Literature Review-Recruiting and Selection-PJohnson

Running head: EMPLOYING EFFECTIVE LEADERS

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Literature Review

Recruitment and Selection of Effective Effective Leaders: Getting the Right Ones on the bus Priscilla D. Johnson Prairie View A&M University Dr. Pamela T. Barber-Freeman Barber-Freeman November 17, 2011

Author Note

Priscilla D. Johnson, Department of Educational Leadership Leadership and Counseling, Counseling, Prairie View A&M University. Correspondence concerning this literature review should be addressed to Priscilla D. Johnson, Department of Educational Leadership Leadership and Counseling, Prairie View A&M University, Campus Box 519 MailStop 2420, Prairie View, Texas 77446. E-mail: [email protected].

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EMPLOYING EFFECTIVE LEADERS

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Abstract

Hiring effective leaders begins with having a recruiting and selection process that is sustainable and unyielding. This structure is vital to the success of schools. Student achievement is highly likely to be effected by a l eader’s performance. The review of related literature in this work reveals similarities in historical and traditional processes concerning effective hiring. The historical perspective presented in this work allows o ne to understand the moral dilemma that created a need for educational programs. This work is guided by three theories: objective theory of job choice, subjective theory of job choice, and work itself theory of job choice. Embedded in this literature, these theories remind

hiring administrators administrators and Human Resource leaders why people chose certain positions. In addition, the researcher presents current models used for recruiting and selection of leaders. The need for effective leaders is overflowing. The researcher considers issues in education such as hiring minorities and women and current issues faced by students and administrators. Keywords: recruiting, recruiting, selecting, principals, schools, Human Resources, students

EMPLOYING EFFECTIVE LEADERS Literature Review

How a leader enters the educational setting is just as important as their performance. The goal of both Human Resources (HR) and the school district is to hire candidates who will effectively flourish flourish as the leader. In a school setting, educators and administrative administrative staff can both be leaders. For these reasons, the researcher chose to make this research relevant to the recruitment recruitment and selection of both groups. T he review of related literature discusses hiring from a historical perspective and current practices, the importance of hiring, and need for recruiting and selecting effective leaders in our schools. This is an incredible feat that requires structure and a strong sense of commitment. commitment. Collins work could help describe this process as “ Getting the right people on the bus, the wrong people off the bus, and the right people off the bus, and the right people in the right seats…” (2001, p. 184). Historical Perspective: Function of Human Resources in Schools

“The gap between education’s pro mise and its achievement is a concern for both

citizens and educators. When the causes of the discrepancies between educational ideals and actualities are examined, the personnel factor appears to be contributory” (Castetter, 1962, p. 17). During the1960’s the face and demand of education continued to evolve. Socially, the world began to change as well as the purpose of education. Prior to this period, America’s culture values transformed. According to Spindler (as cited in

Castetter, 1962), people moved from Puritan morals, o f self-renunciation to becoming more outgoing and involved in the lives of others. Events in life became less focused on individualism to to concern for others. Moral codes and what the group thought were right became important. People became less and less focused on the future and began to relish

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their current state of living. Group conformity and collectivity emerged emerged as a way to bring synchronization. synchronization. These cultural changes led to an increase in the order of education. During the 1960’s, education encountered many problems including 

should the school attempt to open “closed areas of culture” (economics, race and

minority-group minority-group relations, social class, sex, courtship, marriage religion and morality, nationalism and patriotism) for study; 

can the recruitment and selection process be designed to identify value patterns of personnel which will have negative impact on children and youth (Castetter, 1962, p. 9).

Castetter believed, “The extent to which these and other educational i ssues of equal

significance can be solved satisfactorily depends on the availability of personnel capable of rendering a high level of educational services” (Castetter, p. 17) . Guiding Theories

Three theories guide this review of literature. The objective theory of job choice, created by Behling, Labovitz, and Gainer in 1968 proclaims that individuals are motivated to apply for a job based on the economic opportunities. opportunities. The subjective theory of job choice explains how applicants have psychological needs the position could fulfill.

