0.2 Beach, g., & Keiser, k. (october 2011). to be or not to be..  (Page 7/10)

Prestige of position with staff/community and “improved benefit package for principals” are samples of items in the reputation factor . However, survey results indicated that across the categories of study participants, professional reputation was not a significant incentive, or motivator F (3, 77) = 0.72, p = .54. This finding is in contrast to Cooley and Shen (1999) and Cusick (2003) who found that those aspiring to the principalship identified items such as salary and benefits as a high priority motivator.

It was in the legacy factor of the AIM where significance was identified F (3, 77) = 4.05, p = .01. Including items such as “anticipated satisfaction associated with making a difference as a principal”, the legacy factor was significantly higher for those definitely planning to become a school leader in the next ten years ( M = 3.34, SD = 0.24) than for those anticipating building leadership slightly ( M = 3.01, SD = 0.51), somewhat ( M = 2.72, SD = 0.27, or quite ( M = 3.02, SD = 0.30) possible.

Alderfer, (1973) as well as Campbell, Dunnette, Lawler, and Weick (1970), report the difference between two types of motivation. One type is “mechanical” or “process” which could be interpreted to parallel the career and reputation domains identified in the AIM study. However, it may be the other type of motivation identified, “substantive” or “content,” that most fits the legacy domain of the AIM survey. Those survey participants who identified themselves as being highly committed to being an assistant principal/principal in the next 10 years prioritized legacy factors such as “anticipated satisfaction associated with making a difference as a principal” and possessing the “ability to affect the lives of a greater number of children.” This ability to make a difference is consistent with the work of researchers who found those who hold administrative positions reporting that one of their greatest sources of satisfaction was the ability to make a difference (Cranston, 2007; Howley, Andrianaivo,&Perry, 2005; McKay, 1999).

Discussion

Considering the AIM survey results across three career goal domains – career, reputation, and legacy--post-secondary institutions and school districts attempting to recruit educational administration candidates may want to utilize the power of motivators. A singular question may be, “How are those committed to becoming principals different than others?”

Alderfer (1972) suggests that terms such as “need,” “drive,” and “instinct,” are synonymous with “motive.” It would seem that individuals who may potentially enroll in educational administration graduates programs should possess characteristics associated with Alderfer’s terms. Organizations recruiting for the principalship should consider screening applicants to help frame the motives influencing a candidate’s decision to seek the position of assistant principal/principal. A mechanism that reflects the presence of a balance related to AIM survey factors in the three domains – career, reputation, legacy – may prove most helpful in recruiting the most potentially successful candidates to educational administration training programs. Strengthening educational administration, and particularly principal preparation and finding ways of preparing those principals in different ways may be a product of the conversation surrounding motives (Grubb&Flessa, 2006).