and personal domains in regards to their
work commitment, specific practices within each of these domains appeared to be of
greater importance to females compared to males.
Although this current research did not seek to explore gendered views of leadership,
the gender patterns evident in the data raise policy implications and questions that may
be investigated in future research. This gender difference has been explored in the
literature most notably by Balliet, Macfarlan and Van Vugt (2011) and Nichols (2016).
Both of these research studies found a gender difference in relation to leadership and
of significance to the current study, identified that there was a clear difference between
the genders in regards to preferred leadership practices exhibited by principals.
6.6.1 Summary of survey data
From the survey data it was evident that the personal and relational leadership domains
emerged as the two most significant domains in relation the mid-career teacher work
commitment from the perspective of mid-career teachers. Once again these results
mirror the findings from the qualitative teacher interviews and the short answer section
of the survey. Across these three data collections discussed so far, mid-career teachers
identified relational leadership practices, closely followed by personal leadership
practices of their school principal as having the greatest impact on their work
commitment.
The link and interconnectedness between the relational and personal domains and the
importance of these to work commitment is of no surprise. Previous studies into
260 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
schools and work relationships highlight the importance of positive interactions and
supportive work environments on work commitment. Schools are environments with
many interactive relationships, eliciting positive and negative emotions from teachers.
Positive emotions may also be aligned with teacher commitment. For example, one
study (Jo, 2014) that used structural equation modelling to determine correlations
between latent variables (e.g. factors) involving 448 elementary and middle school
teachers, found that “higher levels of positive emotions were linked to higher levels of
teacher commitment” (p. 127). The school principal is influential in school settings,
particularly in the relationship development with and between staff. Studies (e.g., see
Lee & Nie, 2014) have shown that “employees’ psychological empowerment mediated
the relationship between leaders’ empowering behaviours and employees’ work
outcomes such as job satisfaction, organisational commitment” (p. 71).
Hargreaves (2001) suggests leaders aiming to build positive staff relationships should
adopt strategies that demonstrate appreciation, acknowledgment, and personal support.
Such recommendations align heavily with relational and personal leadership domains
described in this current study. Although it is argued that teachers’ work commitment
should be “the collective responsibility of people involved with schools” (Jo, 2014, p.
128), it can be argued that the principal as the leader of each school site has
considerable influence in influencing work commitment through positive leadership
practices (e.g., relational and personal leadership domains).
At the time of publication, there was no other research investigating principal
leadership and teachers’ work commitment using the Leadership Matters (Education
Queensland, 2010) framework. Other studies had confirmed that a principal’s
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 261
leadership does impact the level of work commitment for teachers (e.g., Devos,
Tuytens, & Hulpia, 2013). Similar to the current study, Devos, et al. (2013) indicated
that the principal was pivotal to teachers’ work commitment when creating an
environment of co-operation and cohesion. Relational and personal domains within
the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework may be associated
with affective commitment (Meyer, et al., 2012). More research is needed to
understand the relationship between principals’ relational and personal domains with
emotional and affective commitment.
6.7 TOP FIVE SELECTED LEADERSHIP PRACTICES FROM SURVEY INSTRUMENT
To gain a deeper understanding of the respondents’ thoughts about principal leadership
practices, a final step in the survey instrument (Appendix B) was instigated. The mid-
career teachers were asked to isolate and select the top five statements, out of the 30
survey items, which they believed impacted most on their work commitment. This
process helped to distinguish from the general positive rating anticipated of all survey
items by specifically isolating the five practices which were the most important to each
participant.
The results of the respondents’ top five survey items were then coded against the
leadership categories as outlined in Appendix D and a total percentage of responses
calculated for each category (Figure 6.3). The outcomes and conclusions of this
analysis supported the conclusions of the previous three data sets – teacher interviews,
short answer responses and survey items. The relational leadership practices of school
principals were highlighted as the category which contained the most responses
(29.2%) by the mid-career teachers when they had to pick their top five statements
262 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
from the survey. This was followed by the personal domain which had the second most
responses (20.6%), again reflecting data from the short answers, surveys and
interviews. Intellectual (11%) and educational (10.4%) were rated next in order and
significantly below the top to categories, while organisational leadership practices
were seen as the area having the least impact on mid-career work commitment (8.2%).
Figure 6.3 Bar graph of % of top five responses in each leadership category.
It is salient to note that each of the 30 survey items was nominated at least once as a
top five item by the participants. This indicates that from the perspective of the
participants, all of the 30 leadership practices have an impact on mid-career teacher
commitment. While none of the survey items received a null nomination of
importance, specific survey items were perceived as having greater importance in
regard to work commitment.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Relational Educational Intellectual Organsiational Personal
series 1
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 263
By coding the frequency of responses to the top five items under the leadership
domains of Leadership Matters (Educations Queensland, 2010) it was possible to rate
the importance of each domain and make comparisons between them from the
perspective of the mid-career teachers who undertook the survey. The mid-career
teacher responses clearly showed that the relational leadership practices had the most
impact on their work commitment. The top seven items (and items with >30%
identification rate) identified by the mid-career teachers when asked to identify their
top five statements of practice were all located in the relational or personal leadership
domains (Appendix D). These results are displayed below in Table 6.8.
Table 6.8 Top 7 leadership practices identified by mid-career teachers as of most importance to their
work commitment.
Having interpersonal skills (Relational) 46.8%* Showing respect for staff (Relational) 44.6% Valuing staff views (Personal) 41.7% Acting in an ethical manner (Personal) 38% Having consistent interactions with all staff (Relational) 33% Being trustworthy (Personal) 33% Being approachable to staff (Relational) 31%
*= % of respondents who nominated statement as one of their top five
6.8 QUANTITATIVE DATA SUMMARY
This quantitative survey investigated 142 Queensland, mid-career primary teachers’
perspectives on leadership practices that impact on their work commitment. Teachers
currently working in school sites and working within the leadership practices of their
principal were considered as well placed to comment on the importance and
significance of these practices. The 142 survey participants rated 30 survey items in
relation to their work commitment, giving a total of 4260 responses. Of these total
responses only 0.02% fell in the very unimportant category with a further 0.3% in the
264 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
unimportant category in relation to their work commitment. Overall there was a strong,
positive correlation between the survey items and their importance to teacher work
commitment. Several of the respondents indicated a neutral or uncommitted opinion
of various statements by indicating that the statement was neither important nor
unimportant to their work commitment. It should also be noted that 15% respondents
rated all 30 items as exclusively very important on their survey.
The survey instrument was proven to be internally consistent and reliable (see
Eigenvalues and Cronbach alpha scores, Table 3.4) linking leadership practices,
according to the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework, and
the associated impact on mid-career teachers’ work commitment. Using the
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework as a tool to order and
interpret the quantitative survey responses, it found that a school principal’s practices
from the relational and personal leadership domains had the most impact on teachers’
work commitment. While the other three leadership domains were rated as important
to teacher commitment, the survey participants rated them of less importance in
comparison to the relational and personal leadership practices.
The leadership approach and methods adopted by the principal will influence the
commitment levels of teachers on staff. While Sun (2004) argued that this is
dependent on how teachers perceive a principal’s values and commitment to the
school, the quantitative data from this study highlights the critical importance of a
principal’s commitment to interpersonal relations. In practice, a principal needs to
adopt practices form the personal and relational domains in order to build a shared
sense of values and commitment within the staff they are leading.
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 265
An empirical study involving 227 full-time teachers from 20 Filipino schools found
“significant relationships between the three major constructs: the principals’
leadership style, organisational climate, and the organisational commitment” (John &
Taylor, 2014, p. 49). As such, it is the principal’s leadership that facilitates teachers’
“social and professional engagement in school life” (John & Taylor, 2014, p. 49).
These findings are reflected in other studies (Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb,
& Wyckof, 2011; Griffith, 2004; Leithwood, Harris, & Hopkins, 2008) that
highlighted the principal’s role as pivotal to teacher job satisfaction and work
commitment.
Findings from a large quantitative study involving 1,522 teachers in Belgium, indicate
that teacher commitment is “mainly related to quality of the supportive leadership”
(Hulpia, Devos, & Van Keer, 2011, p. 728). A more recent quantitative survey of 270
US teachers found that a teacher’s perceptions of “their principal’s leadership practices
were a significant predictor of their self-reported job satisfaction” (Barlow, 2015, p.
112). Part of the findings also included subscales around the principal inspiring
through a shared vision, enabling others to act, and modelling the way forward. These
leadership practices from Barlow’s (2015) findings highlight the critical nature of the
intellectual, organisational and personal domains of leadership in direct contrast to the
findings being reported in this current research which has identified the relational and
personal leadership domains as the most significant in relation to influencing teacher
work commitment.
