CHAPTER 6. BARTON, L. - September 2011 - MOVING TO THE DARK - Side or Into the Light? Internal or External Motivation to Become a School Leader

Oct 15, 2026

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A study examines why teachers seek educational leadership and administrative credentialing programs, focusing on whether motivation is internal (values, beliefs, intrinsic drive) or external (opportunities and outside incentives). Drawing on over 200 program completers’ survey aspirations and more than 80 written responses to the prompt “Why Me? Why Now?”, the research reports common career goals and highlights that most participants aim for principal or assistant principal roles. It frames the curriculum implications for preparing and recruiting future school leaders amid public education pressures.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

6.3 Context for the Research

6.3.1 Motivators and Incentives in Pursuit of School Leadership

CHAPTER 6. BARTON, L. (SEPTEMBER 2011) . MOVING TO THE DARK 14 SIDE OR INTO THE LIGHT? INTERNAL OR EXTERNAL MOTIVATION TO BECOME A SCHOOL LEADER Having spent more than half of my career in public school leadership positions, I never considered the move from classroom teacher to school leader would be considered a move to the dark side. But after listening to aspiring school leaders describe their personal motivations to lead schools, my curiosity was piqued. What motivates teachers to enroll in educational leadership/administrative credential programs? What motivates them to leave their classrooms aspiring leadership positions? Are they abandoning their chosen profession of teaching in considering a move to the dark side, or are they called into the light by external forces? When I ✜rst explained my practice of using student writing journals in all of my classes, a colleague suggested a very interesting prompt for the ✜rst class of the ✜rst course in our masters level, administrative credential program in educational leadership ✕ Why me? Why now? Its use has revealed a great deal about the students entering this program and has a✛orded an opportunity to study their motivations, interests and concerns. But more importantly, the responses o✛ered a ✜rst-hand look into how our curriculum could and should serve the needs of our students, as well as how to better recruit students into the program. Our program is a graduate-level, Tier I administrative credential program in a large comprehensive fouryear university in southern California and serves teachers who aspire to be educational leaders. During a fouryear period, from 2007 to 2010, over 200 program completers responded to an online, end-of-program survey in which they reported their post-program aspirations. When asked their ultimate professional goal in the ✜eld of education, half of them wanted to become assistant principals or principals; an additional 10% aspired to be assistant superintendents or superintendents, while 32% wanted to become district administrators. Among this group only 8% reported wanting to stay in the classroom as teachers. The question remainsif students enter the program aspiring to school leadership and leave the program with professional goals to become leaders, how do we better address the content of the program to prepare them for leadership positions? And how can we use this information to recruit future aspirants? With all of the pressures placed on public schools today including competition from school choice, charter schools, and vouchers, as well as achievement gaps, state testing, sanctions, growing negative press, changing demographics, social demands placed on schools, etc. , one might wonder why anyone would choose school leadership as a career. Interesting questions are raised. The purpose of this study was to determine what motivates teachers to aspire to school leadership. A review of over 80 written responses to the prompt ❵ Why Me? ✬ provided insight into their reasons. Knowing what motivates teachers to consider leaving their classrooms to pursue administrative credentialing has practical implications and signi✜cance. Understanding their motivation provides insight for administrative preparation programs as they prepare aspiring school leaders. In order to maximize the appeal of the administrative credential program to current classroom teachers who may be considering a future leadership role, studying the motivations of former and current students has the potential to contribute to program improvement. 6.3 Context for the Research Although closely aligned with motivations to become teachers (Lortie, 2002; Sinclair, Dowson, & McInerney, 2006)), the reasons provided by teachers for considering a move to the dark side or into the light by entering school administration are position-speci✜c. Many teachers are drawn to careers in education because they enjoy working with children and want to make a di✛erence in their liv

FAQs

What motivates teachers to enter school leadership credential programs?

The study investigates teachers’ reasons for applying to educational leadership/administrative credential programs, using survey and written responses to “Why Me? Why Now?” to identify internal and external motivations.

What are common post-program professional goals reported by program completers?

Among completers, half aimed to become assistant principals or principals, 10% aspired to assistant superintendents or superintendents, and 32% wanted to become district administrators; only 8% reported wanting to stay in the classroom as teachers.

How does the research define internal and external motivation?

Internal (intrinsic) motivation refers to factors inside oneself such as values and beliefs, while external (extrinsic) motivation refers to factors outside oneself such as altruism or a calling, alongside incentives like salary and opportunities to initiate change.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by moss~