Most principals interviewed for a new study believe they could be more effective if they were given more authority over personnel decisions in their schools, according to the Thomas B. Fordham Institute and the American Institutes for Research, both the Washington-based groups that conducted the study.
Personnel decisions include the ability to hire, discharge, and transfer teachers and other staff members, and to determine the number and types of job positions in their schools. Despite restrictions on personnel decisions, principals still felt they could be effective leaders. Results were gathered from interviews with 33 elementary school principals from regular and charter public schools in three states.
“The Autonomy Gap: Barriers to Effective School Leadership’’ is posted by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
