| Summary: | Abstract This examination of the hiring practices of K-8 educational leaders in a particular county in a mid-Atlantic state is viewed through the theoretical framework of bounded rationality, which holds that rationality is limited by the availability of information, time, and mental capacity. In this study, a review of the literature explored the applicability of bounded rationality to the work of school principals, what is known about the decision-making processes by
experts in a number of fields, and what is known about the decision-making process involved in teacher hiring. Of all the decisions made by school principals, the hiring of teachers may be the most important task; nevertheless, the bounded rationality involved in decision-making unchecked by the supports of protocols such as research supported screening criteria or interview procedures engenders an ongoing problem of practice: sub-optimal decision-making in the process of teacher
hiring. This research examines the question: How does bounded rationality affect administrators' decision-making processes in the process of hiring new teachers among comparable school districts in the mid-Atlantic region? There were eight findings identified in this research: bounded rationality affects the decision-making of K-8 educational leaders; the teacher characteristics listed as most important were not consistent among all principals; fast thinking through biases and
heuristics including fit, missing data, overconfidence were identified; slow thinking through the use of protocols, question sets and self-awareness were also identified; and principals stated the addition of a decision-making tool, such as a checklist, might improve their processes. Key terms: biases and heuristics, bounded rationality, decision-making, and teacher hiring.
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