Developing Psychic Income in School Administration

Abstract

This concept article discusses the importance of developing psychic income as an administrative strategy to enhance the context of school environments and to curb high teacher turnover. The hope is to promote further debate and research in order to establish the extent to which psychic income influences retention rates in hard-to-staff schools. Psychic income refers to the satisfaction and benefits derived from intangibles that have non-monetary value in the workplace. We argue that principals have little control over teachers’ salaries, but have significant influence in developing psychic income thresholds that can curb high teacher turnover in struggling schools. Discussed are strategies that principals can use to build psychic income for their schools, realizing that success and sustainability of the strategies are dependent on leadership style and tenure of the principal. Through engaged leadership strategies, principals have the capacity to promote psychic income in order to build satisfying school environments.