The impact of job isolation on new principals’ sense of efficacy, job satisfaction, burnout and persistence
| Published date | 09 May 2018 |
| Pages | 315-331 |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-07-2017-0078 |
| Date | 09 May 2018 |
| Author | Scott C. Bauer,Lori Silver |
| Subject Matter | Education,Administration & policy in education,School administration/policy,Educational administration,Leadership in education |
The impact of job isolation
on new principals’sense of
efficacy, job satisfaction,
burnout and persistence
Scott C. Bauer
School of Education and Human Development, University of Colorado Denver,
Denver, Colorado, USA, and
Lori Silver
College of Education and Human Development, George Mason University,
Fairfax, Virginia, USA
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to test the model first presented by Federici and Skaalvik (2012)
involving the relationships among four attributes of principals’work: self-efficacy, burnout, job satisfaction,
and intention to leave (persistence). The model is then extended to test the role of isolation as a precursor.
Design/methodology/approach –Path analysis is used to test the models, based on responses from
an electronic survey of first-year principals in a southeastern US state, using established measures of
each construct.
Findings –First, the results show support for the model presented by Federici and Skaalvik, supporting
their original hypotheses. Second, the authors show that isolation is an important predictor of all four
constructs in the model, and that when included as an antecedent factor, isolation represents the most potent
predictor of new principals’intention to leave.
Research limitations/implications –The analysis involves a sample of new principals from a single
setting, thus limiting generalizability. Additionally, the exclusive use of self-reported data in this study raises
the possibility that the results are influenced by single-source bias.
Practical implications –The findings showing that isolation is a significant predictor of work outcomes,
such as efficacy and satisfaction, and an important predictor of persistence suggest that scholars and
practitioners alike need to consider ways to understand and mitigate the sources of isolation experienced by
school leaders.
Originality/value –Isolation is largely neglected in empirical studies of principals’work. This study adds to
what is known and raises questions about the study of isolation experienced by school leaders.
Keywords Principals, Isolation, Persistence
Paper type Research paper
While the concept of isolation is often discussed as an issue for school leaders, there are few
systematic research studies of principal isolation (Beaudoin and Taylor, 2004; Norton, 2003;
Painter, 2000; Zoul and Link, 2007). As the role of the principal has changed from that of a
manager to an instructional leader that takes responsibility for all aspects of the school
program (Casavant and Cherkowski, 2001; DiPaola and Tschannen-Moran, 2003;
Goldring et al., 2012; Grissom and Harrington, 2010; Robinson et al., 2008;
Tschannen-Moran and Gareis, 2004; Williams, 2000), the impact of isolation seems likely
to increase in importance. The focus on the virtues of distributed leadership would seem to
place a premium on fostering professional growth of others through frequent interaction,
Journal of Educational
Administration
Vol. 56 No. 3, 2018
pp. 315-331
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0957-8234
DOI 10.1108/JEA-07-2017-0078
Received 10 July 2017
Revised 28 November 2017
Accepted 30 November 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0957-8234.htm
The data for thisstudy were collected as a part of US Departmentof Education Award No. R305E50082,
The CoachingModel: A Collaborative Pilot Program.The authors gratefully acknowledgethe support of
the US Department of Education, Institute for Educational Sciences, National Center for Education
Research. The authors take sole responsibility for the presented work.
315
The impact of
job isolation
appropriate task delegation, and collaboration (Camburn et al., 2003; Gronn, 2008,
Spillane et al., 2001). Robinson et al. (2008) show that five instructional leadership behaviors
have a potent (if indirect) impact on the students’learning, including promoting and
participating in teacher learning. The import of this factor would also suggest that the
interaction between the principal and his/her fellow educators within the building would be
vital to the effectiveness of the school. If the contemporary role of an effective principal
involves more numerous and varied social interactions with teachers, students, parents, etc.,
the degree to which principals feel isolated may have a severe impact on their abilities to
serve as instructional leaders. Further, isolation may impact their quality of work life, the
school’s work environment, the overall effectiveness of school leaders, and perhaps
principals’persistence or intention to remain in their job.
Purpose
Thereislittleexistingtheoryframingtheroleofisolationinpredictingthevarious
outcomes relating to the quality of work life of school principals. In previous research
(Bauer and Brazer, 2010, 2013; Stephenson and Bauer, 2010), we attempted to address this
void by examining the role of isolation as a possible mediating factor, linking variables
reflecting the quality of new principals’work experience and specific work outcomes.
We found support for the role of isolation as a mediating factor between such indicators of
the quality of work life as role ambiguity and social support on the one hand, and
outcomes like job satisfaction, burnout, and leader efficacy on the other. More recently, we
extended this work to examine the impact of isolation on the principals’intention to leave
(Bauer et al., in press).
Concurrently, a study by Federici and Skaalvik (2012) was published that involved
examining a sample of Norwegian principals to test a model relating efficacy, burnout, and
job satisfaction as precursors of principals’intention to leave their jobs (Figure 1).
Whereas our work examined outcomes such as burnout, self-efficacy, and job
satisfaction in separate models to understand the mediating impact of isolation between
work-related constructs and each outcome, Federici’s work suggests the importance of
examining these variables in relation to each other and as predictors of leaders’intention
to leave.
In this paper, we extend our prior work by replicating Federici and Skaalvik’s (2012)
study using a sample of first-year principals from a southeastern state in the USA, and we
extend their model by examining the role of isolation as a predictor of each of the
aforementioned constructs. Thus, we extend study of Federici and Skaalvik’s model using a
sample of American principals, first, and by testing the model on a sample of new principals;
further, we add to our understanding of the import of isolation on indicators of the quality of
work life and new principals’likely persistence in their job.
Burnout
Intention to
leave
Self-efficacy
–
–
+
+–
–
Job
satisfaction
Figure 1.
The Federici and
Skaalvik (2012) model
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