Research suggests that traditional models for principal preparation often do not adequately prepare principals for the challenges of their daily work. This study examines how one private university in the south utilized a Grow Your Own (GYO) concept to provide principal candidates with more authentic field-based cohort learning that revolved…

This qualitative study examines principals' perceptions of effective principal professional development programs and needs. Results from this research study are valuable because they can provide impactful insights for state departments of education, district leadership, and principals in the planning, development, and administration of principal…

Superintendents provide resources so that their district teams, principals, and teachers receive quality and frequent professional learning opportunities. As a result, it is crucial that the money invested in professional learning yields a return on their and their constituents' investments through improved academic achievement, teacher and…

The purpose of this exploratory qualitative study was to better understand how the leadership of 11 principals impacted their schools' level of engagement in a district-wide deep learning initiative. Findings clustered in three primary areas of principal leadership: vision for learning, leadership approach, and mindset toward others. Principals…

We reviewed and synthesized 35 peer-reviewed empirical studies published between 2014-2018 that investigated district leaders', principals', and/or teachers' interpretations of and experiences with Race to the Top teacher evaluation systems. We analyzed evidence of how educators' prior experiences, beliefs, values, organizational contexts, and…

This study investigated the alignment between Texas superintendents' perceptions of the necessary professional characteristics of principals through the hiring process and the ELCC principal standards and the Texas principal certification standards. Texas superintendents were surveyed and interviewed to create a framework comparing their…

Despite empirical evidence correlating the role of the principal with student achievement, researchers have seldom scrutinized principal selection methods over the past 60 years. This mixed methods study investigated the processes by which school principals are selected. A national sample of top-level school district administrators was used to…

This study examined the perceptions of principals concerning principal evaluation and supervisory feedback. Principals were asked two open-ended questions. Respondents included 82 principals in the Rocky Mountain region. The emerging themes were "Superintendent Performance," "Principal Evaluation Components," "Specific…

This study on leadership for second order change and improved student achievement represents interview and observational research with 62 leaders at the district and school levels in 10 states. Seven consistent leader action themes emerged across all participants regardless of demographics of the school, demographics of the leader, or position…

Collaborative learning teams have emerged as an effective tool for teachers to steadily and continuously improve their instruction. Evidence also suggests that a learning teams model can affect school leadership as well. We explored the impact of learning teams on leadership roles of principals and teachers in secondary schools and found that…

Recent research shows that a developmental school counseling program can be an important tool for improving student academic achievement and school community well-being. Yet, it appears that school administrators do not take advantage of the school counseling resource, often assigning school counselors to tasks that are outside of their area of…

In this article, the author presents ten practical reflections for educational leaders. The author states that educational leaders should: (1) know themselves and where they are going; (2) not be overly prepared; (3) link with others; (4) measure their words; (5) take responsibility; (6) keep others informed; (7) maintain their perspective; (8)…

Two reports have recently been published that are critical of higher education and its preparation of school leaders. One of these reports entitled "Educating School Leaders" by Arthur Levine (2005) offered a 9-point template for judging the quality of school leadership programs. The other by Hess and Kelly (2005) entitled "Learning…

Conflict management is among the skills necessary for the development of successful school leaders. Those in campus leadership positions are certain to face conflict situations on a regular basis. This study focused on four questions about conflict in the professional lives of campus administrators: (1) What is the frequency of conflict…

Principal preparation programs are designed to create and prepare effective school leaders. These programs pursue many pathways to achieve this goal. This study highlighted the significance of framing this pursuit around the Educational Leadership Council Standards (ELCC; Wilmore, 2002) and Malcolm Knowles' (1970) adult learning theory. In…