There are multiple independent and interactive factors that may contribute to perceptions or misperceptions concerning an administrator shortage in the United States (US). These factors include the complexities of supply and demand data, inferential errors and over-generalisations, candidate quantity issues confounded by anecdotal accounts of candidate quality, administrator accounts of limited job desirability, and the ‘invisibility’ of women administrators as a viable candidate pool. Some researchers have begun to challenge the perception that there is an administrator or educator shortage crisis, but these voices are often readily dismissed. There are multiple reasons why portrayals of an educator shortage crisis may be widely accepted in spite of questionable evidence. Specifically there may be political and ideological reasons that misperceptions about an educator shortage may be perpetuated. This article explores reasons that may explain perceptions or misperceptions of the shortage, including political forces that may encourage or perpetuate beliefs about the problem.
ArveyK.D.CampionJ.E. (1982). The employment interview: A summary and review of recent research. Personnel Psychology, 35, 281–322.
2.
BaltzellD.DentlerR. (1983). Selecting American school principals: Research report. Cambridge, MA: Abt.
3.
BerlinerD.C.BiddleB.J. (1997). The manufactured crisis: Myths, fraud, and the attack on America's public schools. White Plains, NY: Longman.
4.
BlairJ. (1999, September 8). States strive to lure retired teachers. Education Week, pp. 1, 22.
5.
BowlesB.KingD.CrowG. (2000). Viable principal candidates: Superintendents' perspective. Paper presented at the 2000 American Educational Research Association Conference, New Orleans, LA.
6.
BradleyA. (1999, October 13). Pool of aspiring teachers is growing older. Education Week, p. 3.
7.
BredesonP. (1993). Letting go of outlived professional identities: A study of role transition and role strain for principals in restructured schools. Educational Administration Quarterly, 29(1), 34–68.
8.
BridgmanA. (1986, February 19). Better elementary leaders called for. Education Week, p.7.
9.
CashT.F.GillenB.BurnsD.S. (1977). Sexism and beautyism in personnel consultant decision making. Journal of Applied Psychology, 60 (5), 566–572.
10.
ChaddockG.R. (1988, September 15). Lots of students, not enough teachers. Christian Science Monitor, p. B1.
Educational Research Service. (1998). Is there a shortage of qualified candidates for openings in the principalship? An exploratory study. Prepared for the National Association of Elementary School Principals and the National Association of Secondary School Principals, Arlington, VA.
13.
FeldmanS. (2000). Commentary by AFT President on Quality counts 2000 report. American Federation of Teachers [on-line]. Available: www.aft.press/2000/011200.html.
14.
FeistritzerE. (1998, January 28). The truth behind the teacher shortage. Wall Street Journal, p. A18.
15.
ForsythP.B.SmithT.O. (2002). Patterns of principal retention: What the Missouri case tells us. Paper presented to the 2002 American Educational Research Association Conference, Division A, New Orleans, LA.
16.
GalvinP.ShepherdP. (2000). School principal shortages: An analysis of changes over time. Paper presented to the 2000 American Educational Research Association Conference, Division A, New Orleans, LA.
17.
HardyL. (1998). A good teacher is hard to find. American School Board Journal, 185(9), 20–23.
18.
HeilmanM.W.SaruwatariL.R. (1979). When beauty is beastly: The effects of appearance and sex on evaluations of job applicants for managerial and non-managerial jobs. Organizational Behavior and Human Performance, 23, 360–372.
19.
HirshE.KoppichJ.E.KnappM.S. (2001). Revisiting what states are doing to improve the quality of teaching: An update on patterns and trends. Seattle: University of Washington, Center for the Study of Teaching and Policy.
20.
IngersollR. (1997). Teacher turnover and teacher quality: The recurring myth of teacher shortages. Teachers College Record, 91(1), 41–44.
21.
IngersollR. (2001). Teacher turnover and teacher shortages: An organizational analysis. American Educational Research Journal, 38 (3), 499–534.
