“If I Ever Leave, I Have a List of People That Are Going With Me:” Principals’ Understandings of and Responses to Place Influences on Teacher Staffing in West Virginia

Abstract

Purpose: Schools across the predominately rural state of West Virginia are experiencing widespread teacher shortages, though recruitment and retention difficulties are unevenly distributed across place. Using spatial in/justice as our framework, we explore how principals define place, how place influences principal perceptions of teacher recruitment and retention, and how principals respond to these staffing challenges given their leadership experiences, relationship to school community, and understandings of place affordances and disadvantages. Research Methods/Approach This research utilized interviews with eight principals across six school districts in West Virginia over a four-month time frame. We inductively coded interview transcripts in iterative cycles using our research framework as a guide for emic and etic codes. Findings: We find principals’ understanding of place influences on staffing to be specific to the unique attributes of each community and the placement of their leadership experiences – as community returners, seasoned though not originally from the community, and new-to-place. Their understandings of spatial in/justice as it relates to teacher staffing shape ideas of place affordances and disadvantages and recruitment and retention practices. These findings complexify the teacher staffing picture across geographically diverse rural places and the responses available to leaders given their leadership experience and relationship to place. Implications for Research and Practice The place-specific influences on teacher staffing problematize statewide policy mechanisms for ameliorating teacher shortages. The findings also suggest the need for further in-depth qualitative research within districts and across states, with an emphasis on racially diverse rural places.

One Size Does Not Fit All: How Leadership Strategies Affect Teacher Satisfaction and Retention

“…The principals described similar strategies and leadership styles when asked about teacher retention, such as the importance of providing support through instructional resources, mentors, affirmations, and continuous growth and professional development (Brown & Wynn, 2009). Another significant finding from this study was the emphasis on situational leadership: adapting and adjusting to the changing needs throughout the school (Brown & Wynn, 2009), a finding supported by a recent analysis of rural teacher retention by McHenry-Sorber et al (2021).…”

Moral Distress Amongst District Leaders: Intensity, Dilemmas, and Coping Mechanisms in the Context of Covid-19

“…Although there is widespread acknowledgement that Covid-19 produced distress, discomfort, and pressure for leaders, educators, students, and families alike, the research evidence about how leaders navigated these pressures and implications for theory and practice is only beginning to emerge. For example, at the time we write this sentence, only two articles in Educational Administration Quarterly mention the pandemic ( Dei & Adhami, 2022 ; McHenry-Sorber et al, 2021 ). Nonetheless, there is evidence of administrative angst: self-care practices of principals during Covid-19 suggest that “leaders eat last” and sought to “keep from falling off the cliff” ( Hayes et al, 2022 , p. 403).…”

Rural cultural wealth: dismantling deficit ideologies of rurality

“…Furthermore, in the literature regarding rural post-secondary opportunities, the issue of outmigration is discussed. Outmigration refers to an individual’s desires for post-secondary educational attainment or other activities that may take them out of the immediate orbit of their family or rural space, and the perceived inability of those with post-secondary degrees to return to their communities to find suitable livelihood (McHenry-Sorber et al , 2021). Drawing contrast, some rural residents return to their hometowns after completing post-secondary education rather than stay in their adopted cities (McHenry-Sorber et al , 2021; Theodori and Theodori, 2014).…”

“…Outmigration refers to an individual’s desires for post-secondary educational attainment or other activities that may take them out of the immediate orbit of their family or rural space, and the perceived inability of those with post-secondary degrees to return to their communities to find suitable livelihood (McHenry-Sorber et al , 2021). Drawing contrast, some rural residents return to their hometowns after completing post-secondary education rather than stay in their adopted cities (McHenry-Sorber et al , 2021; Theodori and Theodori, 2014). Those who choose to return (community returners) to their rural homelands cite common rural assets such as “the peaceful lifestyle, perceived safety, and social and familial ties” as reasons for returning (Theodori and Theodori, 2014, p. 114).…”

“…Those who choose to return (community returners) to their rural homelands cite common rural assets such as “the peaceful lifestyle, perceived safety, and social and familial ties” as reasons for returning (Theodori and Theodori, 2014, p. 114). McHenry-Sorber et al (2021) asserted that community returners have a depth of understanding of rural spatial contexts, established understanding of their communities and are often leaders involved in efforts to increase college attendance among rural youth. The authors also proposed that community returners play a vital role in recruiting and retaining high-quality rural educators, serving as examples that moving away for college does not always lead to permanent rural outmigration.…”