Q. How long should a school principal be in one school? How long does a school principal need to be in a school to produce effective change?
I am trying to find research on whether a good principal should be left in a school indefinitely or should be transferred after a period of time. Using EBSCO, I have tried terms like "continuity", "long-term", "rotation", and "transfer" with "principal" and "school principal" and have not come up with anything useful so far. I found a Wallace Foundation report through Google that talked a bit about a "rule of thumb" that a principal should be in a school 5 to 7 years in order to provide continuity and promote effective change. I can't believe that there are not articles in peer-reviewed academic journals, but I haven't yet figured out how to tap into them. Thanks in advance for any suggestions you might have.