22.
KeedyJ. (2002). Responding to the alleged superintendency shortage: Implications for policy and practice. A symposium presentation at the 2002 University Council for Educational Administration Conference, Pittsburg, PA. [Co-presenters included J. Keedy, T. Kowalski, B. Cooper, L. Fusarelli, V. Careila, M. Wolverton, T. McDonald, L. Bjork, T. Glass, and G. Natkin.].
23.
KellerB. (1998, May 15). In age of accountability, principals feel the heat. Education Week, pp. 1, 16.
24.
KlausmeierR. (1987). Lessons from the past: The current teacher shortage. Action in Teacher Education, 9(1), 9–21.
25.
KronholzJ. (1997, July 24). Teacher retirements portend acute shortage. Wall Street Journal, pp. B1, B10.
26.
LashwayL. (1999, Spring). Preparing school leaders. Research Roundup, pp. 1–4.
27.
LuntN.P.McKenzieP. (1994). The right track: Teacher training and the new right. European Education, 26 (3), 66–85.
28.
MurphyJ. (1994). Transformational change and the evolving role of the principal: Early empirical evidence. In MurphyJ.LouisK.S. (Eds.), Reshaping the principalship: Insights from transformational reform efforts (pp. 20–53). Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin.
29.
MuseI.ThomasG.J. (1991). The rural principal: Select the best. Journal of Rural and Small Schools, 4 (3), 32–37.
30.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1986). Digest of education statistics: 1986. Washington, DC: US Department of Education, OERI.
31.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1998). Schools and staffing survey. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-University Consortium for Political & Social Research.
32.
National Center for Education Statistics. (1999). Teacher quality: A report on the preparation of public school teachers. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
33.
National Commission on Excellence in Education. (1983). A nation at risk. Washington, DC: US Department of Education.
34.
NatrielloG.ZumwaltK. (1993). New teachers for urban schools? The contribution of the provisional teacher program in New Jersey. Education and Urban Society, 26 (1), 49–62.
35.
PetersenK.D.WarrenV.W. (1994). Changes in school governance and principals' roles: Changing jurisdictions, new power dynamics, and conflict in restructured schools. In MurphyJ.LouisK.S. (Eds.), Reshaping the principalship: Insights from transformational change efforts (pp. 219–236). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
36.
PounderD.G. (1994). Educational and demographic trends: Implications for women's representation in school leadership. In PrestineN.A.ThurstonP.W. (Eds.), Advances in educational administration: Vol. 3 (pp. 135–149). Greenwich, CT: JAI Press.
37.
PounderD.G.MerrillR. (2001). Job desirability of the high school principalship: A job choice perspective. Educational Administration Quarterly, 31 (1), 27–57.
38.
RaubC.D. (1993). Education and the impact of the new right. In JordanG.AshfordN. (Eds.), Public policy and the impact of the new right (pp. 230–250). London: Pinter Publishers.
39.
RushG.S. (1983). Corrective measures in the teacher shortage: Consequences and conclusions. Education, 104 (3), 34–37.
40.
SandhamJ.L. (2001, April 4). California faces shortage of administrators, report warns. Education Week, p. 25.
41.
ShreeveW.C.NorbyJ.R.GoetterW.J.StueckleA.F.MidgleyT.K.GoetterP.S. (1988). Job satisfaction: An imperative for the coming teacher shortage. Early Childhood Development and Care, 36, 181–195.
42.
SteinbergJ. (2000, September 3). Nation's schools struggling to find enough principals. New York Times, pp. Al, A4.
43.
TirozziG.FerrandinoV. (2000, October 18). The shortage of principals continues. Education Week, pp. 1, 15.
44.
WayneA. (2000). Teachers supply and demand: Surprises from primary research. Educational Policy Analysis Archives, 8 (47). Available: http://epaa.asu.edu/epaa/v8n47.html.
