Superintendents in the South: An Examination of Grit, Commitment, and Retention
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Authors
Milton-Babalola, Takiwi
Issue Date
2024-04-19
Type
Dissertation
Language
en_US
Keywords
Dissertations, Academic--United States , Educational leadership , Education , Education--Administration , Employee retention , School superintendents , Southern States
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Abstract
The United States has long struggled with retaining superintendents in public school districts, with a retention rate of only 32% to 43% over the past decade. The low retention rate is concerning as it can negatively impact the quality of education offered to students and staff morale. The twofold purpose of this research was to identify factors predicting superintendent retention and examine the relationship between grit, organizational commitment, and retention. A survey was distributed to 462 active superintendents during the 2022-23 school year using revised instruments for the Grit Short Scale and the Three-Component Model revised, as well as demographic questions and retention information. I used two quantitative approaches, Pearson correlation (RQ1) and binary logistic regression (RQ2), to analyze the relationships and predictability of grit and organizational commitment to superintendent retention. According to the study findings, continuance and organizational commitment were identified as predictors of retention. The findings indicated the combination of gender and district description as significant predictors of retention. The results of the study did not find any significant evidence to suggest grit played a role in predicting retention. The findings indicated strong positive correlations between grit and grit subscales (passion and perseverance) and organizational commitment and its subscales (affective and normative commitment). There was a positive association between grit and affective commitment. These findings can provide valuable insights for school boards, higher education leaders, and superintendent preparation program leaders in developing policies to enhance superintendents’ recruitment, selection, training, and leadership development.
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This dissertation is protected by the Copyright Laws of the United States (Public Law 94-553, revised in 1976). Consistent with fair use as defined in the Copyright Laws, brief quotations from this material are allowed with proper acknowledgement. Use of the materials for financial gain with the author's expressed written permissions is not allowed.