The work itself theory of job choice shows us how applicants place importance on the job tasks, expectations, and other factors (Young, 2008). Figure one depicts these theories in a conceptual way. T his brings us to the importance of recruiting and selecting effective leaders for our schools. Figure 1 Conceptual Framework: Three Guiding Theories


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Subjective theory of job choice Objective theory of job choice

Work itself theory of job choice Why Choose to Lead? Recruitment & Selection of Effective Leaders

Recruitment and Selection Recruitment

Recruiting effective leaders is a necessary process in all schools. Demanding testing standards, changing demographics of students, and each school’s altering characteristics characteristics leads us to the need to recruit more educators and administrators (Young, 2008). According to Young, recruiting educators and administrators, administrators, should be completed before the actual need occurs (succession planning). Young also establishes two goals for recruitment. recruitment. The first goal is to fill empty positions through a search for qualified candidates. The next goal is to persuade, inspire, and give the candidates a reason to work for your particular school district. Both goals are part of a strategic approach to human resource management. According to Castetter It is not difficult to realize that the investment made in every school employee is considerable; that the success of the local school system depends upon a continuous flow of qualified personnel; that future educational leadership is related to present recruitment policies; that the potential for waste o f every kind is enormous if recruitment programs are ineffective; and that s olutions to today’s recruitment recruitment problems do not possess unchanging validity (1962, p. 172).

EMPLOYING EFFECTIVE LEADERS Castetter’s historical perspective on recruitment recruitment shined rays o n the significance of

effective management management of HR recruiting utilized to hire effective leaders. He believed the HR director or manager should provide the HR team with data and suggestions for recruiting leaders. In addition, throughout their leadership, HR p rofessionals rofessionals should implement implement strategic studies regarding the need for additional hiring; with info from all stakeholders, build a repertoire of standards for all positions; creatively recruit; collaborate with educational institutions and organizations to prepare future candidates; maintain a satisfying work environment; and use various technologies to communicate recruiting needs. Casetter’s work emphasis that some schools large in size, with enough resources benefit from having an assistant superintendent of HR. Casetter bel ieved “The more today’s superintendent of schools considers the educational problems which he is

expected to solve, the more clearly he see that his organization cannot cannot function successfully unless it is fully and competently staffed” (1962, p. 174). Historically,

recruiting educators and other staff was based on 

enrollment enrollment trends;

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staffing standards;

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turnover rates;

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staffing costs;

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future staffing utilization (Casetter, 1962, p. 174).

Today, Young (2008), emphasis how effective recruiting for schools is still necessary to the educational process. Education is a revolving door, where vacant positions (or even filled ones) are waiting to be occupied by effective leaders. Interestingly, Interestingly, Gajda and Militello (2008) conducted a study to find more about principal shortage in

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Massachusetts. Massachusetts. Their study was conducted online, with a sample of 523 principal participants. The researcher’s found that 4,414 individual s were licensed as a principal in

the state, with only 2,377 positions requiring a license. Findings from this research showed that 63% o f respondents planned on leaving the profession within five years. Nearly 35% of respondents said they would leave because of stress, low salary, and job complexity. complexity. Findings also suggested that some principals are underemployed, while some who are licensed do not chose to work in the profession. “As an operational task within the human resources process, recruitment is not an easy administrative endeavor for school districts” ( Young, 2008, p. 91). Young caste shadows on how recruitment has

become an overlooked process, not being utilized appropriately, appropriately, and often o ften seen as needless. He brings to surface, how recruitment is a vital operational service, led by organizational mission, mission, goals, and aspirations. In addition, recruitment of effective leaders involves designing effective policies and procedures aligned, with state and federal standards. “By law, all public school districts must follow mandated public employment employment legislation in the recruitment and selection of employees and should develop well-formalized well-formalized policies re flecting their intentions” (Young, 2008, p. 95). Some of the major legislations guiding recruiting recruiting today are Title VII of the Civil Rights Act (1964); Age Discrimination in Employment Act (1967); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation (1973); and the Americans with Disabilities Act (1990) (Young, 2008). To recruit and select effective leaders, positions must first be outlined. According to Young (2008), a position is “…a collection of tasks constituting the total work

assignment of a single employee” (p. 106). A job analysis describes a position ’s requirements requirements and duties. d uties. This is necessary for both compensation and appraisal purposes.