266 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
It is advocated strongly that principals need to be influential with teachers to stimulate
change and innovation, which may lead to greater job satisfaction and work
commitment (Eliophotou Menon, 2014). Researchers have attempted to pinpoint
leadership practices that may facilitate effective work practices and commitment
within organisations and despite findings indicating extrinsic factors that impact on
job satisfaction such as salaries and school holidays, there is also a significant link to
principals’ leadership (Eliophotou Menon, 2014).
The data from this survey instrument could be used in two ways to help increase
teacher commitment and ultimately teacher retention. The survey instrument can be
used as a reflective tool for principals interested in developing their potential as leaders
within the Leaders Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework. This can be
done by using the survey as an anonymous, evaluative tool to determine staff views on
their leadership practices in relation to teacher work commitment. This would assist in
identifying which leadership domain is perceived by their staff to be most dominant.
This feedback would give leaders the opportunity to adapt their ongoing practice in
response to staff data, and indicate if they need to incorporate more leadership
practices around the relational and personal domains. The leadership practices
identified in the survey may also be used as a foundation for developing professional
learning programs that assist principals to become aware of their practices and how
such practices may impact on teachers’ work commitment.
This reflective component of leadership and is something not highlighted explicitly in
the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework, yet is something
current researchers are espousing as valuable in leadership development. Hattie (2011)
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 267
highlights in his meta-study the importance of feedback as an essential tool to self-
improvement. While Hattie’s (2011) research primarily focussed on student
development and improvement it can be argued that the same principles would apply
to school leaders. Additional studies (Hattie & Timperley, 2007; Timperley, 2011)
explicitly discuss the relationship between teacher and school leader improvement and
ongoing processes of reflection and self-evaluation. Using the survey as a feedback
tool could move beyond the school or individual principal level, with departments of
education or school jurisdictions using the survey instrument as a resource to build
leadership capacity with knowledge of practices that can facilitate effective work
environments.
On a second level the survey instrument could be used to help inform principal
selection and training. It could serve as a diagnostic tool that identifies aspects of an
individual’s relational and personal leadership skill set that needs further development,
and also serve a method of measuring developmental growth in these areas over time.
It is often claimed by principals that formal leadership training is not something
provided at university in initial teacher preparation courses where the focus is teacher
training.
In Australia further university learning for leaders such as in a Masters of Education
is not a requirement for promotion. If an individual chooses to undertake post graduate
study, the individual pays for the course which is conducted in their own time, with
little support from the employment system to provide study leave (Marsden, 2017). As
teachers are promoted and placed in positions of different responsibilities and
leadership within a system, it seems logical that specialised support and training is
268 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
given to support their school leadership. Furthermore if through research we can
uncover the specific leadership practices which can increase teacher work
commitment, we should use this information to promote and educate leaders in the
leadership practices which will enhance the staffing capacity of the educational
organisation.
6.9 SUMMARY OF QUANTITATIVE AND QUALITATIVE DATA
This study used two data collection processes to investigate the relationship between
principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment; qualitative
interviews and quantitative surveys. This relationship was investigated from the
perspective of current school principals and ex mid-career teachers through an
interview process as well as current mid-career teachers through a survey instrument.
In addition to investigating the relationship between leadership practices and work
commitment, this study also sought to evaluate the significance of the five leadership
domains outlined in Education Queensland’s current leadership framework to
determine how each of the five identified domains of leadership compared in relation
to mid-career teacher work commitment. By understanding this relationship and the
impact of the five leadership domains on teacher work commitment, it is hoped that
school principals and school systems are better placed to impact positively on mid-
career teachers’ work commitment with the aim of retaining mid-career teachers in the
profession.
The opinions of three distinct groups – current school principals through interviews,
former mid-career teachers through interviews and current mid-career teachers
through surveys - were sought for this study and the data results from these groups
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 269
were used to make links and draw the end conclusions. The order of significance of
each of the leadership domains as determined by the principals and former mid-career
teachers through interviews and mid-career teachers through the short answer, survey
and nomination of their top five practices is displayed comparatively in Figure 6.4.
Relational leadership practices of school principals was identified as being the most
significant category out of the five identified leadership domains in relation to mid-
career teacher work commitment by every group at every stage of data collection.
270 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
Figure 6.4 Bar graph of order of importance of the leadership domains from the interview and survey
data.
From this research some clear conclusions can be drawn between school principal
leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment.
(a) Through the qualitative interviews both groups of respondents (school
principals and former mid-career teachers) agreed that principal leadership
practices can impact on mid-career teacher work commitment. While the
groups may hold different perspectives on the impact of these practices, both
agreed that relational leadership practices were of most significance and had
the greatest impact on mid-career teacher work commitment. Beyond this, the
two groups had a differing belief on which domain of leadership practices were
next in significance. The teachers identified the personal domain as the second
most important while the principals identified practices in the organisational
domain. The teachers’ views from the qualitative interviews aligned well with
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
Principals
Ex-teachers
Mid-career teachers surveyitems
Mid-career teacher top 5 surveyitems
Mid-career teacher shortanswers
Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives. 271
the subsequent data from the quantitative collections where the teachers
consistently identified relational leadership practices followed by the personal
leadership domain as the most significant in relation to their work commitment.
(b) The short answer question component at the beginning of the survey instrument
allowed respondents to nominate, with no restriction, the preferred principal
leadership practices they believed increased their work commitment. While the
answers fell into all of the five domains of leadership, the majority were
concerned with the relational practices of a school principal, closely followed
by the personal domain. These results correlate with the teachers’ qualitative
interviews which also identified relational and then personal as the two
leadership domains which have the greatest impact on their work commitment.
(c) The quantitative questionnaire showed a high degree of importance for all of
the principal leadership practices listed. Each statement was consistently rated
as important or very important by current mid-career teachers in relation to the
work commitment. Even though there was strong overall agreement across all
of the statements the data was still able to separate the categories and isolate
the relational category as the most important leadership practices in relation to
mid-career teacher commitment.
(d) The final data collection asked the respondents to choose five statements from
the 30 given to highlight as being of most importance to their work
commitment. These results again clearly showed relational leadership
practices, followed by personal leadership practices as having the greatest
impact on mid-career teacher work commitment.
272 Determining leadership practices that impact on primary school, mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
From the perspective of all the participants in this study, relational leadership practices
are pivotal in influencing a mid-career teacher’s work commitment which in turn
influences their decision to remain or leave the teaching profession. The importance
of principal leadership practices on mid-career teacher work commitment is not
surprising as a wide body of research literature provides evidence that school
leadership practices play a substantial role in teachers’ decisions to remain or leave the
teaching profession (Aydin, Sarier, & Uysal, 2013; John, 2017; Leithwood, Louis,
Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004). Boyd, et al., (2011) concluded in their study that well
over 40% of teachers interviewed who had left the teaching profession or were still
teaching but had considered leaving, cited practices of school leaders as the most
important factor in their decision making process.
6.10 CHAPTER SUMMARY
This current study expanded on previous work and looked into the broad realm of
leadership practices to uncover the specific domains, and practices within these
domains, which are of greatest importance to mid-career teacher work commitment.
This was done from a mid-career teacher perspective in Queensland schools to
understand the impact of the leadership domains used in the Education Queensland
leadership framework more fully. This framework gives school principals a much
greater understanding of the importance of their leadership practices in retaining mid-
career teachers in the teaching profession. A final summary of this study, conclusions
and recommendations are presented in Chapter 7.
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Chapter 7: Research Conclusions
7.1 INTRODUCTION
People don't quit bad jobs; they quit bad bosses. So states an old saying into workplace
culture and commitment quoted in Goodall, Artz and Oswald (2016). This current
research suggests there's truth behind this saying: bosses matter far more in relation to
mid-career teacher work commitment than any of the other factors which can influence
this construct. But what makes someone a good boss?
The purpose of this mixed-method research was to determine which specific school
principal leadership practices impacted on mid-career teacher work commitment from
the perspective of mid-career teachers. The importance of this research has been
established through the literature which has demonstrated a clear link between mid-
career teacher work commitment and teacher attrition (Burkhauser, 2017; Davis &
Wilson, 2000; Dou, Devos, & Valcke, 2016; Huang, 2017). Once teachers progress
past the five year mark, one of the most significant factors impacting on teacher work
commitment is principal leadership practices (Boyd, Grossman, Ing, Lankford, Loeb,
& Wyckoff, 2011; Burkhauser, 2017; Dou, et al., 2016; Huang, 2017).
Through interviews with mid-career teachers and principals, and through a survey of
current serving mid-career teachers, this study found important relationships between
mid-career teacher work commitment and principal leadership practices, specifically
those in the relational and personal domains, that have implications for practice. The
significant relationship of specific leadership practices and mid-career teacher work
commitment are discussed in this chapter in response to the research questions in
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Section 7.2. An overview of the research findings are presented in Section 7.3 before
two additional findings centred on the conception of leadership and student
misbehaviour and mid-career teacher work commitment are discussed (Section 7.4).
