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…

Without proper training, the realities of leading a school can overwhelm principals. Specifically, the challenges of leading a school will test principals' abilities to manage operations and implement effective initiatives. Despite knowledge of these demands, author Craig Hochbein writes that aspiring principals often engage in training…

Perceived self-efficacy is an important aspect that educational leaders must possess to be successful in the public-school setting. Constant changes in legislation require principals to have high levels of self-efficacy to perform their duties as administrators. Principal preparedness programs have failed to completely prepare candidates to be…

Furnishing novice school leaders with the knowledge and skills they require to be successful in practice has proved difficult. This paper describes and analyses an attempt to link learning and school leading practices in their education: a three-year learning activity within the Swedish National School Leadership Training Programme intended to…

School leadership is found important for school development and student learning. Consequently, the interest in professional leadership education for principals has increased. In Sweden, professional leadership education for novice principals was made mandatory in 2010. Moreover, enhanced focus on leadership for teaching and learning in terms of…

This study used a mixed-methods explanatory design and Mezirow's transformative learning theory to explore the experiences of new school principals in a professional development leadership program and its influence on their self-efficacy as leaders in a Midwestern urban K-12 school district. Surveys, semi-structured interviews, reflection notes,…

In spring 2024, the authors surveyed 156 American School District Panel member districts about principal pipeline activities across seven domains -- leader standards, principal preparation, selective hiring and placement, on-the-job support and evaluation, principal supervision, leader tracking systems, and systems of support -- to estimate the…

Ohio's Columbus City Schools developed a new urban grow-your-own principal pipeline. This pipeline emphasizes the cultivation of equity-centered principals who can address educational and social disparities in transformative and sustainable ways. Drawing from research and professional literature and from district and stakeholder engagements,…

The concern about the quality of preservice preparation programs provided for new and aspiring principals in China have led to calls to evaluate current programs through participant perspectives. This paper addresses this research gap by reporting research with participants on one national training program in a Southern province of China. A mixed…

This mixed-methods study explored if there were alignment, or gaps, in leadership standards, preparation, and/or practice of a novice principal or assistant principal. Educational leadership preparation programs have been criticized for the lack of relevant context applicable in real-life settings. Quality leadership standards influence…

Traditional principal preparation programs (PPPs) that include coursework and internship opportunities are most commonly the basis by which aspiring school leaders are prepared for future work (Dickens, et al., 2021; Grissom, Jason A., et al., 2018; Kearney & Valadez, 2015; Oliver, et al., 2018). The COVID-19 pandemic provided a challenge for…

In this qualitative ethnographic research study, I focused on a first-year assistant principal's leadership experiences in an urban PK-8 school environment and the coaching, mentoring, support, and training needed to develop an effective building administrator who will be retained in the assistant principal position. The guiding research questions…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore the training of Indiana public school building-level administrators' preservice education in mental health topics related to students. One overarching research question guided the researcher: "What training in identifying mental health needs and services have current Indiana building-level…

The purpose of this qualitative, explanatory, single, case study was to explain how new and experienced principals in one 9-12 school district located in California perceived their transition to the principalship. Data were collected with regard to perceptions of administrator preparation and induction programs, along with their perceptions of…

This qualitative study examined the perceptions of first-year principals toward Arkansas' Beginning Administrator Mentoring Program. The study sample included seventeen first-year principals from the 2017--2018 school year. Semi-structured interviews were used to draw conclusions and to make recommendations for state agencies, superintendents, and…