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The purpose of this paper is to present an overview of the principal preparation programming available to school leaders in Kenya and Tanzania.

The authors analyzed information about the educational leadership programmes offered by a range of public and private institutions in East Africa. Data were gathered primarily through document analyses based on publicly available information describing certificate, diploma, and degree programs related to principal preparation in Kenya and Tanzania.

A description is offered of the intended client group for leadership preparation programmes along with an overview of programme content, structure, delivery modes, and credentialing. Gaps were noted in the areas of instructional leadership, educational technology, and visioning. Further, the authors noted the insufficient capacity of educational institutions in East Africa to prepare new principals or to offer ongoing professional development.

The study was limited to publicly available documents. There is a marked need for more detailed empirical reports of principal preparation in sub‐Saharan Africa.

The suitability of the content of existing principal preparation programs warrants closer examination.

This report contributes to the understanding of principal preparation in sub‐Saharan Africa in terms of its capacity, content, and delivery modes.

The purpose of this study is to review the landscape of empirical evidence on school leadership preparation and subsequent school-level effectiveness while conceptually exploring how societal transformations and educational changes shaped leadership development within the mainland of the People's Republic of China. Conceptually, this study is informed by Murphy and Vriesenga's (2006) comprehensive review of empirical work on leadership preparation, evaluative work on the pathway from preparation to school-level practice (cf, the UECA taskforce on evaluating the effectiveness of leadership preparation; Orr & Kottkamp, 2003; Orr & Orphanos, 2011) and empirical literature on school improvement. Data come from extensive reviews of English and Chinese language articles, conference papers, doctoral and master's theses, and other reports of research on the preparation of school leaders in Mainland China. Using a combination of inductive and deductive strategies, the lead author analyzed all selected sources using a three-pronged framework: who is being prepared for school leadership positions in China, by what design and delivery methods they are being prepared, and how well they are fulfilling leadership practices and expectations for which they are being prepared. The current analysis adds to the international knowledge base of the pathway between preparation and practice. It also highlights the importance of considering the cultural, social, and political context that shapes conceptions of leadership and the design and implementation of educational leadership preparation programs.

The purpose of this study was to examine the architecture of internship coaching models from five innovative principal preparation programs in the Southeastern region of the USA. The researchers used coaching architecture in this context to include the assignment of coaches to interns, dosages, and enactment of evaluation and confidentiality.

The researchers used a qualitative, collective case study research design that included semi-structured interviews of program directors and coaches from each of five programs, totaling 19 interviews that lasted from 30 min to an hour and 15 min each.

Commonalities among architectures of principal intern coaching designs included coaching assignment by geography, frequency and format of coaching sessions and length of the internship. All five programs recommend continuing coaching into initial years of administration. Points of distinction pertained to the utilization of external versus internal coaches, confidentiality and evaluation by coaches.

This study may inform coaching models for principal preparation programs within similar contexts. Because all five programs are grant-funded within one US state, generalizability and transferability cannot be assumed.

The authors provide design considerations for coaching programs, as well as policy considerations and directions for future research.

While coaching is increasingly used in leadership preparation programs, there is a paucity of research regarding the nature of coaching models, especially in terms of their architecture. The researchers examine, compare, and contrast coaching model architecture, raising important considerations for coaching designs.

Aims to present a framework for licensing school principals in the United States, specifically the state of Connecticut. Contains three elements that depart substantially from other initiatives to reform preparation and licensure. (1) Pre‐service preparation of principals will focus on the knowledge base for teaching and learning. As currently conceived, it is possible for a candidate to qualify for initial certification without taking formal coursework in educational administration. (2) Study of educational administration will occur during the beginning years of administrative service. (3) Licensure will be performance‐based. Candidates for initial certification will need to demonstrate their knowledge of teaching and learning and their ability to evaluate and supervise teaching. Prior to professional certification, principals will be required to show that they fostered a school culture that focused on teaching and learning and where all students achieved. Begins with discussion of the role of licensing and recent calls for reform of principal preparation and licensure. Following a review of the literature that supports Connecticut′s reform strategy, presents five postulates it is believed will advance the revision of preparation and licensure. Follows a hypothetical candidate from pre‐service through to professional certification to explain how Connecticut′s proposal is implemented. Includes a consideration of licensing in countries other than the United States in the summary.

