Principal turnover continues to be a problem in schools today, and urban schools experience principal turnover at the highest rate. There has been an abundance of research on turnover of school principals, yet minimal research on retention of urban school principals. This qualitative study used semi-structured interviews with retired urban school…

The "purpose" of this study was to understand the perspectives of recently retired principals who were mentors to new school leaders in a high-need urban school district. Mentors reflected on the mentoring needs and challenges faced by new school leaders while also reflecting on their own careers as school principals. This study was…

This report is the second in an Illinois Education Research Council series on public school principals in Illinois. This study focuses on principals' movements during the 2001 to 2008 time period, thereby providing recent information on principal retention and turnover during a time marked by increasing school accountability and public scrutiny of…

This study examined whether being taught by a teacher with a high "value-added" improves a student's long-term outcomes. The study analyzed more than 20 years of data for nearly one million fourth- through eighth-grade students in a large urban school district. The study reported that having a teacher with a higher level of value-added…

Researchers have focused their attention on the subject of special education teacher attrition for many years. While these researchers have made valuable findings, the need to abate the staggering numbers of special education teachers who leave the field still exists. Districts desiring to retain their teachers must place greater emphasis on the…

This study examined the career stability (career choices assistant principals intend to make over the next five to ten years) in a large, urban school district in the southeastern region of the United States in order to identify factors significantly related to their career aspirations. The study invited a purposive sample (n = 177) of assistant…

"Rewards of Giving" is based on interviews with 43 volunteers in Experience Corps, a national service program that recruits, trains and places teams of older adults in underserved urban elementary schools as tutors and mentors. The study offers a rich understanding of what motivates Americans over 55 to volunteer, the challenges and rewards they…