The purpose of this three-part qualitative study was to investigate the perceptions principals had with their professional training based on selected leadership responsibilities that strongly correlated to student achievement. From the Marzano et al. (2005) quantitative study, the researcher selected the five strongest correlated responsibilities to use as a foundation for this work. The categories under investigation were, flexibility, outreach and discipline, monitoring/evaluating and situational awareness. Twenty-five district superintendents were solicited throughout northern and central New Jersey. Eight superintendents agreed to allow this researcher access to district principals. Nineteen prekindergarten to grade twelve principals participated in the study. Four were from a local catholic university and fifteen were from other graduate programs. Principals first completed a short demographic survey, agreed to an observation and then a follow-up open-ended interview. The average time spent at any one site was approximately 7 hours. This study attempted to compare and examine graduate perceptions and behavior based on leadership responsibilities that connected to their training and preparation. Principal's individual on the job behaviors compared with perceptions was generally similar. Other factors such as NCLB accountability seemed to influence the outcome of certain leadership responsibilities. The overall findings were somewhat inconclusive therefore; recommendations for continued research were presented. Finally, there were two leadership responsibilities that seemed to imply preparation programs did prepare graduates to meet the needs of 21st century schools, they were flexibility and situational awareness. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]