1. Elementary School Principals' Perceptions on How They Maintained a Positive School Climate during Teacher Turnover
- Author
-
Travis Peck
- Abstract
The national teacher shortage created a crisis in the educational system that caused a negative effect on students and teachers (Garcia & Weiss, 2019). School climate can influence teachers' contribution, productivity, and sense of belonging (Smith et al., 2014; Thapa et al., 2013). With the current teacher shortage, school principals navigate daily disruptions while attempting to maintain a positive school climate. This study used a qualitative phenomenological method to explore elementary school principals' perceptions of how they maintained a positive school climate during teacher turnover. The study employed purposeful sampling to select elementary school principal participants who experienced at least a 20% teacher turnover in their school building over a three-year period. Four elementary school principals from Central Pennsylvania participated in one-on-one, semi-structured interviews. The data were coded and analyzed. The semi-structured interview data revealed four themes: building leadership teams, communication, relationships, and celebrations. The results suggest that the principals in this study relied on their building leadership teams to maintain positive school climate during times of teacher turnover. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
- Published
- 2023