In the past decades, school reforms have led to a new role for principals subjecting them to a broad range of challenges. As a consequence, their professional development has become a key element of school improvement (Day, Sammons, Leithwood, Hopkins, Gu, Brown & Ahtaridou, 2011). In Switzerland, establishing a system of school management and leadership has been an ongoing process since the late 1990s (Kohlstock, 2013). However, Swiss principals often seek a career change or opt to return to teaching. Possible reasons for this fluctuation include the tremendous workload and the disproportionate costs of the management position compared to the benefits (Wehner, Vollmer, Manser & Burtscher, 2008). Furthermore, a high turnover can also be observed among principals in many other countries. These fluctuations have a negative impact on the school culture and its effectiveness (Béteille, Kalogrides & Loeb, 2012). It is therefore crucial to better understand why principals intend to leave their position. From a political perspective, a strategy is needed to retain principals and to support their professional development (Chapman, 2005).

International research has provided a wealth of knowledge on topics such as principals’ work load, challenges in the field of educational leadership and job satisfaction (e.g. OECD, 2013; Davis, Darling-Hammond, La Pointe & Meyerson, 2005). However, research on the connection between principals’ professional development and career choice, including turnover, remains scarce. Studies referring to their professional development highlight the importance of the link between the requirements of the profession, the school context, the principals’ scope of autonomy, as well as their intentional and integrated learning (e.g. Sparks, 2002). Professional development can be linked to principals’ career development. Oplatka (2004) postulates that principals pass through different career stages comprising different issues and tasks. In accordance with Wright and Bonett (2007) we assume that the principals’ perception of being able to cope with these tasks can influence their professional learning and job-satisfaction, which might increase the probability of their intention for a career change. Furthermore, we assume that their career decision making is closely linked to their disengagement from goals. During the critical phases of “action crisis”, their goal-related thoughts can change from striving for goals to disengaging from them (Brandstätter, Herrmann & Schüler, 2013).

The aim of our study is to analyze a principal’s intention for a possible career change. We address the following research questions: (1) How do they assess their workload, job satisfaction, commitment, costs and benefits? (2) Which principals show a tendency to a disengagement form goals and consider a career change? (3) How do they perceive their (previous) career choice, professional development and career options?

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