Principal succession in schools: A literature review (2003–2019)

Principal succession is an inevitable phenomenon in school systems. Given the relevance of principal succession for leadership quality and school improvement, there has been a lack of research in recent decades that has synthesized principal succession. This study aims to review the literature from 2003 to 2019 on principal succession in schools. Using a systematic review as the methodological approach, the eight core educational management and administration leadership journals were selected to collect the sources. Among this corpus of data, four main topics emerged: (a) factors affecting principal succession; (b) the dilemma between change and continuity; (c) the impact of principal succession on teachers; and (d) the evaluation of succession programs. We found that the volume of evidence on principal succession in K-12 schools is low and narrow, even with the importance of the topic. Given the increasingly common pattern of principal movements across the school system, it is urgent to research principal succession in greater detail. Otherwise, the association between principal succession and school failure will be maintained.

Promising Practices

This study applies transformational leadership theory practices to examine the purposeful ways in which principals work to build the next gen- eration of teacher leaders in response to the shortage of K-12 principals. Given the impact, principals have on student development and the shortage of those applying for the principalship, the purpose of this cross-case analysis was to discover how principals build leadership capacity at their respective school sites and groom individuals for leadership roles. Further, this study explored teacher perceptions of the practices in addition to factors that facilitated or inhibited the implementation of the principals’ practices. Three school principals served as the primary participants for this research, and data were gleaned from interviews, observations, and artifacts. Findings indicated that the principals fostered leadership capacity by providing authentic administrative opportunities for teachers pursuing the administration credential. Additionally, the principals’ methods for building leadership capacity were positively perceived by the identified teacher leaders. Factors that facilitated leadership capacity development include school and district systems and structures, while factors that inhibited teachers’ development include psychological concerns. This study illuminates the need for principals to build leadership capacity at their school sites in order to purposefully prepare teacher leaders for principal succession.

Dynamic Leadership Succession: Strengthening Urban Principal Succession Planning

The Dynamic Leadership Succession model is used to analyze a leadership succession case in an urban school district. The qualitative findings show that the district did not forecast school leadership needs well; however, the principal sought to develop and mentor teacher leaders as her assistant principals. Second, sustaining efforts within the district were, at times, haphazard, as demonstrated by the two study participants as they were inducted into their respective roles of principal and assistant principal. Finally, the district failed to deliberately plan for leadership transitions.

School performance trajectories and the challenges for principal succession

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to use empirical data on new principals to clarify the connection between different succession situations and the challenges their successor principals face. Design/methodology/approach – The study draws on two waves of interview data from a random sample of 16 new elementary school principals in a major urban school district in the USA. Findings – New principals face distinct practice challenges depending on the nature of their successions. The less planned the succession, the less information and knowledge the new principal tends to possess. The more discontinuous the new administration’s trajectory is with the previous administration, the greater the staff resistance that the successor principal tends to face. Research limitations/implications – Few studies systematically examine how succession situations differ in schools that are in need of transformation vs those in need of stability. This study addresses this gap by illuminating the varied processes of succession and highlighting specific mechanisms that link these processes to different organizational trajectories. Practical implications – For district officials, this study suggests that principals in unplanned successions need greater support in quickly gathering information about their new schools while principals in discontinuous successions need greater expertise in how to balance trust-building and accountability in their attempts to promote transformational change. Originality/value – This study’s primary value is its detailed articulation of how certain characteristics of succession situations are associated with specific types of challenges. Only studies at this level of specificity can be effective guides to practitioners and policymakers who are charged with preparing, selecting, and supporting new principals and their schools.