This dissertation advocates for improved succession planning in educational leadership, particularly in the public sector, where it often receives insufficient attention. It proposes a robust leadership pipeline program within school districts to enhance the capacity of aspiring assistant principals by providing hands-on experiences, mentorship…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore assistant principals' leadership readiness levels and the relationship between a district-provided administrator development program (ADP) and those levels. The study took place in Lovely Independent School District, which is in southeast Texas. Research questions focused on perceptions of…

The purpose of this dissertation-in-practice was to explore the dimensions of support for assistant principals in one southeast Texas mid-sized suburban public school district in conjunction with improving the overall efficacy of campus leaders while also bolstering the organizational leadership pipeline. Sixteen current or former assistant…

I designed this study to explore elementary assistant principals' perspectives of their roles as instructional leaders while fulfilling other administrative duties typically associated with the assistant principal position. I aimed to build on existing research on the role of contemporary elementary assistant principals as instructional leaders.…

Assistant principals typically begin their careers as teachers and transition to the role of assistant principal after completing a certification program that characteristically focuses on the principalship. Once they move into the role of assistant principal, many feel unprepared as the job responsibilities, assigned by the principal, usually…

Research has shown that the role of the assistant principal has changed little over the last 25 years (Searby et al., 2016). Assistant principals receive the same leadership preparation training as a principal; yet they are mostly tasked with basic compliance roles such as student management, personnel management, and discipline. After "No…

This qualitative grounded study investigated professional development, pre-service and in-service that 7 high school principals, 3 assistant principals, and 2 directors in New York State received to build their instructional leadership capacity. The researcher conducted 12 interviews via Zoom video conferencing to ascertain how preparation…

Many school districts in the United States struggle to retain assistant principals (APs), thus losing the opportunity to prepare and promote quality internal candidates for the principalship. The purpose of the critical participatory action research study was to add to the limited research on AP experiences and how to support their professional…

The purpose of this mixed methods study was to determine what preparational experiences are necessary for assistant principals to effectively transition to the principalship. Fifteen principals completed a 21-item survey and answered seven interview questions to better understand how the North Carolina Standards for School Executives aligned with…

Public school systems and school-based administrators are facing increasing expectations and accountability regarding educational equity. In their attempts to meet these expectations, school systems are training and providing professional development to educational leaders. The purpose of this explanatory, sequential mixed-methods case study was…

Continued professional learning and development of school leaders is a way to improve schools and promote positive organizational change (Andreoli et al., 2020; Kim, 2020; Rieckhoff & Larsen, 2012) as well as and a way to support sustainability in a profession with high rates of turnover (Levin et al., 2020). Although principals and…

Over a century of research on K-12 public school principal time use (PTU) illustrates that principals spend time on professional tasks beyond the instructional hours of their school days. Similarly, a century of research on the division of household labor suggests that women spend more time on household labor than men daily. However, no prior PTU…

This qualitative study described the lived experiences of 17 school administrators. These administrators were 10 principals and 7 assistant principals. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore public school principals' and assistant principals' viewpoints on the best leadership practices and strategies for leadership advancement of…

This case study explored the impacts of school shootings on K-12 school principals. Eleven school principals and assistant principals from rural, suburban, and urban areas in all regions of the United States were interviewed. The study answered two research questions: What impact do school shootings have on school principals? and What do…

The principal's impact as an instructional leader influences many elements that keep a school building running effectively. Assistant principals, as emerging school leaders, must be prepared and cultivated with the proper support and resources to thrive in principalship positions. Support through school district-based principal preparation and…