Many professions have long runways to leadership, with mentorship and increasing levels of responsibility. In contrast, the path to school leadership has historically not been well-defined. But that is changing. The role of assistant principals has become a major stepping stone to the principalship. Once thought of primarily as disciplinarians,…

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…

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…

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 in Sweden face leadership challenges as pedagogical leaders of School-age educare Centers (SAECs). This study examines how principals identify both professional development needs as well as challenges they face in supporting the SAEC teachers. The empirical data is based on reflections from 29 principals and vice-principals from four…

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…

The purpose of this qualitative phenomenographical article was to explore the different ways that elementary assistant principals experienced mentoring from their elementary principals as a way to provide the requisite leadership development that would lead them to become a principal. This research study was conducted using in-depth…

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…

This guide was created to support district leadership in preparing assistant principals for promotion to and success in the principalship. In particular, the guide is intended for use by those who regularly plan for, create, lead, and develop principal leadership training opportunities; those who have responsibilities in pipeline development 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…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine principals' perspectives on a model of professional development (PD) in writing. Participants were 14 principals and seven assistants from a rural district's K to 12 school system who shared in an interview their challenges and advice for effective PD at a building and district level. Their…

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 report presents a multi-case qualitative research study on how to support teacher professional learning and development of their digital competence, through a self-reflection process using SELFIEforTEACHERS (SfT). The study investigated how SfT can be used in different settings and what factors, enablers and barriers affect its effective…

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…