Creating a Succession-Planning Instrument for Educational Leadership - December 2017 Survey Study

Oct 15, 2026

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Creating a succession-planning instrument for educational leadership addresses the slow adoption of succession-planning models in education despite wide use in businesses and other sectors. Literature syntheses identify key quality themes: identifying talent, developing and mentoring, retaining high performers, and accounting for organizational culture. An instrument is built and validated via an expert panel using Lawshe’s content validity ratio, then administered in a pilot study of 12 school administrators and aspiring leaders. Results support strengthening succession plans through renewed professional development and mentoring.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages16

Reading Time40 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Need for Further Research

Statement of the Problem

Survey Instrument Development and Validation

Content validity ratio (Lawshe)

Pilot administration (12 administrators)

Creating a Succession-Planning Instrument for Educational Leadership Christopher M. Parfitt Florida Gulf Coast University Businesses, non-profit entities, medical units, governmental departments, and other organizations have utilized succession planning for over 30 years, yet the field of education has been slow to adopt models used in other disciplines. Upon review of the literature from various disciplines, themes for developing and assessing quality succession plans were synthesized. The major themes included identification of talent, development and mentoring, and retention of the highest performing employees, with consideration of the unique organizational culture as an overarching theme. Based on the review of the literature, a survey instrument was established. The survey was validated through an expert panel using Lawshe’s (1975) content validity ratio before being administered to a pilot group of 12 school administrators and aspiring administrators. The purpose of the instrument is to examine how school administrators and leadership candidates perceived the employment of succession planning in educational organizations. The survey can be administered to aspiring administrators, school-level leaders, and district senior administrators to identify perceptions of succession planning. The results can be used to develop, modify, and strengthen existing succession plans through revitalized professional development and mentoring. Keywords: succession planning, educational leadership preparation, leadership development, pipeline, survey validation. ICPEL Education Leadership Review, Vol. 18, No. 1– December, 2017 ISSN: 1532-0723 © 2017 International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership People interpret the term succession planning differently; implementation of a succession plan is also widely varied. For the purpose of this article, succession planning is defined as a systematic and purposeful effort to fill vacancies for key positions with qualified individuals in an organization (Chavez, 2011) . To most business leaders, a succession plan is necessary; issues resulting from lost productivity and lack of direction can quickly lead to failure (Lewis, 2013) . The roots of modern succession planning can be traced to a study commissioned through the National Security Act of 1947, in which the plans for executive administration from 53 national corporations were reviewed (Zaich, 1986). Neefe (2009) stated that formal succession plans have been utilized by businesses for more than 30 years. Yet, in the field of education, succession planning has been nonexistent. However, the field of education has slowly begun to adopt models and practices long employed by other disciplines (Riddick, 2009) . Without using the term succession planning, Fullan (2005) discussed the need for sustainability in school leadership. He asserted advanced planning was necessary to ensure continuity of leadership, and the plan had to account for the organizational culture, particularly the vision of the organization. Need for Further Research Several authors reviewed succession planning in education from a qualitative perspective to understand why geographically isolated districts had difficulty in recruiting candidates to become administrators (Hengel, 2007; Thomas, 2011) . Other analysts reviewed how officials in specific school districts treated succession planning. One of the findings was that senior school administrators believed their school districts were successfully utilizing succession planning because vacancies were filled by candidates from within the organization, or because professional development opportunities were available (Riddick, 2009; Steele, 2015) . Simply filling a vacancy with an internal candidate was not enough. Fullan (2005) asserted that a principal had to plan for his or her departure on the very first day in the position. Chavez (2011) provided a framework for quality succession planning. Potential

FAQs

How does the article define succession planning for educational purposes?

It defines succession planning as a systematic effort to fill key-position vacancies with qualified individuals in an organization.

What major themes guide the development of the instrument?

The themes include identifying talent, developing and mentoring, and retaining top-performing employees, with organizational culture treated as an overarching factor.

How was the survey instrument validated before piloting?

The instrument was validated through an expert panel using Lawshe’s (1975) content validity ratio before being administered to a pilot group of 12 school administrators and aspiring administrators.

Oct 15, 2026

Upload by ahduag