Informal, non-systematic processes often referred to as tapping historically have been how school districts identify prospective school leaders. This study first considers the degree to which tapping remains relevant as districts increasingly adopt formal leadership pipelines and explores multiple dimensions of tapping.
We explore school leaders' experiences with tapping across urban and rural districts in two USA states. These districts vary in the degree to which they have formal leadership pipeline programs. Drawing on semi-structured interviews with 51 early-career principals, we take a grounded theory approach to examine how tapping shapes leaders' career trajectories.
Tapping remained a common practice in districts both with and without formal leadership pipelines. School leaders' experiences with tapping varied along six dimensions: who did the tapping, what positions leaders were tapped into, when and how often leaders were tapped, whether they were tapped generally for leadership or into specific positions and why leaders were tapped.
We extend tapping research into districts with formal leadership pipeline programs, thereby presenting a more comprehensive conceptualization of tapping.
