This study examined the dispositions of Indiana middle school principals toward 29 possible teacher selection criteria drawn from the middle school literature and 13 possible criteria not drawn from this literature. The former were assigned more importance than the latter, and performance-based criteria were assigned more importance than credential-based criteria. Statistical testing revealed no significant associations between principal education and experience characteristics and assigned levels of importance. Findings are compared to previous studies focusing on actual practices, and possible reasons for an apparent disjunction between espoused beliefs and behavior in the area of teacher selection are discussed.
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