Examining the Role Gender Plays in the Public School Principalship

• Activity Number: 75
• Type: Contributed
• Date/Time: Sunday, August 3, 2014 : 4:00 PM to 5:50 PM
• Sponsor: Government Statistics Section
• Author(s): Rebecca Goldring*+ and Minsun Riddles
• Companies: Westat and Westat
• Keywords: Schools and Staffing Survey ; Public School ; Principal ; Gender ; Sex ; Administrator

Abstract

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) is a nationally representative survey that collects data from districts, schools, principals and teachers in the United States every four years. It was first administered in the 1993-94 school year and the most recent administration took place in the 2011-12 school year. In addition to information on school characteristics (e.g., grades offered, policy, staff counts), SASS collects detailed information on teachers and principals in the sampled schools, such as gender, income, highest level of education, and years of experience. Between the 1993-94 and 2011-12 school years, the proportion of school principals who are female has climbed from 35 percent to 52 percent. We use the three most recent SASS administrations (2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12) to examine changes in the makeup of the public school principal workforce as well as differences between male and female principals in regards personal characteristics, including prior experience, age, education, and income.