The continuing teacher shortage is a global concern, across Europe (OECD, 2021) and in Israel (Weissblei, 2023). The educational system in Israel faces numerous challenges, including teaching outside one's field of expertise, limited opportunities for teacher advancement and professional development, and high burnout (Mikulincer & Parzanchevsky Amir, 2019). These challenges are known to undermine teachers' well-being and motivation (Hargreaves et al., 2018), ultimately leading to attrition (Darling-Hammond, 2021). Furthermore, the teacher shortage may impact teaching quality, which raises concerns about student outcomes (OECD, 2021). In order to address these issues effectively, a long-term approach is needed such as the management of human resources (HR) at the school level (Tuytens et al., 2023; Mor & Josefsberg Ben-Yehoshua, 2022).

HR management in schools consists of effective strategies and practices that guide school staff to achieve both personal goals and organizational objectives (Tuytens et al., 2023). Education researchers suggest that effective HR management can enhance the recruitment, retention, and professional development of quality teachers within the education system (Van Beurden et al., 2021). Most studies focus on theories, policies, and conceptual frameworks, while offering limited guidance on practical implementation at the school level (Mor & Josefsberg Ben-Yehoshua, 2022). As a consequence, managing human capital in schools as a unified system tends to remain at an abstract level (Runhaar, 2017).

The current study describes preliminary findings from an innovative R&D (research and development) process, led by the MOFET Institute in collaboration with Israel’s Ministry of Education (MOE) and other stakeholders. The pilot program sought to train and integrate school-based HR-coordinators that would address teachers needs from a holistic perspective, from their well-being to planning of a career path. Traditionally, managing human capital in schools is the principals' responsibility. But they already have multiple roles and heavy workloads, which do not leave time to address teachers' challenges adequately (Shell, 2023). The pilot examines an alternative holistic approach to human capital management that draws from general theories of HR management and adapts them to the teaching profession and school context (Runhaar, 2017). The potential theoretical contribution is a new conceptual framework for school-based HR management, which takes into consideration various models for HR-coordinators and their interface with principals, as well as the models' outcomes.

Study Context
The study explored different models of HR management at the school level. Four secondary schools in a large city in central Israel were selected for an R&D process spanning two academic years (2023–2025). The school principals, in consultation with a steering committee, selected an institutional staff member (or members) to undergo training and serve as the HR-coordinator.

HR-coordinators training program occurs in two parallel and interwoven tracks – in-school and externally after school hours - each comprising 30 annual hours over two years.  The external training focuses on general HR content, core tasks of school-based HR management, hands-on practice with tools for personal assessment and professional development and the interface between the HR-coordinator and the school principal. The internal training track includes personal mentorship, guidance, and supervision for the HR-coordinators in their respective schools.

The pilot is accompanied by a research study that documents the R&D process and evaluates its impact on school principals and teachers at various time-points over the two-year period. The study's aim is to assess the contribution of a school-based HR-coordinator, who advises the principal and supports core HR management tasks, to aspects of teachers' well-being and retention. The research questions are:

RQ1. What is the role of school-based HR-coordinators from the perspective of different stakeholders?

RQ2. What is HR-coordinators contribution to teachers' absorption, professional development and retention?

A mixed-methods approach, with a concurrent design (Sammons & Davis, 2017), was used to assess stakeholders' perceptions of the HR-coordinator's role and their impact on teacher well-being and retention. Participants: From the schools participating in the pilot, nine staff members were interviewed: five HR-coordinators and four principals. Four hundred and forty-four teachers (66.3% women) completed a questionnaire. Of these, 65 (45%) held managerial roles (e.g., vice-principals, subject or grade coordinators, counselors), and 79 (55%) were homeroom teachers and/or subject teachers. Teaching experience ranged from 1-year to 40 years, with an average seniority of 16.1 years (SD 9.8). Research Tools: Qualitative. Semi-structured in-depth interviews with principals and HR-coordinators were used to elucidate their experiences and assessment of the R&D process, and their perception of HR-coordinators' roles in schools (Charmaz & Thornberg, 2021). Quantitative. The pilot's impact on teachers was examined with a self-report questionnaire consisting of the following sections: A. an assessment of schools' support in areas of HR management (Table 1); B. scales measuring indicators of teachers' well-being and retention (e.g., self-fulfillment and teacher burnout, Arviv Elyashiv & Gal, 2017; sense of autonomy, relatedness, and self-efficacy, Kaplan, 2022; work engagement, Schaufeli et al., 2006); C. demographic and professional background questions, including teachers' intention to persevere in the next 5-years. In sections A and B, participants response was on a 5-point Likert-scale, from 1 (not at all) to 5 (to a great extent). Data collection: Interviews were conducted with staff members at the beginning of the R&D process - the 2023-2024 school year. Concurrently, the self-report questionnaire was administrated to the teachers in participating schools. These tools will be administered again at the end of the R&D process (expected 2024-2025 school year). Data analysis: Thematic and inductive content analysis was used in the analysis of the interview data (Kuckartz, 2014), consisting of organization, description, classification, and interpretation to identify recurring themes. The questionnaire data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations, ANOVAs, and t-tests for group comparisons. Ethical considerations: The authors work for a non-profit research institution and do not have any relationship with the Ministry of Education, or the participants. All of the questionnaires were anonymous and interviewees’ identity was disguised. The study was approved by the Institutional Ethics committee and the Ministry of Education.

