Principals' Goal Setting Approach and its Implications for Teacher Turnover.

Theories addressing individual motivation abound in organizational research. Even public administration--a field criticized for having few homegrown theories--has its own theory of employee motivation. Yet, one of the most heavily researched, valid theories of motivation--goal setting theory--has received little attention in public management scholarship. Oddly, the basic tenets of goal setting theory underpin numerous systems widely implemented in public organizations. That a motivational tool so frequently implemented in public organizations has received so little scholarly attention is troubling. Responding to recent calls for research on goal setting in public organizations, this paper examines whether the goal setting approach of primary and secondary school principals affects actual teacher turnover. Utilizing data from the School and Staffing Survey and the Teacher Follow-up Survey, we find that teachers are more likely to remain in the same school if a principal sets clear goals. Results also suggest all teachers respond similarly to clear goals. Findings, which underscore the importance of goal setting in a sample of public organizations, are discussed in terms of their implications for public management research and theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]