Principal Attitudes towards Out-of-Field Teaching Assignments and Professional Learning Needs

Research has shown that school leader practices can influence teachers’ lived experiences of teaching out-of-field. Less is understood about principals’ attitudes towards out-of-field teaching and their perceptions of the teachers’ professional development support needs. This qualitative multiple case study investigates principal attitudes and school practices relating to out-of-field teaching in Australia and Germany. The findings show that principals’ attitudes differed in relation to the importance of teachers’ subject background knowledge, what they regarded as quality teaching, and, consequently, the professional development needs of teachers. Four perspectives (teaching as pedagogical, passion, capability, and specialized) on principal’s attitudes and related professional development supports were identified to illustrate that there are multiple ways to regard out-of-field teaching from a school management perspective. Principal attitudes towards quality teaching were exposed through what they tolerate in terms of out-of-field teaching and the supports they deem suitable and necessary. We argue that principals need to be active in considering a comprehensive tailored approach when supporting teachers’ learning to teach a subject out-of-field.