Addressing RQ1, HR-coordinators and principals had different perspectives regarding coordinators' roles. The former prioritized teachers' well-being and emotional support: "Our goal is to create a space where teachers feel valued and supported, fostering an environment they want to be in and contribute to." Whereas, principals emphasized HR-coordinators' role in teachers' professional growth: "…it’s about identifying what motivates the staff and creates a sense of belonging, to help guide them towards future career paths." In the questionnaire, teachers rated schools' support of their professional development needs as significantly lower than other HR management areas (all contrasts F>7.12), except for career planning and employment issues (Table 1). These results are similar to HR-coordinators view of their roles, as expressed in interviews. Table 1. Teachers' assessment of schools' support in core areas of HR management. HR core tasks Mean SD Promoting positive school climate 3.84** 0.97 Supporting transitions to\or beginning of new positions 3.51** 1.05 Addressing well-being and personal needs 3.36** 1.16 Strengthening teachers' connection to school's vision and goals 3.14* 1.22 Caring for salary and employment rights 3.02 1.19 Planning a career path 3.01 1.21 Guiding teachers' professional development 2.92 1.20 *p<.01, **p<.001 Addressing RQ2 directly is not yet possible because available data is from the beginning of the R&D process. Results of baseline measures were consistent with those reported by other European studies (OECD, 2021). Specifically, 13 (9%) teachers responded that they intended or most likely would leave the profession in 5-years. Indicators of teachers' well-being and retention differed between teachers in leadership roles and subject\homeroom teachers, with significantly higher values in the former group (t-values=2.27 to 4.68, p<.01). Interestingly, teachers' sense of burnout did not differ among these groups. Taken together, the findings emphasize a need for school-based HR management strategies that balance teachers' well-being with professional and career development.

Arviv Elyashiv, R., & Gal, A. (2018). Hierarchy of needs of persistent mathematics and science teachers. American Journal of Educational Research, 5(7), 683-693. Charmaz, K., & Thornberg, R. (2021). The pursuit of quality in grounded theory. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 18(3), 305-327. Hargreaves, A., Washington, S., & O’Connor, M. T. (2018). Flipping their lids: Teachers’ wellbeing in crisis. In D. M. Netolicky, J. Andrews, & C. Paterson (Eds.), Flip the system Australia: What matters in education (pp. 93–104). Routledge. ‏ Kaplan, H. (2022). The unique effects of supporting beginning teachers’ psychological needs through learning communities and a teacher-mentor’s support: A longitudinal study based on self-determination theory. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. Kuckartz, U. (2014). Qualitative text analysis: A counselor to methods, practice & using software. (K. Metzler, Ed., A. McWhertor, Trans.) Los Angeles: Sage. Original work published 2002). Mikulincer, M., & Parzanchevsky Amir, R. (Eds.) (2019). Professional development and training in Israel's education system: Current status and recommendations. Center for Knowledge and Research in Education. The Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. [In Hebrew] Mor, B., & Josefsberg Ben-Yehoshua, L. (2022). Human-capital development of teachers in school. Mofet Institute Publications. [In Hebrew] Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. (2021). Education at a Glance 2021: OECD Indicators. Paris: OECD Publishing. Runhaar, P. (2017). How can schools and teachers benefit from human resources management? Conceptualising HRM from content and process perspectives. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 45(4), 639-656. Sammons, P. & Davis, S. (2017). “Mix methods approaches and their application in educational research.” In D. Wyse, N. Selwyn, E. Smooth & L.E. Suter (Eds.). The BERA/SAGE Handbook of Educational Research (pp. 477-504). London: Sage. Schaufeli, W. B., Bakker, A. B., & Salanova, M. (2006). The measurement of work engagement with a short questionnaire: A cross-national study. Educational & Psychological Measurement, 66(4), 701-716. Shell, D. L. (2023). Principals as human capital managers: A literature review. International Journal of Contemporary Education, 6(1), 37-49. ‏ Tuytens, M., Vekeman, E., & Devos, G. (2023). Strategic human resource management in primary and secondary schools: An explorative study in Flanders (Belgium). Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 51(3), 711–732. Weissblei, E. (2023). The teacher shortage: A review. Jerusalem: The Knesset’s Research and Information Center. [In Hebrew] Van Beurden, J., Van Veldhoven, M., & Van de Voorde, K. (2021). How employee perceptions of HR practices in schools relate to employee work engagement and job performance. Journal of Management & Organization, 1-19.