Principals’ Views on the Factors Facilitating Idiosyncratic Deals They Make with Teachers

Abstract

Non-standard, personalized arrangements between employees and their managers that are not granted to other subordinates are referred to in the literature as "idiosyncratic deals" (i-deals for short). Although the factors that influence the realization of these agreements have been researched in various sectors, it is apparent that these factors have not yet been uncovered in the school setting. Because of this deficiency in the literature, the purpose of this multiple case study was to identify the factors that facilitate making i-deals between principals and teachers based on the perceptions of sixteen principals working in public and private schools. Semi-structured interview questions were developed, and findings were reported based on the researcher-developed framework of six dimensions of (1) professional development i-deals, (2) task flexibility i-deals, (3) schedule flexibility i-deals, (4) location flexibility i-deals, (5) reduced workload i-deals, and (6) pay-related i-deals. Implications for research and application were also discussed based on the results.