International and Australian evidence suggests there is a widespread problem with school principal recruitment. It appears that principal candidate pools are diminishing and that employers are unable to replace current vacancies and meet projected demand. In this article we investigate the parameters of this perceived principal recruitment problem in the context of recent school governance reforms. An unintended consequence of reform policies is the emergence of leadership ‘disengagement’—a disinclination among teachers to pursue the principalship and other school-level leadership roles. We explore some of the origins of disengagement, we provide an explanation for its emergence and we consider some of its major implications for future research into principal recruitment and replenishment.
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