Growing Your Own Educational Leaders: Implications for Rural School Districts and Institutions of Higher Education

John Mcconnell,Cheryl Lambert,James Thompson,Benita Bruster

doi:10.35608/ruraled.v42i3.1134

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to examine a ‘grow your own’ model of leadership preparation and placement of educational administrators in the state of Tennessee. The growing need for school and district administrators in the rural counties of Tennessee mirrors a nationwide issue, and state policymakers and practitioners must respond appropriately to sustain adequate K-12 educational leadership that is representative of state demographics. Recommendations for policy and practice are provided for state and local education agencies as well as principal preparation programs in higher education.

Highlights

The purpose of this article is to examine a ‘grow your own’ model of leadership preparation and placement of educational administrators in the state of Tennessee
Leadership roles in rural school districts may be affected by rural contexts
A review of current literature reveals limited research regarding the use and impact of ‘grow your own’ models of leadership in rural schools. “‘Grow your own’ principal preparation programs are becoming more common in large school districts, but the literature on ‘grow your own’ principal preparation programs is scarce” (Joseph, 2010, p. 2), and this includes those for rural districts as well

Summary

Introduction

The purpose of this article is to examine a ‘grow your own’ model of leadership preparation and placement of educational administrators in the state of Tennessee. Forty percent exit the education system altogether, 19% transfer to a within-district school, 19% get promoted into a central office position, 19% return to a lower school position, e.g., teacher, and 4% transfer to an acrossdistrict school, i.e., school outside of their original district (Grissom & Bartanen, 2019) Many of those principals left due to stress, excessive demand on their time, feelings of isolation, and declining student achievement (Burkhauser et al, 2012).

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Conclusion