Abstract
Area of Investigation. Despite doubts as to the validity of selection interviewing, school districts place great importance on the initial interview when hiring an elementary school principal. For this reason, the serious job-seeker and the concerned school district both have a vested interest in increasing their knowledge of and skills in selection interviewing. Methodology. A questionnaire was developed to assess the experience and training of interviewers of candidates for elementary school principalships in Los Angeles County, their interview formats, and their selection criteria. Findings. Four research questions were posed and answered: (1) What preparation have school personnel administrators had to undertake principalship interviews? Over one-third of responding administrators had received more than twenty hours of specialized training in interviewing techniques; seventy percent had interviewed more than twenty candidates. (2) What interview formats were used? Ninety percent of the respondents reported using a "structured" interview, as defined by the study. (3) What selection criteria were employed by respondents in the study? The ten highest ranked criteria by both "structured" and "unstructured" interviewers were: (a) warm and sensitive personality, (b) knowledge of classroom management, (c) initiative, (d) open and honest, (e) good decisions quickly, (f) good communicator, (g) ability to work with diverse groups, (h) enthusiastic, (i) well organized, (j) leader. (4) Did relationships exist between the experience/training of interviewers, the degree of structure they employed in their interviews, and their preference for "personal" or "professional" selection criteria? Relationships were established indicating that the more training an interviewer had had, the less structured his interview was likely to be; and the greater the number of interviewers on the panel, the more likely the interview was to be unstructured. No relationship was found between degree of structure and interviewer preference for "personal" or "professional" criteria. Conclusions. (1) Superintendents determined the interview format and made the final selection decision in over half of the districts surveyed. (2) The interview was not universally seen as the most important component of the selection process. (3) Selection criteria were similar, irrespective of interview format. (4) Increased interview training placed greater emphasis on the identification of desired personality traits. (5) A selection process, recommended in the study, should be considered by district interviewers.