Opportunity gaps for certain student groups are well documented across the United States as well as in the Mid-Atlantic state where this research occurred. According to Miksic (2014), "American public education aspires to provide rich and poor, Black and White, immigrant and native-born, with equal opportunities for success" (para. 1).…

School districts across the United States are confronted with a shortage of highly qualified principal applicants, a situation compounded by a haphazard approach to leadership succession planning. While the vast majority of principals and superintendents endorse the promotion of assistant principals as the most effective way to develop successful…

As new assistant principals, our participants spoke of the importance of gaining experience. In this qualitative study, four years later, they admit that professional expertise must be a combination of challenging experiences and honest feedback from mentors. Furthermore, they present that this expertise is contingent upon identity. Transitioning…

Although there is a recurrent call for substantive reform in graduate programs in educational leadership, little has been written from the perspective of the new principal. This article reports the results of a survey of first-, second-, and third-year principals and assistant principals in which participants were asked to identify the knowledge…

The role of assistant principal is one of the least researched and discussed topics in professional journals and books on educational leadership. The ambiguity of the role allows for the ineffective use of this position and makes it a particularly difficult role to fulfill. This book can be used as a guide for practicing assistant principals and…

The Socorro Independent School District is one of the fastest growing districts in Texas. In response to the complex issue of a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse student population, poverty, and shrinking pool of educational leader candidates, the district launched an Assistant Principals Academy, designed to prepare individuals to step…

It is generally accepted that effective principals make for effective schools. In the United Kingdom, the key player providing needed intelligence, vision, energy, and thinking is called the headteacher. The issue considered broadly in this paper is educational leadership in the UK. It addresses the critical role of the headteacher and how to…

Through a collaborative effort, the New Teacher Center at the University of California Santa Cruz and the Association of California School Administrators are offering intensive, coaching-based induction support to first- and second-year administrators that is integral to their professional certification. This program rests on the commitment and…

This analytical report draws together findings from multiple sources that reflect current admission processes used by principal-preparation programs and explores their implications for initial educational-leadership development. The sources are a web-based review of state regulations for school-leadership credentials, a review of selected…

This book presents the accounts of successful headteachers (principals) in primary and secondary schools in England and Wales. It contains the following 14 articles: "Strategic Management in an Infant School" (Angela Bird; Les Bell); "Building the Vision: A TQM Approach" (Gwenn Brockley; Ray Moorcroft); "The Culture of…

This report defines six strategies that state and district leaders can employ to secure an ample supply of highly qualified school principals. The six strategies were drawn from research and direct experience in helping schools, universities, and state agencies rethink and redesign educational leadership programs. The six strategies are as…

This document is a practical guide for designing principal-development programs. The target audience includes individuals involved in the design and implementation of principal-preparation and development programs, particularly at the school-district level. Chapter 1, "The Call for New School Leaders and Leadership Development," expresses the need…

This paper describes a model program for training pre-service elementary and secondary school principals in educationally sound and legally defensible inclusion programs extending to students with emotional and behavioral disorders (E/BD). The program has three major objectives: (1) to train pre-service school administrators (principals and…