In September 2009, a special committee of the Israeli Institute of School Leadership has published its final report in which new perspectives, contents, and teaching strategies are suggested to replace old, traditional forms of principal preparation programs in this country. The purpose of this chapter is to describe, first, the new construction of leadership development programs in Israel and its underlying principles and historical background, and, second, to raise some ponderings into its applicability and its quality in terms of practical suggestions and expected teaching strategies. The chapter includes the following elements: a brief introduction of the current principal preparation programs in Israel (briefly), the special committee, the aims of this chapter, importance, and organization of the chapter; the theoretical background based on the research on principal preparation programs worldwide, its shortcomings, and impediments; a historical debate of principal training in Israel – the current state, American influences, weaknesses, rational, basic principles, the new model, purpose, contents, and instructional methods; and critical and future considerations including the weaknesses of the new model, the “chances” to apply this report into the Israeli (or any) educational system, and the potential facilitating versus impeding factors.

The International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) informs principal preparation in relation to change in schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The three-stage ISPP study utilized a mixed-methodological approach. Data were gathered in Kenya, South Africa, and Alberta, Canada utilizing a survey instrument that contained items that focussed on: problematic leadership responsibilities, prior leadership development experiences, and perceived adequacy of leadership preparation experiences.

Leadership preparation in Kenya and South Africa was relatively unstructured, compared to structured university-based leadership preparation in Alberta. The assumption in Kenya and South Africa was that classroom teaching was adequate preparation, while Alberta respondents perceived teaching and leadership as discrete knowledge sets. Content of preparation experiences in Kenya and South Africa was mainly about teaching and learning, while in Alberta it was more about instructional leadership. Kenyan principals felt prepared for the principalship. Alberta principals stated that they were ill prepared to deal with day-to-day responsibilities. Senior South African principals felt they were not prepared for school improvement while younger principals felt they were adequately prepared.

Findings suggest that providers utilize cross-cultural partnerships that incorporate technology-mediated dialogue and action research. Cross-cultural learning should be considered co-learning. Preparation should include partnerships between western institutions and informal groups of principals in settings such as Kenya and South Africa. The study informs policymakers, researchers, and school leaders.

The cross-cultural comparisons in this paper inform understandings of the principalship in relation to organizational change in schools.

Principal preparation program pedagogy and course delivery are critical to principal candidates' preparedness to lead. Research around online program delivery, however, is relatively sparse. This study examined the extent to which university-based educational leadership programs offered fully online (FOL) pathways to the principalship, as well as program geographic locations and institutional characteristics most associated with FOL offerings.

Data were collected through website reviews and coding checks, and then merged with national postsecondary data. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, classification tree analysis, and geographic information system (GIS) mapping.

Roughly 43 percent of all reviewed programs offered an FOL pathway to licensure, which suggests substantial growth in FOL offerings over the last 10 years. While a number of factors were deemed important, geographic characteristics were most associated with FOL status. GIS mapping further illustrated findings with a visual landscape of program FOL offerings.

This study considered only programs for which degrees or certificates could be earned without ever visiting campus in-person for classes. Hybrid programs were excluded from the analysis.

Findings make a clear call for more research into online principal preparation program design and course delivery.

This study provides the first overview of fully online university-based principal preparation programs in the United States while also offering a previously unavailable landscape of all programs specifically leading to licensure. It is also the only higher education study to map or investigate factors associated with FOL offerings and raises questions about prior FOL higher education research.

This study investigates the performance of Indiana’s new principals per the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) and the Indiana Content Standards for building-level leader preparation. Using quantitative survey methodology, information was collected from Indiana superintendents regarding the effectiveness of principals who had recently completed university administrative preparation programs. Analysis of responses revealed that superintendents viewed their new principals as “proficient” in almost every area, with the highest mean observed in the category of Integrity. In contrast, the mean response for “financial management” was found to be in the “basic” range, creating implications for an area of potential development in school leadership education in the state.

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.

The paper reports on the initial Western Australian findings of a survey developed for Phase Three of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP). The survey was designed as a common instrument across international contexts to investigate those aspects of principals' work perceived to be most challenging in the early years in the position and the extent to which principals believe they were prepared for these challenges. The survey was administered to 45 novice principals in Western Australia.

The preliminary results of the survey have yielded some insights that draw attention to what principals regard as their main challenges and the extent to which they felt prepared to deal with them.

The sample size is a little small for some of the analyses and results need to be treated with caution.

The insights derived from responses to the survey have clear implications for the efficacy of role preparation and development.

The paper helps to clarify those aspects of the work of novice primary principals which they find most problematic, relative to other aspects and the extent to which they felt prepared to deal with them.

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.

The researchers employed qualitative methods to examine the experiences of four novice principals over a two‐year period.

The findings suggest that the current climate of efficiency and accountability is contributing to the socialization of principals who focus on the technical aspects of administration over the of relational aspects leadership.

This study focuses on the link between preparation programs and the practice of novice principals, an area that has not been fully explored in the literature.