Charter School Principals Research Articles

Racial Discrimination and Administrative Burden in Access to Public Services

Equal access to public services is a foundational element of democratic societies. Yet, stark inequalities in access to public services persist, partially due to bureaucratic discrimination, or differential treatment by bureaucrats. This study investigates the causal mechanism of bureaucratic discrimination, arguing that racial discrimination can serve as a means of cream skimming, when there are economic incentives to prioritize easier-to-serve clientele. We predict that in the absence of information regarding prospective clients’ performance, group-level performance information will be imposed on racially minoritized individuals. We implemented a nationwide email correspondence audit experiment including all charter school principals in the U.S. (n = 5850). The findings show that Black email aliases faced significantly higher administrative burdens in trying to get access to charter schools than White email aliases when no performance signal was provided. However, when a direct signal of clients’ performance was introduced, the racial disparities diminished. Overall, these results provide evidence on the causal mechanism of bureaucratic discrimination as a means of cream-skimming.

How Principals Balance Control and Care in Urban School Discipline

School discipline has been a site of contention and reform. In this study, we draw from 17 interviews with traditional and charter school principals in one mid-sized urban school district to examine how principals use discipline as a tool to both maintain control and demonstrate care. Our study calls attention to different strategies principals use to establish this balance, including reducing suspensions, moderating “no-excuses” systems, and building positive student–teacher relationships. We also make a theoretical contribution by showing how schools and school leaders respond to competing institutional logics in developing practices and policies.

Racial Discrimination and Street‐Level Managers: Performance, Publicness, and Group Bias

AbstractThis article broadens our understanding of street‐level governance by examining how citizen performance, organizational publicness, and group bias moderate racial discrimination among street‐level managers (SLMs). We examine this topic with an experiment in which we requested enrollment information from public and charter school principals while randomly assigning a putative student's race and ability. As expected, SLMs discriminated based on race, and positive performance information mitigated this discrimination. Surprisingly, negative performance information also reduced discrimination. Turning to publicness, we find no evidence that less public organizations (charter schools) exacerbated anti‐Black discrimination. Finally, we show that White SLMs discriminated against Black citizens. However, Black SLMs worked in more administratively difficult settings and, perhaps as a result, responded at lower rates; thus, Black citizens were equally likely to receive responses from White and Black SLMs. Therefore, improving access to public agencies may require representativeness and support for SLMs working in challenging organizational environments.

Collective Bargaining of Charter School Principals and School Performance

ABSTRACT Because charter school principals are granted more autonomy and discretion than principals of traditional public schools, it is imperative to search for the attributes of principals that may improve charter school performance. This study examines the relationship between principals’ collective bargaining and charter school effectiveness. Using propensity score matching based on the School and Staffing Survey, I find that principals’ unionization is positively and significantly associated with charter school performance. I also identify potential mechanisms through which principals’ unionization influences charter schools: higher pay and better working conditions for principals, more formal principal evaluation, and more informal teacher evaluation.

Teacher Leaders’ Perceptions of Charter School Principals’ Instructional Leadership Practices

Teacher leaders are a population to consider when observing instructional leadership or the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. While teacher leaders may formally or informally fulfill different roles in the school, depending on the school’s needs and the principal’s vision. A voice rarely illuminated within research, teacher leaders should have the ability to perceive and speak to the instructional leadership behaviors of the school principal. It is through the display of the instructional leadership behaviors and implementation of processes and programs that teacher leaders are able to more accurately perceive and communicate beliefs about their school principals’ practices regarding instructional leadership. One overlooked presence in the research on instructional leadership practices is the charter school principal. To address this issue, our goal is to examine the instructional practices of the charter school principal from the lens of Mendel’s five effective leadership practices for instructional leaders as perceived by the teacher leader. Several concepts emerged from this phenomenological study indicating that teacher leaders perceive that effective charter school instructional leaders (a) use diverse communication styles with all stakeholders, (b) promote professional capacity, (c) employ varied data to inform instructional practices and decisions, (d) have a visual and resounding vision statement, and (e) maximize and preserve instructional time for teachers with few daily interruptions.

The good principal: A case study of early-career charter principals’ role conceptualizations

Up to 75 percent of charter principals in the United States leave the role within five years. Understanding how early-career principals conceptualize the role could help strengthen principal preparation and in-service training. This study analyzed early-career charter principals’ descriptions of the principalship in order to understand their framework for what it means to be a good principal. A qualitative case study was used, focused on semi-structured interviews with 15 charter school principals. Charter school principals in this study primarily defined being a ‘good’ principal using examples and descriptions of soft skills and personality traits.