Implications for policy and practice are outlined (Section 7.5) and the researcher’s
reflections given in Section 7.6. A final thesis conclusion is provided in Section 7.7.
7.2 RESEARCH QUESTION CONCLUSIONS
This research set out to investigate three specific questions relating to mid-career
teacher work commitment. Multiple data sets were collected, using a mixed method
approach to ensure the quality and accuracy of the data and also to give validity to the
conclusions drawn. Each of the three research questions are addressed and answered
below.
7.2.1 The specific school principal leadership practices which impacted most on mid-career teachers’ work commitment from the perspective of mid-career teachers
From the research data collected it was apparent that mid-career teachers perceived
that the principal leadership practices within the relational domain had the greatest
impact on their work commitment. Across the four data sets collected from mid-career
teachers; interviews with mid-career teachers who had left the teaching profession,
initial short answers from the survey instrument, the survey itself and the top five
survey items as selected by each survey participant, relational leadership practices
consistently were identified as the principal leadership practices which had the greatest
impact on their work commitment. These practices specifically included supporting
teachers with student behaviour, being collaborative and creating a positive tone within
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the school, and displaying interpersonal skills with consistent and genuine interactions
with teachers.
The principals too, in their interviews, identified relational leadership practices as
having the greatest impact on mid-career teacher work commitment albeit from a
different perspective from the teachers. While the principals felt they implemented
appropriate leadership practices towards mid-career teachers and felt their efforts
enhance work commitment, the teachers came from a deficit perspective articulating
what was lacking or what they needed more from their school principal.
According to the interview data, the impact the relational leadership practices had on
mid-career teacher work commitment was both positive and negative depending on
the specific practice. Generally the absence of relational leadership practices led to a
decline in mid-career teacher work commitment while their positive application
maintained or increased work commitment. Three of the mid-career teachers who had
left the teaching profession, indicated that it was the lack of relational leadership
practices from their principal that led to a decline in their work commitment and was
the catalyst for them to leave teaching and seek an alternative career.
From the mid-career teacher survey, the specific nature of the impact of the relational
leadership practices was not able to be identified due to the nature of the data collection
tool. The survey participants were asked to identify the importance of stated leadership
practices on their work-commitment without stipulating the nature of this impact.
While the nature of the impact was not identified, the mid-career teachers through the
survey clearly identified relational leadership practices as having the greatest impact
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on their work commitment. The importance of relational leadership practices on mid-
career teacher work commitment was also clear in the short answer section of the
survey and in the final data collection phase when respondents were asked to identify
their top five practices from the listed practices on the survey. In each instance,
principals’ relational leadership practices, whether positive or negative, were
identified as the most significant leadership practices in relation to mid-career work
commitment.
7.2.2 The extent to which mid-career teachers; views of leadership practices in relation to their work commitment, aligned with the leadership domains outlined in education Queensland’s Leadership Matters framework
In general, the leadership practices the mid-career teachers expected from their school
principals or identified as impacting on their work commitment aligned with those
described in the five leadership domains in Education Queensland’s Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) leadership framework. While they did not
align evenly with some domains, specifically relation and personal, featuring much
more frequently than the others, the themes coded in the interviews with former mid-
career teachers and principals, and the short answer response current mid-career
teachers wrote to identify leadership practices which impacted on their work
commitment, could generally be classified under the five leadership domains of
Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework.
Some points raised by the former teacher participants, specifically around a principal’s
demonstrated capacity for self-reflection and a principal’s ability to manage the
competing tensions of teachers and departmental requirements, were areas not
specifically addressed by Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010). Yet,
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these were viewed by the former mid-career teachers as important and impacting on
their work commitment. Similarly, support for student behaviour management which
featured significantly in the short answer responses of the current serving mid-career
teachers, is not outlined explicitly as a specific leadership skill for principals within
the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework.
While the Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010) framework encompasses
five leadership domains and is concerned with leadership across the entire school, this
current research was only concerned with the relationship between leadership practices
and teacher work commitment. It is not surprising then that from the teachers’
perspectives the leadership practices impacting on work commitment fell primarily
within the relational and personal domains, and did not encompass all facets of the
framework equally. It is salient to note at this point that this does not mean the other
three leadership domains are of lesser value to school leadership or irrelevant to
teachers, only that in respect to teacher work commitment, from the perspective of the
teachers who were surveyed, they were less significant.
The conclusions drawn from this research concerning the link between relational and
personal leadership practices and teacher work commitment raise implications for the
current Education Queensland focus on instructional leadership and also for
transformational leaders. While the leadership practices of instructional leadership are
used to improve teacher pedagogy and the outcomes of students, in its purest form it
does so primarily through the educational leadership domain. According to the
teachers in this current research, this leadership domain has much less impact on their
work commitment compared to relational and personal leadership. It could be argued
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that in relation to the National Assessment Program: Literacy and Numeracy
(NAPLAN) the focus on instructional leadership in Queensland schools (Masters,
2009) along with a prescriptive and consistent curriculum has led to an improvement
in student outcomes, arguably, from the results of this research this has been achieved
at the expense of teacher work commitment.
What was also apparent from this research was a lack of clear understanding and clarity
around what instructional leadership actually looks like in Queensland schools. If a
focus of leadership is presented as a model of action, the practices which pertain to
this model should be clearly defined and understood. It was apparent from the data that
there was a lack of clarity around the description and practices of instructional
leadership. Without a clear and common understanding and definition of instructional
leadership, many principals are left unsure how this type of leadership should look like
in their schools and how to implement approach in an effective manner (Costello,
2015).
In contrast, transformational leadership draws heavily from the organisational and
intellectual leadership practices, as opposed to the relational and personal leadership
practices which this current research indicates to be most influential on mid-career
teacher work commitment. Attempting to inspire and change an educational work
place through transformational leadership is much more challenging if the teachers are
experiencing declining work commitment. From this research it can be concluded that
in respect to the varied leadership models enacted within a school site, school leaders
should ensure that the personal and relational leadership practices which impact on
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teacher work commitment, supplement the other leadership practices which are being
implemented.
In answering the research question around the alignment of participants’ views of
leadership and Education Queensland’s leadership framework, it appears from the data
that there is a high degree of alignment. The leadership practices described by
participants as impacting on mid-career teacher work commitment could be placed
under the five domains of leadership described by Education Queensland and the
associated descriptors of each domain. A major issue raised by this research is not so
much the content descriptors of the leadership domains which readily encompassed
participants needs, but rather the enactment of these descriptors or the absence of them
from principals in the opinion of some mid-career teachers. Furthermore, the teachers
believed that not all of these domains were equal in respect to their work commitment
and sought leadership practices from the relational and personal domains far more than
practices from the others.
7.2.3 The extent of alignment that exists between the views of mid-career teachers and school principals, in relation to principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher work commitment
There was a noted difference between the views of the mid-career teachers and the
principals around leadership practices and how these impacted on teacher work
commitment. On a comparative level of the frequency for each of the leadership
domains in the quantitative data interviews it was easy to see that while the teachers
and principals agreed that relational leadership practices had the greatest impact on
mid-career teacher work commitment; there was a marked difference in the alignment
of the leadership domains beyond this initial one.
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The differences in the perceptions of leadership practices in respect to teacher work
commitment is of some concern and if not addressed could lead to further teacher
attrition. If school principals believe they are implementing appropriate leadership
practices which teachers view as of reduced importance to their work commitment,
then teacher commitment may suffer. The teachers expressed that they wished to see
principals focussed on their relational and personal leadership practices, connecting
with staff in honest and genuine ways. The principals felt it was more important to
ensure their educational and organisational leadership practices were being
implemented, as they believed these are of greater significance to work teachers’
commitment than the principals’ personal practices.
Now that this difference in beliefs has been identified it is important for principal
training and development to reposition a focus on these specific leadership practices
to better meet teacher expectations. While principals may have their own belief on
what teachers’ need to enhance their work commitment, it is important seek feedback
from their own staff to ensure that there is clear alignment between teacher
expectations and needs and ongoing leadership practices. It is also important to note
that school principals in Education Queensland are often directed towards priorities
and/or have access to information not available to teachers that will impact on their
leadership direction. However being aware of teacher perceptions and expectations in
relation to their work commitment will assist principals to reflect on their leadership.
From the results of this research, there is still a way to go to close this gap.
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The misalignment of views on leadership practices between mid-career teachers and
school principals was also evident at the implementation level. As already discussed,
the principals believed that they were value adding to their staff and applying
leadership practices which enhanced teacher commitment. This view was being
reinforced as there was little evidence of evaluation processes or seeking feedback
from teachers by the interviewed principals, to gauge the effectiveness of their
leadership on teacher work commitment.
