A Correlational Study of Types of Administrator Mentoring and the Retention of Secondary School Administrators in Alabama's River Heritage Region

Abstract

School administration is the single most important contributing factor to the success of an effective school (Cunningham & Cordeiro, 2006, 2009). Though principals’ and assistant principals’ salaries have increased across the United States within the past five years, salaries for secondary principals and assistant principals do not relate to the consumer price index (CPI). In addition, there are instances in which the salary increase is not commensurate with the vast responsibilities associated with the job (Draper, 2008). Grubb, as cited in Guterman (2007), stated, “If principals don’t bring schools up to standards, they lose their jobs. As a result, we see a lot of teachers who look at the job of principal and decide it’s not worth it. The additional salary is not all that great, and the additional workload is all that great” (p. 1). The problem of administrator attrition lies in most school systems not establishing a support system, such as formal mentoring programs, in order to better attract, prepare, and retain school administrators. The purpose of this correlational study was to determine if types of administrator mentoring relationships played a key factor in retaining secondary school administrators in Alabama’s River Heritage Region. The results also were examined for a possible relationship between types of administrator mentoring and the retention of minority secondary school administrators in Alabama’s River Heritage Region. Moreover, the research focused on the characteristics of effective mentoring relationships involving secondary school administrators in this particular geographical region. This study examined the following variables: types of administrator mentoring, gender, ethnicity, and retention. There were 47 respondents representing 16 public school systems located in 15 counties throughout the River Heritage Region in Alabama. A statistical significant correlation at the .05 level was found between Black male and White female secondary school principals, their retention, and the types of administrator mentoring. On the other hand, there was not a statistical significant correlation at the .05 level between White male and Black female school administrators, their retention, and the types of administrator mentoring. The Pearson product-moment correlation coefficient and three-way ANOVA statistical procedures were used to determine the findings. The results of this study can be used by school districts in evaluating the benefits of establishing administrator mentoring programs.