Physical education teachers' and principals' perspectives on the use of FitnessGram.

Objectives:FitnessGram is commonly used to measure physical fitness and improve physical activity and health in youth. However, little is known about its use for informing physical activity and health promotion policy within schools and school districts, especially from the perspective of key decision-makers like principals. Therefore, this study examined physical education teachers’ and principals’ perceptions of FitnessGram use and its relationship with school and district efforts to promote physical activity.Methods:Principal and physical education teacher surveys were developed, converted to an online format, and then emailed along with a project description and instructions to all Delaware public and charter school physical education teachers (N = 183) and principals (N = 193) with a valid email.Results:Completed surveys were received from 35.5% of the teachers and 21.2% of the principals. All teachers and 95.1% of the principals reported their school used FitnessGram the past academic year. FitnessGram was significantly more likely to be used if FitnessGram results better aligned with school/district policies (r = 0.39) and were considered important in the school’s decision-making process (r = 0.53). Significantly more principals than teachers said that FitnessGram results were important in their school’s decision-making process and that FitnessGram results were used to inform policy-/decision-making.Conclusion:Use of FitnessGram was correlated with how well it related to school/district policy. Unfortunately, most of the physical education teachers and principals did not think FitnessGram was adequately integrated into the policy-/decision-making process.

Leadership coaching: a multiple-case study of urban public charter school principals’ experiences

ABSTRACTThe purpose of our multi-case study was to understand the experiences of non-novice New York City and Washington, DC public charter school principals who had participated in leadership coaching as a component of their leadership development. Eight New York City and Washington DC public charter school principal cases were selected through purposeful sampling. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, documents, and artifacts, which were analyzed, coded and grouped into three broader themes: the coaching process, the impact of coaching, and principal leader identity construction. The findings supported the following conclusions: (a) Participants’ experiences of coaching were inconsistent with the coaching literature; (b) The impact of coaching was shaped by perceived competencies of the coach and the structure of the coaching session; and (c) Participants’ leader identity construction was supported through the process of coaching.

The Uncharted Nature of Licensure Requirements for Charter School Principals: Implications and Possibilities for Policy Action

The authors drew upon state policy documents and other public sources to review licensure requirements for charter school principals. The results indicate that few states have adopted licensure requirements for charter school principals compared with traditional public school principals, and many exempt charter school principals from licensure altogether. They found that training and support for charter school principals is available, but is concentrated in the states with the highest number of charter schools. These findings have significant implications for policy makers, charter school advocates, and authorizers. These implications are discussed and related to the existing literature regarding principal preparation and licensure.

How schools train principals to use new teacher evaluation systems: A comparative case study of charter school and traditional public school principals

ABSTRACTOver the past decade U.S. policymakers, practitioners, and researchers have sought to examine if changing teacher evaluation policies and systems have resulted in changes in identifying quality teachers and/or increased student achievement. This research generally shows most states have experienced little change in how teachers are rated. Researchers are now exploring why, in many cases, teacher evaluation reforms have failed to produce the desired systematic changes of better identifying quality teachers and better distinguishing teacher performance. Embedded within this line of inquiry is how principals (and other evaluators) are trained to use new teacher evaluation systems. This comparative case study observed six principals (three charter school principals and three traditional public school principals) in the U.S. state of Michigan as they learned and enacted a new teacher evaluation system. Additionally, all principals were interviewed three times throughout the school year, in an effort to examine how their initial teacher evaluation training impacted their evaluation of teachers. The research questions that guided this work were: (1) how are principals initially trained when their school adopts a new teacher evaluation system?; (2) in what ways does the training received by charter school principals compare to that of traditional public school principals?; and (3) how does initial training impact how principals evaluate teachers? Results indicate principals are trained to navigate the logistics of new teacher evaluation systems, but are not trained to evaluate teacher performance. Implications for policy and practice are discussed.