From the teachers’ perspective, in both the interviews and survey short answers, there
was a strong indication that their experiences of leadership practices often did not meet
their expectations or needs. The gaps between enacted leadership practices and teacher
expectations was articulated as a deficit of the school leader and in many cases linked
to the teachers declining work commitment and decision to leave the teaching
profession. From this present research it can be concluded that there is lack of
alignment between the views of mid-career teachers and school principals. There
appeared to be a real discourse in the beliefs that plays out in schools and this has had
significance impact on teacher work commitment.
7.3 RESEARCH SUMMARY
Overall the findings from this study align with the data from the literature concerning
teacher work commitment and school leadership practices (Hartsel, 2016; Lindqvist,
Nordänger, & Carlsson, 2014). What this study extended on was identifying from the
mid-career teachers’ perspective the specific leadership practices which can impact on
this commitment. As the people most often experiencing the impact of school
principals’ leadership practices, the mid-career teachers were well placed and able to
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describe particular leadership practices and the impact specific ones had on their own
work commitment. Their social and situated perspectives helped inform the
conclusions of this study.
The specific leadership practices identified by the teachers in this study, which
impacted on their work commitment, fell within the school factors which can be
influenced by principal leadership practices identified earlier in Chapter 2. What the
teachers did was to break these school factors down into more identifiable, specific
leadership practices for greater analysis. As noted in Chapter 2, Leadership Matters
(Education Queensland, 2010) provided the analytical framework to interrogate the
data. By using Leadership Matters (Education Queensland, 2010), the interview and
survey responses could be distilled and classified under the five domain of leadership
identified to determine the impact of the specific leadership practices, and each
domain, on teacher work commitment.
In line with the literature (Brezicha, Bergmark, & Mitra, 2015; Yu & Miller, 2005)
this study showed that teachers in the mid-career stage of teaching desire different
leadership practices than teachers at early or late career stage. The mid-career teachers
articulated a desire for a consultative and collaborative style of leadership. They
wanted to feel valued for their experience and knowledge, contribute to the direction
of the school in conjunction with the leadership team and not have actions which
impacted on them delivered by the school principal in a transactional way. While many
new, early career teachers may desire a direct and transactional style of leadership to
provide direction and supportive guidelines (Brezicha, et al., 2015; Yu & Miller,
2005), mid-career teachers reported that the practices associated with more
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transactional leadership practices had a negative impact on their work commitment
and they desired a different leadership style. This becomes a challenge for school
principals who need to lead teachers in all stages of their career (Leithwood, Harris, &
Hopkins, 2008). To successfully do this a principal must move within many different
models of leadership and differentiate the leadership practices depending on staff
needs and career stage (Leithwood, et al., 2008).
The mid-career teachers in this study relayed little desire for instructional leadership
where the principal’s focus is more on the organisational or educational components
of leadership (Lashway, 2002; Masters, 2009; Murphy, 1990). While these leadership
practices were seen as being of some degree of importance, the general view was these
should be developed in collaboration with the mid-career teacher not by the principal
alone. Primarily the leadership practices which impacted negatively on a mid-career
teacher’s work commitment were the principals’ relational and personal skills. The
way a principal acted, interacted and conducted themselves had a far greater impact
on teacher work commitment than anything in the educational, organisational or
intellectual domains. The importance of the personal and relational skills of a principal
was also the conclusion of Dixon, Belnap, Albrecht and Lee (2010) in their study into
workplace leadership.
For the mid-career teacher it is the relational interactions and the personal ways a
principal conducts them self which help set a tone and culture for a school which has
the greatest impact on their work commitment (Dixon, et al., 2010). While the other
domains of leadership remain important in respect for student learning and providing
facilities and opportunities for learning to occur, this study was concerned with the
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impact of leadership on work commitment from the teachers’ perspectives, and from
all of the data sets collected, for mid-career teachers it is clear that the personal and
relational leadership practices have the greatest impact on mid-career teacher work
commitment.
7.4 ADDITIONAL FINDINGS
While the intent of this research was seek answers to the research questions, through
the data collection and analysis processes two additional findings became evident.
These additional findings are listed and discussed below.
7.4.1 Enactment of leadership
As discussed in the literature review in Chapter 2, leadership is a multifaceted concept
with many different interpretations of its meaning. Leadership means different things
to different people and these beliefs become the lens leadership is viewed through. The
changing definitions and interpretations of leadership need to be part of the leadership
conversations so leaders can be aware of shifts in expectations and so adapt their own
practices.
The school leaders in this research had different beliefs of leadership and these beliefs
influenced how their leadership practices were enacted within their school and also
influenced the scope or limitations of their leadership. Often these leadership beliefs
have been formed by the practices experienced by their own school leaders when the
principals themselves were teachers. How workers see their supervisors enact
leadership often acts as a blueprint for their own leadership later in their career
(Chemers, 2014; Kolb, 2014). While these studies were not education specific and
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looked at leadership development in general, their conclusions can be applied to the
school principals in this current research who may have based their own leadership
framework on what they experienced as teachers earlier in their career.
What is evident from this current research is the current absence of a commonly
understood definition of leadership at a systemic level. There is not a clearly
articulated statement in regards to how leadership is to be enacted in Education
Queensland policy documents. Nor is there a systematic approach to selection,
training and development of school principals. It could be concluded that directives
from Education Queensland outline the what of leadership with expectations, direction
and accompanying programs made clear to school principals, however the how of
school leadership and the specific leadership practices to utilise to implement the
bigger vision, while ensuring teachers remain committed to their profession, is
currently left up to each individual leader (Cranston, 2014).
The benefits of this approach are autonomy for principals to enact individual
leadership based on the context of each school site, directed at the specific needs of
each school and open to innovation and system’s free enactment of practices
(Cranston, 2014). The drawbacks are often the principal is left to act in isolation with
no opportunity to discuss and reflect on their leadership practices with colleagues or
fellow school leaders as a formal supportive structure (Cranston, 2014).
This leadership in isolation means each school principal has to rely on their own
judgements and capabilities regarding how to enact leadership effectively in their
school context. As such, these enacted leadership practices emerge from each
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individual leader’s assumptions and beliefs about leadership and guide their daily
interactions with teachers. A principal’s success as a leader relies on these practices.
From the data collected in this research it was evident that the success of each school
leader at delivering appropriate leadership was dependent on the individual and their
unique interpretation of leadership and the enactment of this understanding evidenced
by their leadership practices.
In this thesis, the literature from several decades has shown that ideals for educational
leadership have evolved over time and school leaders need to evolve in line with this.
Where concepts of educational leadership had more of a hierarchical, top-down
structure, expectations for school leaders have changed, towards more collaborative
model of leaders working side by side with workers (Eacott & Norris, 2014; Hewlett,
Sherbin, & Sumberg, 2009). More recent policy seems to be returning to a traditional
view of leadership with Eacott (2017) citing the focus on performativity and global
comparisons as the cause of this shift. Approaches to leadership are dynamic and
reflective of the needs of the people and the systems of the time and people from
different times relate to different leadership styles.
To ensure mid-career teachers remain committed to teaching it is not just a matter of
enacting leadership based on the past experiences, but rather ensure leadership evolves
and reflects the current needs of staff and is delivered in a context that maximises the
commitment of those it is impacted on. It is clear that the relational leadership practices
of school principals play a pivotal role in this evolution. If the trend of teacher attrition
is not reversed, the latest teacher work force figures of an aging work force and a work
287
force with an inflated attrition rate (AITSL, 2016) would suggest work force planning
is emerging as a national priority issue.
7.4.2 Student (mis)behaviour
Concerns about student misbehaviour featured prominently from mid-career teachers
in the short answer component of the survey instrument. It was an issue the mid-career
teachers stated impacted on their work commitment and one which they wanted more
support to address from the school principal. The significance of student misbehaviour,
particularly in classrooms, was not surprising as Education Queensland’s own figures
published in their annual report (Education Queensland, 2015) shows an increase of
over 22% in suspension and exclusion rates for the period 2013 to 2015. In 2013, 52
489 students were suspended or excluded from Queensland schools, increasing to 58
347 in 2014 and 64 306 in 2015 (Education Queensland, 2015). These figures only
account for the students whose behaviours warranted their removal from school
permanently or for a period of time, they don’t account for the myriad of lesser
behaviours which may not have resulted in a suspension or exclusion but never-the-
less are disruptive to the class and need to be dealt with on a daily basis by the teacher
(Beaman, Wheldall, & Kemp, 2007). A study by Aloe, Shisler, Norris, Nickerson and
Rinker (2014) found students’ misbehaviour significantly contributed to teacher
emotional exhaustion which in turn led to declining commitment and career change.
