The Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod (WELS) is affiliated with over 400 schools across the globe. WELS schools are experiencing a teacher shortage and concerning teacher attrition levels like other school systems. Research indicates that job satisfaction is a predictor for organizational commitment, and principals' leadership style has a…

This dissertation consists of two chapters at the intersection of labor and the economics of education. In Chapter 1, I examine the role of management in the public sector, focusing on school principals and how they impact student outcomes. I find that a one standard-deviation increase in principal quality raises average student achievement by…

This report presents selected findings from the Current Teacher and Former Teacher questionnaires of the 2021-22 Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS). The TFS is a longitudinal component of the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), which is a nationally representative survey of public and private K-12 schools, principals, and teachers in the 50…

This paper reports on a three-year research project aimed at examining experiences of being a teacher in a context of school reform and adverse times. A mixed-method research design was devised, including a national survey, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and a professional development programme. Findings suggest that teachers face old…

In 2014 "almost 80% of all government school teachers in Australia in their first 5 years of their teaching careers were on short-term contracts." This paper will consider how the short-term contract governs early career teachers in Australia, and more broadly, how neo-liberal governance works on and through institutions and individuals.…

Despite the growing media attention paid to charter-school unions, comparatively little empirical research exists. Drawing on interview data from two cities (Detroit, MI, and New Orleans, LA), our exploratory study examined charter-school teachers' motivations for organizing, the political and power dimensions, and the framing of unions by both…

Principals historically have needed to adapt to dramatic shifts that impact their schools, including significant policy changes at the state and federal levels. For example, the 2008 study recorded principals' reactions to No Child Left Behind (NCLB), signed into law in early 2002. NCLB substantially altered the landscape of education across the…