This study examined how academic programs administrate their internships, including implementing and executing their philosophy and internship rationale, and connecting with and managing relationships with internship agencies while accounting for contextual information (e.g., geography, size, and research vs. teaching focus). Using a case-study…

This paper investigated principal interns' leadership work during the COVID-19 pandemic in Texas. We used data from one-on-one semistructured interviews to document the experiences of 21 principal candidates in spring 2021 through spring 2022. Participants' leadership work changed in four ways during the pandemic: striving, intensifying,…

The purpose of this study was to investigate East Tennessee State University alumni's perceptions of the effectiveness of internship experiences as students learned the PSEL and TILS standards and the role of mentor support as they prepared for principalship. The participants obtained their administrative license and worked currently with an…

Using data from 12 public universities in North Carolina over a 4-year period, we assess how principal intern characteristics and internship experiences predict entry into the school leader labor market as an assistant principal. In line with prior research, we found that a sizable number of interns never enter school leadership. Furthermore,…

Clinical experiences, including the full-time principal internship, are considered to be one of the most important components in principal preparation. Yet research on the principal internship is limited to surveys and interviews. I use a daily life methodology to explore full-time principal interns' experiences during an academic school year. I…

The principal internship is a crucial component of principal preparation programs (PPP) in the U.S. and, increasingly, in other countries. The purpose of this study was to compare the experiences and work of principal candidates enrolled in one principal residency program (PRP) to candidates enrolled in a traditional principal preparation program…

This transcendental phenomenology study was designed to examine the phenomena of the paid internship portion of the North Carolina Principal Fellows Program (NCPFP) through specific graduates of the universities that offer the scholarship. The study aimed to answer the following research question: How does the paid internship experience from the…

Leadership preparation is essential in developing critical skills of effective school leaders. Educational leadership preparation programs vary greatly in terms of program features, it is important to identify which specific elements are likely associated with program quality. Using multiple years of Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement…

This article presents the leadership development impact of a multi-cohort state-funded initiative to provide enhanced internships for leadership preparation candidates from low- and moderate-resourced suburban districts. It presents the results for 26 grant-funded and 35 non-grant-funded candidates who completed a two-year leadership preparation…

Researchers and legislators are seeking ways to improve educational leadership programs to better prepare individuals to lead today's schools. Researchers have often focused these efforts on an objectivist research paradigm, examining program outcomes and perspectives of current leaders. As such, few studies have engaged students in conversations…

The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of program admission requirements, university-district partnerships, and course content integration on the internship within principal preparation programs. University principal preparation programs have been a focus of recent attention, specifically since 2005 when the report Arthur Levine…

Internships have been shown to be impactful tools to connect students' learning in academia with real-world industrial needs. To help the students to get more out of their internship experience, some universities provide a summer internship class in which students do class assignments based on their experiences during their internship. There have…

Purpose: The study aimed to capture student experience during virtual internships by identifying the facilitators and barriers during their experiential learning journey. The students were pursuing their Master's in Business Administration (MBA) program at a business school in India. The authors shed light on the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the…

In this essay, the authors, (Harper, professor; Sorensen, academic advisor and former graduate student; Badura, academic advisor and literature scholar) argue that reading literary fiction can indeed contribute to the ongoing development of student affairs professionals, offering as evidence the experiences of a graduate class who read novels…

In this policy brief we examine the initial licensure process of all 50 states and the District of Columbia, and classify each licensure process as traditional, transitional, or transformative, based on criteria suggested by a panel of expert practitioners and university faculty from the field of educational leadership. The expert panel…