For principals, the implications are clear. To assist teachers’ work commitment in a
positive way, leadership practices need to address student misbehaviour and support
teachers in their day to day dealings with this. Several teachers referenced their
school’s behaviour management plans but also indicated that the implementation of
288
these plans by their principal was their concern. This tension again highlights the
position school principals are in to implement the policy on their school site in a way
that delivers positive outcomes for the greater system and the individual teachers and
school community (Riley, 2014).
While not explicitly addressed as an individual leadership practice in Leadership
Matters (Education Queensland, 2010), managing the behaviour of students is still of
critical importance to the tone and culture of a school site and ultimately teacher
commitment (Gibbs & Miller, 2014). School culture is something that is built over
time, but it is something that can be felt almost immediately by teachers when they
enter a new workplace. Schools with a poor culture, in the form of poor student
behaviour arguably experience higher rates of teacher attrition (Ashiedu & Scott-Ladd,
2012; Buchanan, 2010, 2012; Buchanan, Prescott, Schuck, Aubusson, Burke, &
Louviere, 2013; Mason, 2010).
It is the principal’s leadership beliefs and practices which guide the interpretation and
actioning of policy at the school site. The principal’s relational leadership practices,
coupled with their personal leadership, can allow for feedback of policy
implementation and for teachers to have a say and express what they specifically need
to enhance their work commitment and overcome issues such as student behaviour.
Throughout this research, mid-career teachers have highlighted the importance of a
principal’s relational leadership practices as the key to positively impacting on
teachers’ work commitment. With these practices a principal is able to listen and
address teachers and their concerns and not just assume they understand their needs.
289
7.5 IMPLICATIONS FOR POLICY AND PRACTICE
This research set out to determine which specific school principal leadership practices
impact on mid-career teacher work commitment from mid-career teachers’
perspectives. It was framed from a position that if a better understanding of the
relationship between leadership practices and teacher work commitment could be
gained, the increasing trend of mid-career teacher attrition could be addressed. As
previously stated, not all teacher attrition is negative to an education system. Some
teachers need to leave due to their ineffectiveness or realisation that teaching is not the
correct profession for them (Adnot, Dee, Katz, & Wyckoff, 2017). In these cases
teacher turnover can instead have positive effects within a school as low-performing
teachers can be replaced with more effective teachers (Adnot, et al., 2017). While some
level of turnover and teacher renewal is positive, with teachers leaving the profession
in numbers greater than natural attrition would suggest, more attention is needed to
this issue. It is the loss of the experienced mid-career teachers and the associated
knowledge and social capital which should be concerning to educational jurisdictions,
particularly when this loss can be reversed or slowed.
Beyond the five year mark the major reason given by mid-career teachers for leaving
the teaching profession is a declining work commitment impacted by their principal
leadership practices. What this current research has found is that it is the relational
leadership practices of a school principal in particular which can influence a teacher’s
work commitment closely followed by their personal leadership. Therefore, to address
the issue of teacher attrition it is these domains of leadership practices which need to
be focussed on and developed in school leaders. This section proposes some actions
for policy and practice.
290
When talking about the concept of teacher attrition, caution needs to be used as some
latest studies suggest that teacher attrition is a more non-linear and complex
phenomenon than what is typically proposed (Lindqvist et al., 2014). One implication
for both policy and practice is to address the current lack of formal training for school
principals (Hughes, 2014). Being an effective teacher does not transfer necessarily into
being an effective school leader, similarly being a successful deputy principal or
middle level leader does not always prepare an individual for the sole school leadership
role. A different mindset and skillset are required, yet often a teacher is placed into a
position of school leadership directly from the classroom, or a middle leader is
promoted with limited leadership experience of knowledge.
Historically, training for school principals, particularly in Australia, has generally been
ad hoc and doesn’t formally and systemically prepare principals for the complexity of
expectations and requirements of the role (Hughes, 2014). Principals developed their
leadership skills while in the role and often this leadership was guided by the needs of
the greater system and its priorities such as improving student outcomes through
instructional leadership instead of developing generic leadership practices. A
recommendation from this research is that further professional learning and
development for principals is prioritised.
Any leadership training undertaken by the principals in these interviews seemed to be
self-directed by the principal and viewed as an add-on expense when undertaken rather
than an inherent part of their development. This was specifically noted by Principal 3.
Principal 3 also mentioned performance plans and leadership supervision in their
291
interview but it was discussed as an experience of governance to improve student
outcomes. Using performance planning to plan leadership learning also appeared to be
self-directed in nature and not externally guided by a supervisor or from feedback to
help improve leadership practices. The development of school leaders did not appear
to be a strategic or formal process in the case of the five principals interviewed. This
lack of formal training and development may explain why the principals tended to
view leadership within a compliance framework as opposed to a more strategic
leadership approach.
At no time did the principals interviewed talk about their own leadership in a reflective
way or talk about any formal leadership training. If the principals had undergone some
formal training in leadership to help them develop in their role (and there are many
professional development opportunities that are easily accessible both internal and
external to Education Queensland) they weren’t mentioned in the interviews.
Additionally, issues of declining work commitment of teachers on their staff did not
appear to cause the principals interviewed to critically reflect on their own practices or
to be an area of their concern. There appeared to be an underlying assumption that if
teachers left their school the principals or department will just get more. While this
may have been due to the method of data collection, the apparent lack of reflection
remains a concern if principals are to adapt their leadership practices to meet the needs
of staff.
The Masters Report (2009) commissioned by the Queensland Government recognised
a lack of formal leadership training in Queensland school principals as an area for
292
development. This led to the establishment of the Queensland Educational Leaders
Institute (QELI) to help develop school leaders. QELI was established to not only
provide initial leadership training to beginning principals but also to provide ongoing
and refresher training for established and experienced principals. While this research
is not positioned to judge the effectiveness of this leadership training, it was noted that
not one of the school leaders interviewed made reference to QELI or their own
leadership training or development. There was an underlying presumption by the
principals that just being in the position made them effective leaders and best placed
to know what was needed by the staff they led.
The Independent Public School (IPS) agenda has not only encouraged more self-
determination and autonomy in the 250 IPS schools which now exist, it has also flowed
over into the non IPS schools increasing the autonomy of these principals too. Despite
Education Queensland’s move to increase the autonomy given to school leaders, the
responses of principals in their interviews reflected compliance to the rules and
reinforcement of the existing hierarchy, both key fundamentals to a traditional style of
leadership (Hartog, Muijen, & Koopman, 2011).
The interviews with the principals reflected a culture that focused on leadership that is
compliance driven with a short term focus on improvement, rather than committing to
the long term cultural shifts that marks deep change in a school (Heffernan, 2017;
Harris, 2011; Nori, 2011). Examples of compliance driven phrases included; “I
certainly have looked to implement Department programs…” (Principal 1), “…it
behoves me to ensure that I give them the departmental PD.” (Principal 2), “…engage
them through the many avenues available within our school and EQ.” (Principal 4)
293
This culture of compliance evident within the interviewed principals may be due to the
fact that these were the leadership practices they experienced themselves as teachers
and in the absence of any formal, systemic leadership training they have used these as
a model of their own leadership. Or it may be reflective of the growing shift within the
system towards a tighter compliance and systems driven leadership which has grown
stronger over the past five years. Bloxham, Ehrich and Iyer (2015) found the role of
Assistant Regional Director (ARD), a principal’s immediate supervisor in Queensland
state schools, as contributing to this compliance leadership framework. Bloxam, et al.,
(2015) believed that there is significant pressure for the ARDS to focus on systems
performance. The ARD role carries a clear weight of expectation in improving the
organisations performance and as such a clear sense of the ARD hierarchical position
and compliance has evolved.
These leadership practices being enacted on principals through the ARDs in a culture
of compliance may influence how principals model their own leadership practices. The
ARD’s leadership practices become the principal’s model of leadership and these
become the leadership practices implemented within their school. This compliance
based leadership, may lead to principals seeking permission to lead and a reluctance
to be innovative and make independent decisions, or to consult teachers about
leadership approaches.
The conclusion of the analysis of the leadership practice data collected for this research
is a mismatch between the perspectives of mid-career teachers and school principals.
The mid-career teachers clearly articulated that the most important leadership practices
294
in relation to their work commitment were the principal’s leadership practices which
lay in the domain of relational followed by the practices within the domain of personal.
In many cases it was the absence of these, or their ineffective application, which from
the teachers’ perspective, was having a negative impact on their work commitment.
The principals also agreed that the relational domain leadership practices had the most
impact on mid-career teacher work commitment; however they believed that they were
applying these effectively and positively. While all participants agreed to the
importance of relational leadership practices it was evident that the teachers and the
principals had two distinct and different trains of thoughts of their application.
