194 Catholic Education/December 2004 FOCUS SECTION THE RETENTION AND ATTRITION OF CATHOLIC SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

This article reports the results of a study of the retention of principals in Catholic elementary and secondary schools in one Midwestern diocese. Findings revealed that personal needs, career advancement, support from employer, and clearly defined role expectations were key factors in principals’ retention decisions. A profile of components of successful retention is included. Retaining Catholic school principals in a climate in which fewer individ-uals seek the principalship as a career is of growing importance. Catholic school principals are leaving their positions, and the number of can-didates to fill their places is declining. According to Canavan (2001), educa-tion researchers have noted difficulty in attracting principals to Catholic schools in the United States, the United Kingdom, New Zealand, and Australia. The scarcity of candidates for principalships underscores the need to promote principal retention. Moreover, recent studies indicate that while many teachers pursue administrative preparation programs for service as a principal, few actually desire to move into administration (Hine, 2003). Schools in both public and private sectors struggle to retain principals