The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the backgrounds, experiences, and supports of Chicago Public School (CPS) principals as they prepared for the principalship and to identify where gaps exist so that policymakers and principal preparation programs can better support leadership development. Researchers interviewed 20 early career…

There is a growing understanding that, after engaging teaching, educational leadership is the second most important factor accounting for student success. Despite this fundamental declaration, educational leadership has fallen through the cracks. Little interest has developed concerning in-depth studies of this important position in education.…

Principals matter a great deal in establishing a culture of excellence in schools. It has been known that an "ineffective" principal can create significant problems that impede teachers from carrying out their tasks and poor leadership may eventually affect academic excellence in students. A leader who does not have the skill sets to…

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…

This study aimed to add to the limited research on principal self-efficacy in special education leadership and examine the link between principal preparation programs and special education leadership self-efficacy. The study further sought to examine how self-efficacy beliefs may influence principals' engagement in special education leadership…

Motivated and effective leadership is necessary for college and university presidents and even more paramount at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs), given the significant impact that these institutions have on Black lives and overall equity in the nation. Using Greenleaf's (1970) servant leadership model as a guiding framework,…

Policy makers increasingly acknowledge that problems and challenges arising at the school level should be resolved on site. At the same time, the political expectation to delegate more responsibility to the individual school is rather heavily contrasted with the weak knowledge about how this new public management approach can be translated into…

Literacy disparity is a widespread problem for schools across the country. Children with reading difficulties are present in every school in the United States. Although literacy is the foundation of all academics, many students lag behind regardless of their socioeconomic, racial, or gender status. There is mounting pressure on schools to produce…

School leaders, specifically principals, play a pivotal role in shaping student learning outcomes. The benefits of strong leaders extend beyond academic achievement, such as reductions in absenteeism and exclusionary discipline. While quality principals are critical for creating and sustaining quality schools, the staffing pipeline is facing…

Principals are the second-largest school-based contributor to student achievement. Interventions focused early in the "pipeline" for identifying and developing effective principals might be a promising strategy for promoting principal effectiveness, yet no prior research has examined measures of principal performance during preservice…

School leadership in the 21st century must transcend isolated approaches to equity and preparation programming to effectually ensure that principals can perform a synthesis of pedagogical approaches to serve effectively in diverse communities. Higher levels of pedagogical synthesis should afford its participants the preparation necessary for…

In this article, I detail my journey through which I have experienced phenomenology. The article includes theoretical connections, personal aspirations, methodology, data collection, and themes that I have identified as I analyzed the data. I have deep personal connections to the phenomenon in the study, the journey to becoming a school principal,…

Principal preparation programs use various components to develop candidates, including coursework, core assessments, and field-based internships or practicums. The internship represents an exceptionally high leverage learning opportunity (Lochmiller, 2014). The success of the internship depends highly on the abilities of a mentor via informal…

Utilising new empirical research this study adapts an existing literature-based competency framework into a hierarchy of competencies needed for education middle managers in England to be effective in their role. The study involved a national survey (n = 164) of further education middle managers and is the first quantitative study investigating…

School turnaround is premised on the assumption that school leaders provide the guidepost along which transformational change occurs. This collective case study examined the turnaround leadership styles and practices of eight senior high school principals in seven senior high schools in Ghana. This study examined the research questions: What…