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A well-completed job analysis forms a p hysical document called a job d escription. These steps make it possible to recruit effective leaders. According to Young, there are several avenues to recruiting both certified and classified employees. Figure two in the appendices shows these different avenues (2008). The external labor market is utilized to recruit employees who are not currently employed with the school district. Young (2008) proclaims that three recruitment processes are part of all successful HR undertakings. Communication should be established between the district and its applicants; establish a budget for recruitment activities; and monitor the recruiting process continuously (2008). In Gutmore, Strobert, and Gutmore’s 2009 study, they describe a grow your own leader program between

Newark Public School and a local university. The program was introduced in 2003. Aspiring teachers desiring leadership positions had the opportunity to gain a Master’s degree and their principal certification. This program was completed through online, weekend, and a 600-hour internship. Each participant has a faculty mentor and gains hands-on-experience hands-on-experience in a job-embedded fashion. At the program’s end, 25 people graduated and 16 were received a principal or assistant principal position at a Newark public school. The assistant superintendent superintendent of Newark public schools was asked to rate the program and graduates’ performance. The assistant superintendent believed all new

administrators administrators were well prepared and did not require much guidance. This study found it easier to select qualified assistant principals and principals. This now b rings us to the discussion of selection. Selection


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Selecting employees is a necessary incurred hiring cost for schools. Rebore (2001), suggests that hiring a new employee could cost about $1,000 and $25, 000 for a superintendent. superintendent. The selection process aims its arrow to “to hire individuals who will be successful on the job” (Rebore, 2001, p. 114). There are ten major steps i n the selection

process as identified by Rebore (2001), they include 1. write the job d escription (Young (2008), emphasized this in recruitment step); 2. establish selection criteria; 3. write the vacancy announcement and advertise the position; 4. receive applicants; 5. select the candidates to be interviewed; interviewed; 6. interview candidates; 7. check references and credentials; 8. select the best candidate; 9. implement the job offer and acceptance; 10. notify unsuccessful candidates (2001, p. 115). According to Young (2008), “The main purpose of employee selection is to fill vacant positions in a public school district” (p. 129). Selecting employee s is a longstanding

problem for education. The community, taxpayers, and students bear the cost o off selection errors. “…Many traditional selection systems used by public school districts to select

employees have ignored these concerns, and this oversight has dampening effect for the selection of new employees from a strategic planning perspective” (Young, 2008, p. 131). Just as school districts have specific needs, applicants also have desires motivating them to apply; these characteristics should not be ign ored. Young’s (2008) work revealed that


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individuals are motivated differently, differently, depending on t his position they desire, complementing complementing the subjective theory of job choice theory guiding this study. Before selecting a candidate, there are characteristics characteristics to look for among those wishing to occupy the leadership position. An applicant’s motive must not be ignored during the selection process (Young, 2008). SEDL, which is not currently used as an acronym, describes six characteristics that are found in effective leaders. These characteristics characteristics include being a visionary, believing schools are for learning, valuing human resources, communicating and listening effectively, being p roactive, and taking risks (2011, p. 1). These characteristics also describe individuals who have the ability to positively change schools. “The central theme of the research research is that those who find

themselves supervising supervising people in a n organization should be both good managers and good leaders” (SEDL, 2011, para. 9). Sorenson and Goldsmith offer a model for

principals and other administrators administrators to use when selecting ed ucators and administrative S etting and can be seen in leaders. It is referred to as the Selection Criteria for the School Setting

figure three below. “These criteria are typically associat ed with a candidate’s academic background, personal, characteristics, characteristics, and relevant experiences in the field of education ” (2009, p. 112).


