Review of Recruitment and Selection in a School District

Review of Recruitment and Selection in a School District

CITATION

Normore, Anthony H. (2004). Recruitment and Selection: Meeting the Leadership Shortage in One Large Canadian School District. Retrieved June 9, 2011, from http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?authtype=ip,uid&profile=ehost&defaultdb=eric

MAJOR THESIS

This intent of this article is to take a look into recruitment and selection program s that were being utilized attract and retain qualified applicants in the school administration. Personnel recruitment and selection is an essential tool in the hiring process. Sometimes it can be very difficult to find the right candidate for a particular job. There are rules and guidelines to follow to achieve ethical, ideal and legal hiring practices so that there won't be any issues among employees. In companies application forms are means of acquiring pertinent information regarding the applicants. However there are laws on regulating in obtaining sufficient data that are not biased to the applicant. Effective recruitment and selection of school administrators continue to be a challenge.

The author begins by explaining that the "expectations of the principal's role include instructional leader have increased. More accountability and responsibility have been added to the job over the years causing some of the best principals to be bogged down to the extent that they have lost much of their leadership, rather than management "(Normore, 2004). The role of the principal in successful schools has transcended the traditional notion of functional management power, behavior style, and instructional leadership. Today's principals face more complex expectations forged by a very different student population and a new generation dissatisfied with the educational status quo. With states testing pressures and constantly complaining teachers, parents and society have worn down experienced school principals, forcing them to leave the schools. With so many principals leaving, newer and inexperienced principals are taking over the jobs. These novice principals do not have the background and experience necessary to be the commanding presence in the eyes of the students, teachers and parents. The results may be that these groups are able to manipulate the principal or that the principal may rely too heavily on the advice of upper level administration. As a result, the school will fail to function properly with regards to behavior, policy and curriculum. Low test scores will follow along with media coverage that demands change .It is a vicious cycle in which many principals feel caught which has sent many capable administrators into the safety net of retirement or unemployment.

School administration jobs are open to two different groups of teachers, those who meet the" Ontario prerequisites and want the Ontario College of Teacher's accreditation, and those who are ineligible for accreditation but who require principal's preparation for their job. Certified teachers in Ontario who want to obtain accreditation from the Ontario College of Teachers to become school administrators must make the following prerequisites; acceptable university undergraduate degree, 5 years of teaching experience, qualifications in three teaching divisions, one of which must be the Intermediate division, two specialist qualifications; or a Master's degree or its equivalent or one specialist qualification and one-half (five courses) of a Master's degree"(Normore, 2004).

There are five areas implemented in the district's leadership development plan: "Recruitment, PAR Selection, Training, Professional Development, and Career/Professional Growth Portfolio. In each of these five areas there are organized teams led by a cross section of elementary and secondary principals and vice-principals. The program is overseen by the superintendent responsible for leadership development" (Normore, 2004). During Recruitment teachers who are interest in educational leadership and are considering a PAR (Position of Added Responsibilities) position are highly encouraged to join the steering committee in this new board initiative. They became part of a study group consisting of four to six teachers led by a facilitator who was a practicing administrator. These workshops are opened to all facilitator groups. "Throughout this initiative, participants can gain a better understanding of the application process for the vice-principal pools. The PAR Selection is the sub-committee which is responsible for a system wide review of the PAR selection process through input from the district's system administrators and from several large school boards throughout the province of Ontario. By participating in these planned ongoing earning opportunities, administrators were able to engage in a review of their personal and professional development needs within the context of their current educational realities. The objective of the career portfolio team is to review the concept of a Career Portfolio for administrators and then make recommendations to all stakeholder groups regarding the use of a Career Portfolio for the district's administrators. The project members engaged in an extensive review of current research and