The Recruitment and Retention of Headteachers in Scotland Technical Report

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9. Disaggregation of Teacher Data

9.1 Eventual Career Destination

Teachers were asked about their eventual career destinations. Their responses were analyzed by school sector, gender and age. Only school sector had a significant relationship (.049) to teachers' eventual career destinations.

Table 126: Teachers' Career Destination by School Type (%)

Destination

Primary School

Secondary School

Special School

Combined School

Classroom teacher

33

32

10

16

Chartered teacher

10

12

14

13

Principal teacher

19

17

28

22

Head of faculty/ department

5

5

10

13

Depute head

14

14

14

19

Headteacher

4

10

10

6

Local authority staff

2

1

3

3

Leaving for family responsibilities

1

1

0

0

Career outside of education

3

2

3

3

Other

6

6

3

6

The main differences in eventual career destination by school sector are:

  • Primary and secondary teachers are more likely than either teachers in special schools or teachers in combined schools to see their career destination as a classroom teacher.
  • Teachers in special schools are more likely than teachers in other schools to see their career destination as a principal teacher.
  • Teachers in primary schools and teachers in combined schools are less likely than teachers in secondary schools or special schools to see their career destination as a headteacher.

9.2 Applying for Headteacher Positions

Teachers were asked whether they had applied for a headteacher post and what their future intentions were about applying. These responses were analysed by school sector, gender and age. Only gender had a significant relationship (.000) with teachers' intentions to apply for a headteacher post.

Table 127: Teachers' Intentions to Apply for Headship by Gender (%)

Intention

Male

Female

I am currently applying for posts

2

1

I have applied and will do so again

2

1

I have applied but do not envisage doing so in the future

3

4

I have applied and am unsure if I will do so again

1

1

I have not applied but will do so in the future

6

6

I have not applied and will not do so in the future

66

68

I have not applied and am unsure if I will do so

17

18

The differences by gender in intentions to apply for headteacher posts include:

  • Male teachers are slightly more likely to be currently applying for posts than female teachers.
  • Male teachers are slightly more likely to have applied for posts and intend to do so again than female teachers.
  • Female teachers are slightly more likely to have applied for posts but do not intend to do so again.
  • Female teachers are more likely to have not applied and have no intentions to do so.
  • Female teachers are slightly more likely to be unsure whether they will apply.

Page updated: Thursday, November 05, 2009