Additionally the principals also had a different view of the impact of the other domains
of leadership on teacher work commitment. The principals believed that the domains
of organisational and educational leadership were of next importance in relation to
teacher commitment, a view not shared by the teachers.
The gap in alignment is of great significance as the principals believed they were
adding to teacher commitment through relational leadership practices while often the
teachers believed it was the ineffective use of these practices which was impacting
negatively on their work commitment. Having such diametrically opposed views on
the relational leadership practices should be of concern to education jurisdictions
worldwide and is something which may need further investigation to fully address and
remedy to go a way to address teacher attrition.
It is clear from this research that mid-career teachers seek relational leaders who
maximise their work commitment. While the current focus of Education Queensland
295
and many other jurisdictions worldwide is on instructional leadership with an agenda
of improving student performance, this current research provides evidence that solely
focussing on this may come at the expense of mid-career teacher commitment. Lifting
student outcomes is of vital importance and a key role for schools but this cannot be
achieved effectively if the experienced staff are declining in their work commitment
and electing to leave the profession.
Focussing only on instructional leadership as defined by a focus on principals being in
every classroom, modelling for teachers and giving feedback on their pedagogy
discounts the importance of the social contexts of schools and the importance actions
and inter actions of people play in setting a tone and workplace environment which
connects with people and increases work commitment. Teaching is a people profession
and from the perspective of the experienced teachers, to lead such environments an
effective school leader needs to be trained in and implement effective relational
leadership practices. The challenge for all education systems who wish to retain their
experienced mid-career teacher is to develop school leaders with strong relational
leadership practices as this leadership domain is the most important in terms of teacher
work commitment. Significantly these are also the practices that cannot be franchised
out. While a principal may be able to get someone else to design the curriculum and
pedagogy, help them with facilities, or help organise rosters and timetables, it is near
impossible to engage a third party to enact the relational and personal skills which have
been highlighted as so vital in this research. As Principal 3 stated:
I know that there are the five leadership strands we look at to help select our leaders
in EQ and all strands are equally important, but in my mind the one you can’t miss –
or get an expert in to do for you - is the relational. Teaching is a people based
profession and to get the best out of people you need to know how to get on with them.
296
Now that the mid-career teachers have clearly articulated through the data what they
need to enhance their work commitment, it is important to act on these needs if the
problem of attrition is to be genuinely addressed. Below in Table 7.1 is a list of
pragmatic suggestions around relational leadership practices that could be easily
adopted by school principals to increase mid-career teacher work commitment.
Table 7.1 Suggested leadership practices to enhance relational leadership
1. Greet each staff member by their name in every encounter and ensure as a school leader you know everybody’s name on staff.
2. Take the time to learn everybody’s story and how this story may impact on their work.
3. Listen actively and ensure you understand all points being raised before you make a decision.
4. If the decision is counter to what some staff believe take the time to explain why you went with the decision you did.
5. Make the staff feel valued and respected for their knowledge and opinion. 6. If you wish to give feedback also model your acceptance of the same. 7. Model the culture and inter-relationships you expect at the school, the tone starts at
the top. 8. Be a ‘people person’ genuine concern and interactions with staff create a climate of
caring.
297
9. Be genuine with everything you do and say. 10. Show respect for people and their areas, you may be the leader but respect is a two
way street. 11. Empower others do not power over. 12. Show the way for staff, don’t only tell the way. 13. Differentiate your approach to different people to get the best out of them. 14. Be empathetic and know when to listen and when to take action. 15. Take time to take care of the people, without them the other important aspects of
school around teaching, learning, curriculum, facilities etc. cannot happen as easily.
7.6 REFLECTIONS
As a current school principal of a large primary school in Education Queensland, the
challenge for me is how this study will inform my own leadership practices. While I
believe relational leadership practices have been a cornerstone of my leadership career,
perhaps as this research showed, my perception and the teachers’ perception of my
leadership may be different. To help determine this I will now look to set up systems
of feedback within my school to ensure that I get an understanding of the perceptions
of the teachers and how my leadership practise are impacting on their work
commitment. Furthermore, I will look to differentiate my leadership practices to cater
for the different needs and contexts of different staff and move away from the one size
fits all frameworks which have proved ineffective in many research studies.
Beyond my own practices there are some important lessons in this research for all
school leaders. I believe part of my own professional responsibilities is to share my
findings with colleagues to enable them to maximise their leadership practise in a way
that will positively impact on mid-career teachers’ work commitment to stem the flow
of teacher attrition. I will also ensure that the mentoring and training programs I am
involved in which develop the next generation of leaders will be informed by this
298
research. For my colleagues I will model the kind of reflexive leadership which leaders
should display to ensure the effectiveness of their leadership practices
7.7 CONCLUSION
Abraham Lincoln, the famous American president, made a memorable quote about the
challenges of leading people. He said;
You can please some of the people some of the time, some of the people all of
the time, but you can never please all of the people all of the time.
Never has a truer word been said. I often hear from fellow principals, that they are
frustrated that they can’t please everyone. Pleasing everyone all of the time may well
be impossible but improving work commitment is the real challenge we should face.
This research was not concerned with pleasing teachers, but rather about enhancing
teacher commitment. As principals we may not be able to please all of our teachers all
of the time, but we should ensure that our leadership practices are enhancing the work
commitment of our mid-career teachers so that these experienced and valuable
teachers, who have made a decision to stay with teaching, are supported and
encouraged to keep doing the job. With their commitment, our schools can fulfil their
purpose of providing a quality education for all students.
Bibliography 299
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Appendices 327
Appendices
Appendix A Initial mid-career teacher survey.
This survey aims to investigate mid-career teachers’ views about principal leadership practices, in particular the impact of principal leadership practices on mid-career teacher work commitment. A mid-career teacher is defined as a teacher who has been teaching for five years or longer and who is more than five years from retirement. Section 1: To preserve your anonymity, there is no need to write your name on this survey. Please circle or write responses that apply to you.
a) What is your gender? Male Female b) What is your age? < 25yrs 25-35yrs 35-45yrs >45yrs c) For how many years have you been teaching? ____________ d) What is your highest education level? Diploma Bachelor Post Graduate Masters Doctorate
Section 2: What leadership practices could a school principal enact that would help you improve your commitment to teaching? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate how important the following statements are to you in relation to your work commitment by circling one response to the right of each statement. Key: VI =Very Important I =Important N = Neither important or unimportant U = Unimportant VU = Very unimportant
How important to your work commitment are principals’ leadership practices in the
following areas:
1. Having interpersonal skills VI I N U VU 2. Possessing educational knowledge VI I N U VU 3. Displaying intellectual capacity for role VI I N U VU 4. Managing resources effectively VI I N U VU 5. Acting in an ethical manner VI I N U VU 6. Leading curriculum requirements VI I N U VU 7. Applying mandatory policies VI I N U VU 8. Creating partnerships VI I N U VU 9. Adhering to mandatory legislation VI I N U VU 10. Being trustworthy VI I N U VU 11. Possessing resilience in work practices VI I N U VU 12. Remaining composed in challenging situations VI I N U VU 13. Being emotionally mature VI I N U VU 14. Having curriculum knowledge VI I N U VU 15. Having pedagogical knowledge VI I N U VU 16. Being approachable to staff VI I N U VU 17. Having consistent interactions with all staff VI I N U VU 18. Valuing individual staff members VI I N U VU 19. Building relationships with staff VI I N U VU 20. Inspiring towards staff VI I N U VU 21. Developing shared leadership with staff VI I N U VU 22. Articulating a school vision VI I N U VU 23. Managing priorities VI I N U VU 24. Creating a culture committed to learning VI I N U VU 25. Generating solutions to problems VI I N U VU 26. Building relationships between staff VI I N U VU 27. Showing respect for staff VI I N U VU
328 Appendices
Appendix B Mid-career teachers’ views on principal leadership
practices
This survey aims to investigate mid-career teachers’ views about principal leadership practices, in particular the impact of principal leadership practices on mid-career teacher work commitment. A mid-career teacher is defined as a teacher who has been teaching for five years or longer and who is more than five years from retirement.
Section 1: To preserve your anonymity, there is no need to write your name on this survey. Please circle or write responses that apply to you. (Data will be used for statistical purposes only)
a) What is your gender? Male Female b) What is your age? < 25yrs 25-35yrs 35-45yrs >45yrs c) For how many years have you been teaching? ____________ d) What is your highest education level? Diploma Bachelor Post Graduate Masters
Doctorate
Section 2: What leadership practices could a school principal enact that would help you improve your commitment to teaching? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate how important the following statements are to you in relation to your work commitment by circling one response to the right of each statement.
