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Andrew Pendola
The path to becoming a school principal is characterized by a variety of trajectories that reflect the diverse experiences and backgrounds of aspiring leaders. While ideally the road to the principalship would result in a proportional and representative body of principals, research has shown this is rarely the case. To gain a better understanding of where sorting mechanisms may occur along the principal pipeline, this paper longitudinally analyzes the full, start-to-finish career trajectories of over 1.6 million educators in Texas for 30 years. Using social sequence analysis and discrete-time hazard modeling, we find that (1) emergent principals tend to stay in their first teaching position longer than other educators and most often take a direct pathway towards the principalship; (2) proportionally, more principals emerge from elementary, ELA, Social Studies, or STEM fields, while fewer come from Special Education; (3) holding other features constant, male and Black educators are more likely to become a principal while female and Hispanic educators are less likely; and (4) educators are more likely to first become principals when transitioning to a smaller school with more Black and/or Hispanic students. While the pipeline does result in a balanced principal market in some areas, increasing efforts to encourage a more diverse content area representation as well as representation for Hispanic educators in Texas will be particularly important.
The United States is facing growing teacher shortages that may disproportionately affecting schools serving high proportions of students of color, low-income students, and those in rural or urban areas. Special education teachers (SETs) are particularly in demand. Each year, nearly half of all vacancies are filled with teachers switching from one school to another, yet little research has addressed the nuances of within-career sorting, especially by subject. Utilizing longitudinal data covering 27 years and over 1.2 million teachers in Texas, this study examines SET switching patterns relative to core subject teachers, utilizing discrete time hazard modeling, fixed-effect regressions, and geographic information system mapping. Results show SETs switch schools at much higher rates, associated with experience, salary, and student demographics, yet generally transfer shorter distances than their peers. These findings highlight differential subject-specific labor market dynamics, suggesting targeted recruitment and retention strategies to address widespread shortages.