Comparison of Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Training Policies from School Principals' Perspective

The main objective of this research was to compare teacher recruitment, retention, and teacher education policies from the perspective of school principals, specifically focusing on the performance of graduates from continuous bachelor's degree programs at Farhangian University and graduates from other universities, known as "Maharat Amuzan" under Article 28. A mixed-methods approach with a simultaneous explanatory design strategy was employed, utilizing a survey method for the quantitative phase and thematic analysis for the qualitative phase. The quantitative phase involved a comprehensive sample of all school principals, totaling 320 participants, selected through multi-stage cluster sampling. Data was collected using a researcher-made 24-item questionnaire adapted from the Public Schools Teacher Performance Evaluation Guide (2015), in Chesterfield County, Virginia. The quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, independent t-tests, and one-way ANOVA tests. In the qualitative phase, 32 school principals participated. Thematic analysis was utilized to analyze the qualitative data. The research findings indicated that school principals' satisfaction with the "Knowledge and Skills," "Behavior and Conduct," and "Ethics and Morality" dimensions of teachers' performance from Bachelor's degree graduates were at a highly satisfactory level. While, their satisfaction with the performance of "Maharat Amuzan" under Article 28 was at a satisfactory level. The observed difference in satisfaction levels between these two groups was statistically significant and school principals were more satisfied with the performance of continuous bachelor's degree teachers compared to teachers of other universities known as "Maharat Amoz" Article 28". Additionally, female school principals reported greater satisfaction with the performance of both groups of teachers compared to their male counterparts, and this difference was statistically significant in the domains of knowledge, skills, and overall satisfaction. However, the observed differences based on age and managerial experience were not statistically significant. Moreover, the qualitative findings not only confirmed the quantitative results but also provided insights into the reasons behind the preferences and criticisms to each of the teacher acceptance policies. Based on the results of this study, some suggestions were made to policy and decision makers to improve the quality of teacher training and recruitment.