Why mission matters more for (some) charter principals

ABSTRACTReflecting post-bureaucratic organisation theory, education reformers intended charter schools to empower school-level leaders, most typically principals, with autonomy to pursue clear, student-centred missions. Yet little research explores whether charter school principals have more power than traditional public school counterparts. We summarise the limited literature addressing the issue. Second, we present findings from interviews with nine charter leaders from six US states who have experience in leading both charter and traditional public schools, a unique data set. Both prior research and our findings suggest that generally, leaders feel more likely to be held accountable for results in charter schools than in traditional public schools. Furthermore, without oversight from school boards and central office administrators, charter leaders report having more power over budget and personnel, and more ability to collaborate with teachers. At the same time, standalone charter leaders report needing business support and training, while those from charter management organizations feel free to focus on academic success.

Leadership Knowledge and Practices in the Context of Charter Schools

ABSTRACTPrincipal leadership influences both the school environment and classroom teaching practices, and a principal’s ability to establish strong, collaborative instructional practices is essential to academic success. To date, very little research on leadership has focused on charter schools. Even though charter schools continue to grow in number and importance within the U.S. public education system, leadership in charter schools remains somewhat of a “black box.” This study seeks to use the extant research on leadership practices, charter schools, and the importance of principals, and original data from charter school principals, to expand the empirical findings on leadership in charter schools.

Sexuality and HIV Education in Charter Schools: An Exploratory Study With Principals in San Diego County, California.

Schools can address critical sexual and reproductive health (SRH) issues among youth. However, little is known about SRH education being implemented in charter schools. Thus, our purpose was to explore implementation of SRH education in charter schools. Using purposive sampling, semistructured telephone interviews were conducted with 20 charter school principals in San Diego County, California. Questions were guided by the Kaiser Family Foundation National Survey of Public Secondary School Principals. Analyses followed a case-oriented approach, examining aspects within each case (ie, a principal), and then a comparative analysis of a small number of cases (ie, all principals). Overall, 17 principals acknowledged offering sexuality education in the previous 2 years. Over half of these schools had provided content on: sexually transmitted diseases/human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (STDs/HIV/AIDS), reproduction/pregnancy/birth, pregnancy prevention methods, delaying sex, and managing sexual pressure. Condom use, sexual assault, sexual orientation, talking with partners about STD/pregnancy prevention, talking with parents about relationships/sex, and using/where to get contraception were less commonly taught. Abortion was not addressed. When asked the grade they would assign to their schools' sexuality/HIV instruction, principals assigned 1 A, 7 Bs, 7 Cs, and 1 D. Consistency between our findings and what has been reported elsewhere varies. As charter schools often have greater curricular flexibility than traditional schools, this study provides unique preliminary data to inform future innovative, or strengthen existing, SRH programming.

Work Environments and Labor Markets

Purpose: Knowledge about principals’ leadership roles in charter schools’ success has become more important as the number of charter schools increases and as we have learned more about the influence of principal leadership on school effectiveness. To contribute to the limited empirical literature on the principal labor market, this study explores the reasons for the disparity of turnover rates between charter school principals and their counterparts in traditional public schools (TPSs). It focuses on the differential distributions of observable factors, including principal characteristics, principal leadership practices, school contexts, and working conditions. It also examines how the associations between these observables and the likelihood of principal turnover differ between these two types of schools. Research Methods/Approach: This study uses data on a nationally representative sample of principals from the Schools and Staffing Survey in the 2007-2008 school year and its following-year Principal Follow-up Survey. The main analytic strategies include logit models and the Fairlie nonlinear decomposition technique. Findings: A statistically significant difference in charter–TPS principal turnover rates was confirmed. The explanatory variables collectively explained about 49% of the charter–TPS turnover gap: Principal characteristics explained 3%, principal leadership quality explained 4%, school contexts explained 2%, and working conditions explained 28%. Moreover, relative to TPS peers, three factors have stronger associations with the likelihood of charter school principal turnover: principal leadership quality, barriers to the dismissal of poor-performing or incompetent teachers, and salary. Implications for Research and Practice: This is one of first few studies that empirically explore the charter school principal workforce and labor market movements. Findings are practically informative for retaining principals in charter schools.

Two Charter School Principals’ Engagement in Instructional Leadership

This comparative case (Merriam, 2009) study explored two charter school principals’ engagement in instructional leadership. Analysis of three data sources—interviews, observations, and documents—revealed that principals were almost exclusively focused on state accountability and possessed limited knowledge of pedagogical practices. In particular, these two principals had difficulties managing aspects of the instructional program and sustaining a positive school climate, possibly related to their limited educational experience. As a result, these two principals focused on structural changes, delegated instructional issues, and appeared to rely heavily on commercial programs as opposed to enhancement of teacher classroom practices. Comparisons of charter principal practices with traditional principal instructional leadership models are made and implications discussed.

