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…

Purpose: Recently, a confluence of factors has focused elementary school leaders on early education. One factor is that nearly 60 percent of all public elementary schools in the U.S. today have a Pre-K program in the building. Yet, prior research reveals that leaders are often not prepared to effectively lead early education programs. This study…

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…

Because the role of the principal has changed dramatically, preparation programs have adapted to better prepare these leaders. This study examines one program using surveys and interviews of completers. Results showed that these leaders found themselves in an uncomfortable new area, what we deem "the in-between." Using the theoretical…

The purpose of this study was to explore differences in perceived level of technology leadership preparation for students of three different online graduate level leadership preparation programs offered at a regional university in southeast Texas. Four hundred seventy-one students responded to the Principal Technology Leadership Assessment (PTLA)…

Professional development activities offered principals are often a hodgepodge of different types of programs designed to foster the sustainability of leadership practices. While professional development is important for the continual improvement of principals, Guskey (2003) describes professional development activities as generally having a…

The relationship between school administrators and agricultural education teachers has historically been considered to be important. Past studies have indicated mixed results when comparing principal and teacher perceptions of the importance of agricultural education teaching activities. Agreement between both parties and support from the…

The phrase 'next practice' was coined to indicate a shift from the notion of best practice to thinking more broadly about the needs of future learners and the ways in which teaching practice might align to support these needs. In understanding what next practice means for the classroom, this study was particularly interested in examining how…

The performance of South Africa's educational system in national and international tests indicates that a large proportion of its public schools are underperforming. Ineffective leadership has been put forward as one reason. This paper analyses a leadership development programme, Partners for Possibility (PfP), which seeks to strengthen leadership…

The article analyzes the results of a study in which the objective was to assess the process of school principals' training in Cuba. Data collection was done through the revision of existing documents and administering of questionnaires to subjects involved in the training process. Universities and provincial and municipal departments of education…

This study uses data from the "Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement through Research in Educational Leadership (INSPIRE) Preparation Program Features Survey" to respond to national critiques of university-based principal preparation programs. The findings provide insight into the program content and relevancy, personnel, and…

The leadership of school principals is widely considered to have a strong influence on the quality of teaching and learning in schools. University-based leadership preparation programs have the responsibility for preparing candidates to serve as school principals and in other leadership capacities. This qualitative study of educational leadership…

Despite the key role that principals play in leading schoolwide change, districts' efforts to support principals are often limited, particularly in rural settings. In this article, we report the preliminary findings of a cross-district mentoring program for nine midcareer rural school principals. The collaboratively developed human resource…

This paper examines in-service school leaders' perceptions regarding the degree to which their administrator preparation program addressed necessary skills and knowledge to effectively work with educators of children in special education and gifted programs. Principals from a large metropolitan district were surveyed. Findings indicate some…

This study used focus groups to create building blocks for the creation of a collaborative program consisting of a university and a school district for the preparation of principals. The focus groups of practitioners considered recommendations from researchers and applied it to the context of their experiences to develop the essentials of a…