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Figure 3: Selection Criteria Relative to the School Setting

1Organizational Goals

5-Selection Instruments

2-Position Design

Selection Criteria for the School Setting

4-Position Skills and Performance Success

3-Positon Performance Measurements

Issues in Education: The Need for Effective Leaders

School districts, universities, and colleges educate diverse groups of individuals, individuals, yet teaching faculty still underrepresents women and minority educators. According to Blount, “Only in desperate situations, do school board s seem willing to hire women or persons of color for superintendencies” (1998, p. 150). STEM education areas include

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, where there is a lack of women and minority educators employed (Bilimoria (Bilimoria and Buch, 2010). According to Valian (as cited in Bilimoria and Buch, 2010) “If…we can change the faculty search process in ways that

encourage more diverse applicant pools and ensure that all applicants are evaluated fairy, more women should make it to the short list and be invited to campus” (2010, p. 28). There are ways ed ucational institutions institutions can recruit more women and minority applicants. Bilimoria and Buch studied this process. Their work describes how business b usiness organizations usually grow their own talent, unlike educational institutions. In six years, they studied the hiring process at two universities. Their findings were applicable to


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hiring leaders for school districts. According to T urner (as cited in Bilimoria and Buch, 2010) “Historically, institutions have not provided training to faculty on how to conduct effective searches, especially those likely to yield diverse pools and outcomes.” Findings from Bilimoria and Buch’s study found that effective recrui tment and selection involves

training interviewers about the importance of the organizations mission and goals as it links to hiring diverse faculty. Interviewers Interviewers in the study were also trained to identify and control their own biases and are given tools and resources from HR on how to identify proper candidates (2010). According to Davis, Darling-Hammond, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, and Meyerson (2005), selecting effective leaders requires the selector to identify specific characteristics characteristics in applicants. The leaders move students to arching levels of success by developing teaching staff and creating processes that enhances effective learning environments. environments. Specifically, effective principals are skilled at 

developing a deep understanding of how to support teachers;

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managing the curriculum in ways that promote student learning;

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developing the ability to transform schools into more effective organizations organizations that foster powerful teaching and learning for all students (2005, p. 5).

These principals must be skilled at tackling pressing problems. problems. For example, since the 9/11 events in the United States, many Muslim and other immigrant students continue to face discrimination in America’s schools. This discrimination comes in the form of

verbal slurs, avoidance, violence, and murder (Tindongan, 2011). Another pressing problem strangling the effectiveness of principals is bul lying in schools. “Bullying is often defined as unprovoked aggressive behavior repeatedly carried out against victims who are unable to defend themselves, according to Smith, Ananiadou, & Cowie and


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Whitted and Dupper, as (as cited in Good, McIntosh, and Gietz, 2011, para. 1). Students being bullied are often from a marginalized group, with a physical drawback, or live with a disability. School campaigns against bullying are often presented after longstanding events of abuse have occurred, rather than preventing these events. Another rising problem for school leaders is sexting. Ostrager describes this a sending nude or almost nude pictures of oneself to another person via mobile communication device, usually though a cell phone. Students caught sexting could be suspended, arrested, or charged with handling child pornography (2011). “Texas is among the thirt y-two states that

specifically require sex offender registration for juvenile o ffenders. However, the offender is entitled to a hearing to determine whether the interests of the public require registration” (Ostrager, 2011, p. 716). These are only few problems faced by leaders.

