Superintendents' Perspectives on the Involuntary Departure of Public School Principals: The Most Frequent Reasons Why Principals Lose their Jobs

Few studies have examined factors relating to ineffective school leadership. Such knowledge can help principals refine leadership behaviors and enhance job security. This study used experiences and perceptions from 99 California public school superintendents to examine the reasons why some principals lose their jobs. Superintendents' perceptions were compared with situational contexts and organizational outcomes. The results show that a principal's interpersonal relationships outweigh any other factor related to involuntary departure. In contrast to other studies, factors related to administrative skill were less important in explaining why principals lose their jobs. Low student achievement, failure to maintain a safe campus, or resistance to change had little influence on superintendents' decisions to remove a principal. Few differences in the reasons for involuntary departure were associated with district size or type. The relationship between certain organizational outcomes and the most frequent reasons for involuntary departure were not clear. Thus, the principal's effect on organizational outcomes appears to be indirect.