Leading charters

Charter schools have been studied from numerous perspectives. One topic that remains under-researched, however, is charter school leadership. Therefore, we examine how charter administrators define their leadership roles and their ability to lead. Results indicate that charter principals see three primary functions in their leadership—building and moving the internal school community in a common direction, managing staff, and school safety. Charter school principals expressed general confidence in their ability to lead in these areas but less confidence in leading in the areas of math and literacy. Charter leaders spend more time conducting meetings and handling parent issues and less time on hiring staff and fundraising. Finally, time differential statistics revealed that, although principals recognize the value of instructional leadership, less time than desired is spent on this area. Implications from the research indicate that charter boards and aspiring leaders should pay attention to alignment between how each defines leadership and what each party expects of the role.

Principals’ Approaches to Cultivating Teacher Effectiveness

Purpose: How principals hire, assign, evaluate, and provide growth opportunities to teachers likely have major ramifications for teacher effectiveness and student learning. This article reports on the barriers principals encountered when carrying out these functions and variations in the degree to which they identified obstacles and problem-solved to surmount them. Research Methods: I conducted semistructured interviews with 30 principals in charter or conventional schools in two adjacent northeastern states. State A has been at the national forefront of efforts to raise teacher effectiveness. State B is a particularly strong union setting. Charter school principals constituted 23.3% of the sample; 53% of principals worked in urban schools. After coding interview transcripts, I used thematic summaries, categorical matrices, and analytical memos to identify themes across participant experiences. Findings: Principals encountered barriers to cultivating teacher effectiveness that were economic, contractual, cultural, and interpersonal. Principals with more professional development regarding how to improve teachers’ instruction and principals of schools that were elementary, smaller, and in State A reported fewer barriers and more opportunities to developing human capital. Implications: Implications for policymakers include creating incentives to draw teachers to urban and rural schools and curtailing teacher assignments that prioritize seniority. Implications for practitioners include efforts to shift the culture of schools to support principals in providing accurate and frank feedback on instruction. Further research should examine whether the patterns identified here hold for a larger, random sample of principals including those in large, urban districts and right-to-work states.

Does Charter Status Determine Preferences? Comparing the Hiring Preferences of Charter and Traditional Public School Principals

The academic success of any school depends on its teachers. However, relatively little research exists on the qualities principals value in teacher hiring, and we know almost nothing about charter school principals’ preferences. This article addresses this gap in the literature using survey results for a matched sample of charter and traditional public school principals. We compare regression-adjusted survey responses of charter and traditional public school principals to examine whether charter school principals report placing more emphasis on teacher hiring than principals in traditional public schools and whether principals’ preferences for teacher qualifications and characteristics vary between charter and traditional public schools. While we find some mean differences in principals’ reported hiring focus and preferences across charter and traditional public schools, regression results indicate that these differences are driven not by charter status but by school characteristics, such as average teacher experience and school enrollment.

Charter School Principals' Perception on Transformational Leadership Practices

The purpose of this study was to investigate charter school principals' perception on the transformational leadership practices in New York State. The data generating sample consisted of 44 charter school principals. Descriptive statistics and multiple regression were employed to analyze the data. The results were as follows: first, the transformational leadership practices of charter school principals were in the moderate to high categories, and the greatest gap was on Inspiring a shared vision leadership practice. Second, there were no statistically significant relationships between the leadership practices and the demographic variables of: gender, age, ethnicity, and level of education of principals. However, a positive relationship was found between both the Modeling the way and Encouraging the heart leadership practices and the educational level of charter school principals. Third, there was a significant relationship between the Inspiring a shared vision leadership practice of charter school principals and prior experience as a school principal.

Breaking Loose

Because various aspects of the school organization matter, this study was designed to determine to what degree principals in both charter and traditional public schools experience autonomy. This quantitative study draws on the 1999-2000 School and Staffing Survey, and the analyses suggest that there are variations in the degree and amount of principal autonomy experienced across charter and traditional public schools. Principals, although clearly autonomous, are constrained by state influence but supported by district influence. Charter school principals enjoy greater degrees of autonomy across various internal school activities, and this contributes to the conceptual understanding of organizational autonomy.