Reflecting back on the conceptual model guiding this study, interviewers Young (2008) suggests that interviewers interviewers really understand why one wishes to serve as a leader. These issues in education makes it important to know before a hiring decision is made if a candidate has the skills, knowledge, and motivation to be effective leaders. In the recruiting and selection process leaders have the opportunity to improve education programs, according to Webb and Norton (as cited in Sorenson and Goldsmith, 2009). This review of related literature revealed how historical HR recruiting and selection processes are similar. similar. Both aim to hire educators who will plant seeds of knowledge in each student. This review also expounds on the need for schools to implement implement creative recruiting strategies, which should reach the most qualified candidates. Often, recruiting strategies utilized by schools fail to take advantage of technologically technologically advanced possibilities. A current practice working for business-like


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organizations is a grow your own leader approach. If implemented effectively by schools, this approach has the ability to reduce hiring cots and gives the candidate an opportunity to lead in a familiar setting. setting. Selecting leaders is crucial crucial part of the HR process. “In fact, a well-planned and carefully executed screening and selection process can breathe new life into a school where ineffective visioning and planning, low morale, and teacher absenteeism, low test scores and overall tedium are the norm” (Sorenson and Goldsmith,

2009, p. 107).


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Appendices

Figure 2 Avenues for Recruiting Recruiting from External Labor Market Market College/Universiti es Professional Associates Job Fairs Certified Employees

Electronic Databases Web Pages

Walk-ins External Labor Market

Employment Agency Volcational Schools

Classified Employees

Community Colleges Local Press Employee Referrals Walk-ins


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References

Bilimoria, D., & Buch, K. K. (2010). The search is on: Engendering faculty diversity through more effective search and recruitmen recruitment. t. Change, 42(4), 27-32. Blount, J., M. (1998). Destined to rule the schools: Women and the superintendency 1873-1995. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. the school personnel program. program. Ontario, Canada: Castetter, W. B. (1962). Administering the

The Macmillian Company. Collins, J. (2001). Good to great . New York, NY: HarperCollins. Davis, S., Darling-Hammond, L., LaPointe, M., and Meyerson, D. (2005). School leadership study: Developing successful principals. (Review of Research). Retrieved from The School Redesign Network (SRN): Stanford University Website: http://www.srnleads.org/data/p http://www.srnleads.org/data/pdfs/sls/sls_rr dfs/sls/sls_rr.pdf .pdf Gajda, R. and Militello. Militello. (2008). Recruiting and Retaining School Principals: What we can Journal of Scholarship learn from practicing p racticing administrators. E-Journal of AASA Journal and Practice, 5(2), 33-39. Retrieved from http://www.aasa.org/jsp.aspx http://www.aasa.org/jsp.aspx

Gutmore, D., Strobert, B., & Gutmore, G., F. (2009). Meeting the needs: A best practice grow your own school leader program. E-Journal of AASA Journal of Scholarship and Practice, 6 (1), (1), 33-39. Retrieved from

http://www.aasa.org/jsp.aspx Good, C. P., P ., McIntosh, K., & Gietz, C. (2011). Integrating bullying prevention prevention into schoolwide positive behavior support. Teaching Exceptional Children , 44(1), 4856.


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Ostrager, B. (2010). SMS. OMG! LOL! TTYL: Translating the law to accommodate today's teens and the evolution from texting to sexting. Family Court Review, 48(4), 712-726. doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01345.x doi:10.1111/j.1744-1617.2010.01345.x administration in education: education: A management Rebore, R. W. (2001). Human resources administration th

approach (6 ed.). Needham Heights, MA: Allyn & Bacon.

SEDL. (2011). Leadership characteristics characteristics that facilitate school change. Retrieved from the SEDL Website: http://www http://www.sedl.org/change/ .sedl.org/change/leadership/chara leadership/character.html cter.html Sorenson, R., D. & Goldsmith, L., M. (2009). The principal’s guide to managing school personnel. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press

Tindongan, C. (2011). Negotiating Muslim youth identity in a post-9/11 world. High School Journal, 95(1), 72-87. administration . Upper Young, I, P. (2008). The human resource function in educational administration

Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.

Literature Review-Recruiting and Selection-PJohnson

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