Key: VU = Very Unimportant U = Unimportant N = Neither important nor unimportant I =Important VI =Very Important
How important to your work commitment are principals’ leadership practices in the following areas:
1. Having interpersonal skills VU U N I VI 2. Possessing educational knowledge VU U N I VI 3. Displaying intellectual capacity for role VU U N I VI 4. Managing resources effectively VU U N I VI 5. Acting in an ethical manner VU U N I VI 6. Leading curriculum requirements VU U N I VI 7. Applying mandatory policies VU U N I VI 8. Valuing individual staff members VU U N I VI 9. Adhering to mandatory legislation VU U N I VI 10. Being trustworthy VU U N I VI 11. Being approachable to staff VU U N I VI 12. Remaining composed in challenging
situations VU U N I VI
13. Having curriculum knowledge VU U N I VI 14. Being emotionally mature VU U N I VI 15. Having pedagogical knowledge VU U N I VI 16. Possessing resilience in work practices VU U N I VI 17. Having consistent interactions with all
staff VU U N I VI
18. Creating partnerships VU U N I VI 19. Building relationships with staff VU U N I VI 20. Inspiring towards staff VU U N I VI 21. Developing shared leadership with staff VU U N I VI 22. Articulating a school vision VU U N I VI 23. Managing priorities VU U N I VI 24. Creating a culture committed to learning VU U N I VI
Appendices 329
25. Generating solutions to problems VU U N I VI26. Building relationships between staff VU U N I VI
27. Showing respect for staff VU U N I VI 28. Providing support for your classroom work
VU U N I VI
29. Being supportive of personal/family needs
VU U N I VI
30. Valuing staff views VU U N I VI Section 3: From the above 30 items please circle the number next to five statements that you believe are the most important to your work commitment.
Thank you for your time
330 Appendices
Appendix C Mid-career teachers’ views on principal leadership
practices
As part of a research study I am looking to test the implementation of this survey to determine how practical and clear it is for teachers to undertake. To assist me in evaluating the effectiveness of this survey, I am inviting you to read the questions and indicate with a yes or no whether you understood each item and if you would be able to answer from your perspective. There is also a space for comments if you wish to comment on any question item. Please note I do not require you to do the survey – only indicate if each question is clear to you and answerable.
This survey aims to investigate mid-career teachers’ views about principal leadership practices, in particular the impact of principal leadership practices on mid-career teacher work commitment. A mid-career teacher is defined as a teacher who has been teaching for five years or longer and who is more than five years from retirement.
Section 1: To preserve your anonymity, there is no need to write your name on this survey. Please circle or write responses that apply to you. (Data will be used for statistical purposes only)
e) What is your gender? Male Female f) What is your age? < 25yrs 25-35yrs 35-45yrs >45yrs g) For how many years have you been teaching? ____________ h) What is your highest education level? Diploma Bachelor Post Graduate Masters
Doctorate
Section 2: What leadership practices could a school principal enact that would help you improve your commitment to teaching? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate how important the following statements are to you in relation to your work commitment by circling one response to the right of each statement.
Key: VU = Very Unimportant U = Unimportant N = Neither important nor unimportant I =Important VI =Very Important
How important to your work commitment are principals’ leadership practices in the following areas: yes or no comments
1. Having interpersonal skills VU U N I VI 2. Possessing educational knowledge VU U N I VI 3. Displaying intellectual capacity for role VU U N I VI 4. Managing resources effectively VU U N I VI 5. Acting in an ethical manner VU U N I VI 6. Leading curriculum requirements VU U N I VI 7. Applying mandatory policies VU U N I VI 8. Valuing individual staff members VU U N I VI 9. Adhering to mandatory legislation VU U N I VI 10. Being trustworthy VU U N I VI 11. Being approachable to staff VU U N I VI 12. Remaining composed in challenging
situations VU U N I VI
13. Having curriculum knowledge VU U N I VI 14. Being emotionally mature VU U N I VI 15. Having pedagogical knowledge VU U N I VI
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16. Possessing resilience in work practices VU U N I VI 17. Having consistent interactions with all
staff VU U N I VI
18. Creating partnerships VU U N I VI 19. Building relationships with staff VU U N I VI 20. Inspiring towards staff VU U N I VI 21. Developing shared leadership with staff VU U N I VI 22. Articulating a school vision VU U N I VI 23. Managing priorities VU U N I VI 24. Creating a culture committed to learning VU U N I VI 25. Generating solutions to problems VU U N I VI 26. Building relationships between staff VU U N I VI
27. Showing respect for staff VU U N I VI 28. Providing support for your classroom work
VU U N I VI
29. Being supportive of personal/family needs
VU U N I VI
30. Valuing staff views VU U N I VI Section 3: From the above 30 items please circle the number next to five statements that you believe are the most important to your work commitment.
Thank you for your time
Are there any additional leadership practices you would like added to this list to be asked about in relation to your work commitment? _____________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
332 Appendices
Appendix D Survey aligned to five leadership domains
This survey aims to investigate mid-career teachers’ views about principal leadership practices, in particular the impact of principal leadership practices on mid-career teacher work commitment. A mid-career teacher is defined as a teacher who has been teaching for five years or longer and who is more than five years from retirement.
Section 1: To preserve your anonymity, there is no need to write your name on this survey. Please circle or write responses that apply to you. (Data will be used for statistical purposes only)
i) What is your gender? Male Female j) What is your age? < 25yrs 25-35yrs 35-45yrs >45yrs k) For how many years have you been teaching? ____________ l) What is your highest education level? Diploma Bachelor Post Graduate Masters
Doctorate
Section 2: What leadership practices could a school principal enact that would help you improve your commitment to teaching? ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Please rate how important the following statements are to you in relation to your work commitment by circling one response to the right of each statement.
Key: VU = Very Unimportant U = Unimportant N = Neither important nor unimportant I =Important VI =Very Important
How important to your work commitment are principals’ leadership practices in the following areas:
1. Having interpersonal skills VU U N I VI 2. Possessing educational knowledge VU U N I VI 3. Displaying intellectual capacity for role VU U N I VI 4. Managing resources effectively VU U N I VI 5. Acting in an ethical manner VU U N I VI 6. Leading curriculum requirements VU U N I VI 7. Applying mandatory policies VU U N I VI 8. Valuing individual staff members VU U N I VI 9. Adhering to mandatory legislation VU U N I VI 10. Being trustworthy VU U N I VI 11. Being approachable to staff VU U N I VI 12. Remaining composed in challenging
situations VU U N I VI
13. Having curriculum knowledge VU U N I VI 14. Being emotionally mature VU U N I VI 15. Having pedagogical knowledge VU U N I VI 16. Possessing resilience in work practices VU U N I VI 17. Having consistent interactions with all
staff VU U N I VI
18. Creating partnerships VU U N I VI 19. Building relationships with staff VU U N I VI 20. Inspiring towards staff VU U N I VI 21. Developing shared leadership with staff VU U N I VI 22. Articulating a school vision VU U N I VI 23. Managing priorities VU U N I VI 24. Creating a culture committed to learning VU U N I VI 25. Generating solutions to problems VU U N I VI 26. Building relationships between staff VU U N I VI
27. Showing respect for staff VU U N I VI
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28. Providing support for your classroom work
VU U N I VI
29. Being supportive of personal/family needs
VU U N I VI
30. Valuing staff views VU U N I VI Section 3: From the above 30 items please circle the number next to five statements that you believe are the most important to your work commitment.
Thank you for your time
334 Appendices
Appendix E Schedule of interview questions
Former mid-career teachers
Researcher: Thank you very much for agreeing to be a part of this research and agreeing to be interviewed. I will just give you a bit of background information. The study is concerned with finding the perspectives of mid-career teachers and primary principals regarding the relationship between principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher’s commitment to the teaching profession. The study aims to take a broad look at the issue and is not concerned with details about individual teachers, principals or schools. Participation in this interview is entirely voluntary and you can elect not to answer a question or end the interview at any time. The interview will be audio recorded and if you inadvertently name an individual or a school, these identifying names will be removed from the final transcript. You will be given a copy of the transcript as soon as practical after the interview to give you an opportunity to check your responses and provide further input or delete any comments prior to final inclusion. The recordings will be destroyed after they have been transcribed ensuring no-one will be able to identify individuals who took part in the study. This study has ethics approval and consent from both QUT and Education Queensland. Do you have any questions? Researcher: Are happy to proceed with the interview and be part of the research project? Researcher: You have been invited to take part in this research interview because you are an ex mid-career teacher who has taught for more than five years in Education Qld? Can you confirm that this is correct? Researcher: How many years did you teach for as a teacher in EQ? Researcher: And you are no longer teaching and have moved on to different employment? Researcher: What reasons can you share for making your decision to leave the teaching profession?
