The purpose of this paper is to determine how Turkish principals define marginal teachers and which strategies they use to deal with them.  Within this purpose, the following points will be examined: (a) the concept of marginal teacher, (b) types of marginal teachers, (c) reasons of principals labelling the teachers as “marginal”, (d) the reasons lead the teachers to become marginal, (e) the strategies Turkish principals use to deal with them, (f) principals’ recommendations for assisting them.

Problematic teachers are seen to be one of the toughest challenges for school principals because they cause damage for both students and school environment. Their poor performance consume much of principal’s time and may damage the school’s reputation (Yariv, 2004). Fundamental damages of marginal teachers can be outlined as increase in the student dropout rates, loosing control of classrooms, increasing discipline problems and consequently low academic achievement of students, angry and upset parents, loosing the confidence and support of the community (Fuhr, 1990).  

According to Fuhr (1990) a marginal teacher is one whose performance borders incompetency but who is not incompetent. Marginal teachers raise their performance enough to be judged ‘average’ to protect themselves from dismissal in evaluation period but in the following days they will slip back into their chronic pattern of poor teaching (Fuhr, 1990).  In the research of Sweeney and Manatt (1984) school principals defined the ‘marginal teacher’ as one who appears to have sufficient command of subject matter but whose lack of classroom management skills hinders the student learning.

In the literature different types of negative characteristics of teachers like “poor performing”, “incompetent”, “problematic” and “challenging” are called as “marginal teachers”. In this study, the term “marginal teacher” is used to address poor performing teachers and teachers persistent in causing some kind of difficulties or troubles that principals have to manage or deal with them.

Fuhr (1990) claims that marginal teachers could be categorized into three main types:

(1) Lack of training: Incompetent teachers who doesn’t grasp basic teaching techniques,

(2) Personal reasons: Teachers who have serious personal problems for exhibiting chronic inadequacies in classroom management and so slipped back into marginal category and

(3) Poor Attitude: Teachers who have negative or poor attitudes about teaching. Teachers in this category know what is expected but refuse to do it.

According to Fuhr (1990) damaging effects of challenging teachers compel principals to find out useful methods to deal with them. One choice is ignoring challenging teachers but ignoring them usually makes their performance worse. The author suggests three strategies for principals to deal with teachers in these categories. The teachers in the first category may be supported by constructive supervision. Principals should offer a few vital and genuine words of encouragement, support, respect and affection to the teachers with personal problems. The teachers in the third category should be talked clearly and specifically about their negative attitudes. But it should be clear that this reprimand is for specific actions or practices in the classroom, not for being a “bad person”.

Fuhr, D. (1990). Supervising the marginal teacher. Here’s How-National Association of Elementary School Principals. Vol: 9. No:2. Sweeney, J. and Manatt, D. (1984) A team approach to supervising the marginal teacher’, Educational Leadership, April: 25–27. Yariv, E. (2004). 'Challenging' teachers : What difficulties do they pose for their principals? Educational Management Administration & Leadership. Vol. 32: 149-169.