Surveying Virginia School Leaders' and Educators' Working Conditions 62 views

This dissertation investigates educators’ working conditions using statewide survey data from the Virginia School Survey of Climate and Working Conditions, focusing on school leaders and novice (first‑ through third‑year) teachers. Across three studies, I employ psychometric and econometric methods to (1) conceptualize and measure school leaders’ working conditions, (2) examine the prevalence and correlates of school leader burnout through a Job Demands–Resources lens, and (3) analyze patterns of novice teachers’ receipt of induction supports and their relationship to retention intentions. Study 1 identifies seven latent dimensions of leaders’ working conditions—fewer and more interconnected than the eleven implied by the original survey—demonstrating how measurement decisions influence what researchers and policymakers can infer from surveys. Study 2 documents burnout among school leader respondents and shows that working‑conditions resources, particularly collegial and district‑level support, are strongly associated with lower burnout probabilities. Study 3 finds that novice teachers received mandated and optional induction supports unevenly across contexts, and that all supports were positively related to retention intentions. Across these descriptive studies, working conditions emerge as a potential policy‑amenable lever for supporting leaders’ well‑being and novice teachers’ retention intentions. The findings also underscore the importance of improved survey design and validity evidence to strengthen research and inform workforce policies.

PHD (Doctor of Philosophy)

Working conditions; Teachers; Principals; Burnout; Retention intentions; Survey

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2026-04-26