Appendices 335
Appendix F Schedule of interview questions
Current school principals
Researcher: Thank you very much for your time. For some background: this study is concerned with finding the perspectives of mid-career teachers and primary principals regarding the relationship between principal leadership practices and mid-career teacher’s commitment to the teaching profession. The study aims to take a broad look at the issue and is not concerned with details about individual teachers, principals or schools. Participation in this interview is entirely voluntary and you can elect to not answer a question or end the interview at any time. This interview will be audio recorded and if you inadvertently name an individual or a school, these identifying names will be removed from the final transcript. You will be given a transcript as soon as practical after the interview to give you an opportunity to check your responses and provide further input prior to final inclusion. The recordings will then be destroyed after they have been transcribed. This study has ethics approval and consent from both QUT and Education Queensland. Do you have any questions about this background? R: Thank you. Are happy to proceed with this interview and take part in the research project? R: Thank you very much. For the sake of validity can I confirm that you a current Band 8, 9 or 10 primary principal, employed by Education Queensland in the South East Region. R: How long you have been a principal for? R: Thank you. Now I would like you to think back over your years as a principal, specifically to the mid-career teachers who you have had on staff – that is the teachers who have taught for more than 5 years and were not yet thinking of retiring – what have you done for these specific teachers, as a principal, to enhance the work commitment of these mid-career teachers and encourage them to remain in teaching. What has been the effectiveness of some of those practices you may have used?
336 Appendices
Appendix G Ethics Approval from Education Queensland
Appendices 337
338 Appendices
Appendix H Ethics Approval from Queensland University of
Technology
Appendices 339
Appendix I Participant consent for interviews
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – Interview –
Determining leadership practices that impact on mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1300000364
RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Keith Graham, Doctor of Education student, QUT Associate Researcher:
DESCRIPTION This project is being undertaken as part of a Doctor of Education study for Keith GRAHAM. The purpose of this project is to investigate the impact of school principals’ leadership practices on teachers’ work commitment. You are invited to participate in this interview because you fall into one of the three groups: (a) Current primary state school principal, (b) An ex-teacher of at least 5 years’ experience, or
PARTICIPATION Your participation will involve an audio recorded interview at your school or a location of your choice that will take approximately 20 mins of your time. Questions will include Group 1 – 5 x Current school principals Q1 – What leadership practices do you believe a school principal can display to enhance mid-career teachers’ work commitment? Q2 – Research indicates that mid-career work commitment can be influenced by school principal leadership practices. What have you done in the past, as a principal, to enhance the work commitment of mid-career teachers? Comment on the effectiveness of your response in that situation. Group 2 – 5 x Ex-teachers who have recently left the profession Q1 – You have recently resigned from the teaching profession, what reasons can you share for making this decision? Q2 – Thinking back to your time as a teacher, what leadership practices could a school principal display to make you (and other teachers) more committed to their work? Your participation in this project is entirely voluntary. If you do agree to participate you can withdraw from the project without comment or penalty. If you withdraw, on request any identifiable information already obtained from you will be destroyed. Your decision to participate or not participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT or with Education Queensland. EXPECTED BENEFITS It is expected that this project will not directly benefit you. However, it may benefit school principals and Education Queensland in providing school leadership to mid-career teachers in relation to their perspectives on how leadership practices impact on their work commitment. RISKS For groups 1 and 3, there are no risks beyond normal day-to-day living associated with your participation in this project. For group 2 there are minimal risks associated with your participation in this project. These include
340 Appendices
anxiety or discomfort about recalling your resignation from teaching. To minimise these risks you can bring a support person to the interview, decide on what you wish to discuss and what you do not, and you can terminate the interview at any time. The interview will be held at a location of your choice. QUT provides limited free counselling for research participants of QUT projects who may experience discomfort or distress as a result of their participation in the research. Should you wish to access this service please contact the Clinic Receptionist of the QUT Psychology Clinic on 3138 0999. Please indicate to the receptionist that you are a research participant. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses will be treated confidentially unless required by law. The names of individual persons are not required in any of the responses. The audio recordings will be available to you immediately after the interview to give you the opportunity to verify your comments and responses prior to final inclusion. These recordings will be destroyed after they have been transcribed at the end of the project. The data from the audio recordings will be used for advancing leadership practices that may enhance teachers’ work commitment. This data will be published in a final thesis and may also be used in related publications. Any published data will be de-identified and only the researcher will have access to the original recordings. If you do not wish to be recorded it is possible to participate in an interview that will be transcribed by a third party throughout the discussion. Please note that non-identifiable data collected in this project may be used as comparative data in future projects or stored on an open access database for secondary analysis. CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE We would like to ask you to sign a written consent form (enclosed) to confirm your agreement to participate. QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT If have any questions or require further information please contact one of the research team members below.
Keith GRAHAM – Student Researcher (Doctor of Education) Faculty of Education
CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Unit on [+61 7] 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Unit is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.
Thank you for helping with this research project. Please keep this sheet for your information.
Appendices 341
CONSENT FORM FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – Interview –
Determining leadership practices that impact on mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1300000364
RESEARCH TEAM CONTACTS Keith GRAHAM – Student Researcher (Doctor of Education) Faculty of Education
STATEMENT OF CONSENT
By signing below, you are indicating that you: • Have read and understood the information document regarding this project. • Have had any questions answered to your satisfaction. • Understand that if you have any additional questions you can contact the research team. • Understand that you are free to withdraw at any time, without comment or penalty. • Understand that you can contact the Research Ethics Unit on 3138 5123 or email
[email protected] if you have concerns about the ethical conduct of the project. • Understand that the project will include an audio recording. • Understand that non-identifiable data collected in this project may be used as comparative
data in future projects. • Agree to participate in the project.
Name
Signature
Date MEDIA RELEASE PROMOTIONS From time to time, we may like to promote our research to the general public through, for example, newspaper articles. Would you be willing to be contacted by QUT Media and Communications for possible inclusion in such stories? By ticking this box, it only means you are choosing to be contacted – you can still decide at the time not to be involved in any promotions.
Yes, you may contact me about inclusion in promotions. No, I do not wish to be contacted about inclusion in promotions.
Please return this sheet to the investigator.
342 Appendices
Appendix J Participant consent for surveys
PARTICIPANT INFORMATION FOR QUT RESEARCH PROJECT – Survey –
Determining leadership practices that impact on mid-career teachers’ commitment to the profession: Mid-career teachers’ perspectives.
QUT Ethics Approval Number 1300000364
RESEARCH TEAM Principal Researcher: Keith Graham, Doctor of Education student, QUT Associate Researcher:
DESCRIPTION This project is being undertaken as part of a Doctor of Education study for Keith GRAHAM. The purpose of this project is to investigate mid-career teachers’ perspective of school principals’ leadership practices and how these practices impact on teachers’ work commitment. You are invited to participate in this project because you are a mid-career teacher and your valued opinion is specifically being sought for this research. PARTICIPATION Participation will involve completing a 30 item anonymous survey with Likert scale responses (very unimportant VU – very important VI) that will take approximately 20 mins of your time. Questions will include:
1. Having interpersonal skills VU U N I VI 2. Possessing educational knowledge VU U N I VI
Your participation in this project is entirely voluntary. Your decision to participate or not participate will in no way impact upon your current or future relationship with QUT or Education Queensland.The survey is anonymous and once it has been submitted it will not be possible to withdraw. EXPECTED BENEFITS It is expected that this project will not directly benefit you. However, it may benefit school principals and Education Queensland in providing school leadership to mid-career teachers in relation to how leadership practices impact on mid-career teachers’ work commitment. RISKS There are no risks beyond normal day-to-day living associated with your participation in this project. Some may experience inconvenience in completing the survey. PRIVACY AND CONFIDENTIALITY All comments and responses are anonymous and will be treated confidentially. The names of individuals are not required in any of the responses. Any data collected as part of this project will be stored securely as per QUT’s Management of research data policy. Please note that non-identifiable data collected in this project may be used as comparative data in future projects. CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE
Appendices 343
The return of the completed survey is accepted as an indication of your consent to participate in this project. QUESTIONS / FURTHER INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROJECT If have any questions or require further information please contact one of the research team members below.
Keith GRAHAM – Student Researcher (Doctor of Education)Faculty of Education Associate Professor Peter Hudson – Senior Supervisor Faculty of Education Dr Jill Willis – Associate Supervisor Faculty of Education
CONCERNS / COMPLAINTS REGARDING THE CONDUCT OF THE PROJECT QUT is committed to research integrity and the ethical conduct of research projects. However, if you do have any concerns or complaints about the ethical conduct of the project you may contact the QUT Research Ethics Unit on [+61 7] 3138 5123 or email [email protected]. The QUT Research Ethics Unit is not connected with the research project and can facilitate a resolution to your concern in an impartial manner.
Thank you for helping with this research project. Please keep this sheet for your information.