Purpose: This study investigated how leader characteristics, interpersonal dynamics, and situational context may predict turnover intentions among novice principals and assistant principals. Design/methodology/approach: A quantitative survey was administered to 1,945 novice school leaders in Sweden. Linear regression analysis was conducted to…

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight how a group of novice principals in Connecticut and New York used relational, dispositional and situational factors to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The study aims to support new principals and educational leaders. Design/methodology/approach: Using Mutch's (2015) dispositional, relational and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to use empirical data on new principals to clarify the connection between different succession situations and the challenges their successor principals face. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on two waves of interview data from a random sample of 16 new elementary school principals in a major urban…

Purpose: The first purpose of this paper is to investigate the relationship between principal self-efficacy and work experience. The second purpose of this paper is to re-study the structure of a multidimensional and hierarchical Principal Self-Efficacy Scale (PSES). Design/methodology/approach: PSES was measured using the Brama-Friedman scale…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine first-year principals' sense-making about two potentially conflicting demands as they take over low-performing urban schools: the demand to exert control over their teachers' practice, and the need to build their teachers' trust, collegiality, and commitment. Design/methodology/approach: This study…

Purpose: This paper aims to highlight what principals consider their most severe challenges in the first three years of appointment and the extent to which they believe they were adequately prepared to meet these challenges. Design/methodology/approach: The paper reports on the initial Western Australian findings of a survey developed for Phase…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the psychometric properties of the Self Assessment of Leadership of Teaching and Learning (SALTAL) inventory, in conditions of repeated administration. Design/methodology/approach: In 2006 and 2007, nearly all of New Zealand's newly-appointed school principals participated in an 18 month induction…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to present a discussion of one element of a principal preparation graduate program that uses visualization as a technique to practice decision making. Design/methodology/approach: The author analyzed information collected from participants who created personal case studies using a visualization technique. Data…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on principal preparation by examining the experiences of novice principals and what their experiences mean for principal preparation in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: The researchers employed qualitative methods to examine the experiences of four novice principals over a two-year…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature on beginning the principalship by identifying and illustrating key challenges that novice principals encounter in their first year for which they would benefit from improved preparation. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is a synthesis of a decade of research focusing on the principal…

Purpose: This paper aims to explore the extent to which the programme for principal preparation in Scotland relates to what is expected of principals once they are in post and what it is that they actually do. Design/methodology/approach: The paper analyses the professional experience of five relatively new elementary school principals reported in…

Purpose: This case study is an attempt to understand the experience of a school principal, Arnulfo. The research question is: what are the challenges of one first-year school director in Baja California, Mexico? Design/methodology/approach: Arnulfo participated in an interview and five focus groups at the Ensenada State Normal School. He kept a…

Purpose: This article aims to set the scene for this Special Issue on beginning principals and to inform one's understanding of how new principals manage their work lives to make a difference in their schools. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on beginning principals, the paper draws together and analyses issues encompassing…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to the literature and practice on beginning principal socialization by identifying the features of post-industrial work that create a more complex work environment for the practice and learning of the principalship in the USA. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on the changing nature of…

Purpose: The paper seeks to develop a conceptual framework capable of informing future research into beginning principalship in diverse cultural contexts. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature, and specifically drawing on contributions to this Special Issue, the paper explores the relationship between externally generated…