Purpose: If PK12 administrators aspire to interrupt bias-based bullying, they need to understand their role in perpetuating structural and social inequality. The purpose of this study was to examine administrators': 1) awareness of gender-based bullying, 2) initial intentions to address bullying, and 3) actions that interrupted or perpetuated…

The job of the school principal has become much more complex and demanding over the past several decades. Many university-based principal preparation programs--which prepare the majority of school principals--have struggled with how to make the fundamental changes needed to prepare principals for today's schools. To test a path forward, The…

This study examines the work completed by a regional, comprehensive university's principal preparation program in redesigning their curriculum for greater coherence. Their process for identifying equity as a program theme and explicitly addressing learning related to program themes is described. Key steps in the process include: (1) collaborating…

Servant Leadership substantiates the truth that through service to others, while leading others, individuals fulfill a longing for living virtuous lives. This study evaluated the impact of a principal preparation program on candidate self-perception of five dispositional skills associated with servant leadership. To determine the impact of the…

Over the years, most states and districts have focused professional development on teachers rather than principals. However, evidence suggests that principals can play an important role in reaching our national goals of high achievement for all students. School leaders are powerful levers for change--when given the right training and support. But…

The Middle-Grades Leadership Development (MLD) Project was designed to develop principal leaders and leadership teams who create high-performing middle-grades schools. Designed by the National Forum to Accelerate Middle-Grades Reform, the four-year project was funded from 2013 to 2017 by a U.S. Department of Education Investing in Innovation (i3)…

This article examines the relationship between principals' training experiences and perceived school quality in seven U.S. states. Current school principals were surveyed regarding their perceptions of the comparative effectiveness of field experiences in the principal preparation program (PPP) each attended. States were selected to represent…

This report presents findings from RAND's evaluation of the Appalachian Renaissance Initiative (ARI) in 17 districts totaling 99 kindergarten-12th grade schools within the Kentucky Valley Educational Cooperative (KVEC). The initiative took place from the 2014-2015 through 2017-2018 academic years. The evaluation examined various aspects of ARI…

School leadership has been shown to exert a positive but mostly indirect influence on school and student outcomes. Currently, there is great interest in how quality leadership preparation is related to leadership practice and improved teacher outcomes. The purpose of the study was to understand the moderating influence of leadership preparation on…

University-district partnerships for preparing school leaders typically have well-defined organizational structures, established practices and procedures, and parity among partners--all of which can take considerable time and effort to achieve. Thus, is it realistic to expect that university-district partnerships will emerge simply through…

This report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education's (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation's (GEF) "Developing Futures"™ in Education program in Jefferson County Public Schools (JCPS). As described in the CPRE proposal and research design, the purpose was to closely…

This Wallace "Perspective" summarizes a decade of foundation research and work in school leadership to identify what it is that effective school principals do. It concludes that they carry out five key actions particularly well, including shaping a vision of academic success for all students and cultivating leadership in others. The…

Mentoring for principals during their first years on the job, once a relative rarity, is now required by half the nation's states--a major advance from a long-standing "sink-or-swim" attitude toward new school leaders and a belated sign of recognition of the role that well-prepared principals can play in lifting student achievement. But…

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced school leadership development program designed specifically for practicing principals and administrator-trained teachers. The program was designed to help a high-need rural district transform its principalship from school management into learner-center leadership while…

Drawing on lessons learned from Wallace-funded research and state-district work in strengthening education leadership, the foundation has produced a paper that discusses the potential as well as the challenges of an emerging concept of leadership called a "Cohesive Leadership System." This cohesive leadership system holds potential for…