Date

8-20-2026

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy in Education (PhD)

Chair

Christine Saba

Keywords

teacher shortage, teacher attrition, K-12 principal role, emergency teachers, emergency teacher certification, critical teacher shortage

Disciplines

Education | Educational Leadership

Abstract

The purpose of this single case study was to describe how principals assign non-licensed, uncertified personnel as teachers for students at K-12 public schools. The theory guiding this study was Weick’s sensemaking theory on organization, as it explains the relationship between the theory and leaders’ management in times of organizational crisis. The Central Research Question was: How do principals assign non-licensed, uncertified personnel as teachers at their K-12 public schools in one large urban school district? This study was a holistic single case study. The study sample included the lived experiences of K-12 public school principals in one of the largest school districts in the southeastern United States. The three data collection methods for my single case study comprised individual interviews, documentation, and surveys. An application of pattern-matching logic using analytical generalization of extracted themes, from multiple sources of data collection, from 10 principals, and the sensemaking theory, served as the analysis approach. The findings indicated that principals’ approaches to alternative staffing stem from a district-centered system response to chronic labor-market conditions. Additionally, principals played an essential role in stabilizing instruction, making rapid, cue-based organizational decisions that underscore the importance of sensemaking theory in educational leadership.

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