Teacher-principal race and teacher satisfaction over time, region
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to replicate prior findings on teacher-principal race congruence and teacher job satisfaction and extend the literature by investigating trends over time and if the relationship between race congruence and teacher job satisfaction differs by principal race and region.
Design/methodology/approach
The study sample comes from four waves of cross-sectional data, the nationally representative Schools and Staffing Survey, administered between 2000 and 2012. The analysis is conducted using ordinary least squares and school-year fixed effects with a comprehensive set of covariates.
Findings
The relationship between race congruence and teacher job satisfaction is attenuating over time and is likely explained by the lower job satisfaction of white teachers who work for black principals. Some evidence indicates teacher-principal race congruence has greater salience in the Southern region of the country. Find evidence that teachers with race-congruent principals report more workplace support than their non-race congruent colleagues.
Research limitations/implications
Future studies should investigate why racial congruence has more salience in the Southern region of the country and for white teachers who work with black principals. At the same time, results indicate that teacher-principal race congruence might no longer be a determinant of teacher job satisfaction, although further studies should continue investigating this relationship.
Originality/value
Findings on the changing nature of the relationship between principal-teacher race congruence and teacher job satisfaction over time as well as the differing nature of race congruence in the Southern region of the country are both novel findings in the literature.
Keywords
Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge Jason Grissom for his guiding hand in developing and steering this paper in its beginning phases. The authors would also like to thank the anonymous peer reviewers for their helpful comments and suggestions.
Citation
Viano, S.L. and B. Hunter, S. (2017), "Teacher-principal race and teacher satisfaction over time, region", Journal of Educational Administration, Vol. 55 No. 6, pp. 624-639. https://doi.org/10.1108/JEA-10-2016-0122
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2017, Emerald Publishing Limited