The role of regional associations in providing professional development for institutional researchers is examined. On-campus and exchange internships for students, workshops for newly appointed researchers, visitation programs, reports, topical research sessions, and grant proposals are suggested as possible regional activities. (Author/SF)

A 1984 partnership between Brigham Young University and five Utah school districts resulted in a new principal preparation program that integrates theory and practice and provides meaningful practice opportunities. The Leaders Preparation Program includes several NASSP-sponsored workshops allowing interns to experience, in a safe but challenging…

The value of field experience in administrator preparation programs is assessed in this paper, which examines commonly held beliefs about field experience. The following values of field experience--that it assesses career commitment, refines school goals, provides practice in real settings, and develops personal and professional competence--are…

Internship and field experience practices of University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) member institutions in the United States are examined in this report. Questionnaires were completed by 44 out of 47 chairpersons of educational administration departments at 44 UCEA member schools, a 93.6 percent response rate. Data were compared…

This document is part of a comprehensive workshop training package designed to assist in developing strategies for improving the preservice and inservice preparation of vocational education administrators. Descriptions of three major delivery strategies are presented in this document. These strategies include the externship program,…

This booklet summarizes the major findings of a comprehensive followup of the original interns in the National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) Administrative Internship Project for Secondary School Improvement. In 1962, the NASSP sought support from the Fund for Advancement of Education for an administrative internship pilot…

In this monograph, the authors identify four different strategies for field experiences that offer administrative trainees positive applications of theory to practice in educational planning, management, and supervision. In historical perspective, a case study comparison of field experiences conducted at Harvard University and the University of…

Examines deficiencies in traditional administrator preparation programs and discusses new directions. Describes the Leadership Initiative for Tomorrow's Schools, developed by the State University of New York at Buffalo. Key features include cohort groups and mentors, field participation in candidate recruitment and selection, promotion of…

Survey of 117 Missouri school district administrators found that almost all respondents were dissatisfied with current administrative internships. Suggestions for improvement focused on practicality; 6-month internships were preferred over 12-month, and over 80% would allow their principals to serve as mentors. Interest in collaborative planning,…

In 1987, the College of Education at Virginia Tech restructured its principal preparation program. Internships are conducted by principal-mentors expected to be teachers, models, and supportive colleagues. The program allows mentors, central office staff, and professors to meet with graduate students in an environment where all are learners. Any…

A North Carolina school system worked with NASSP and an area university to develop an improved administrator-preparation plan. Created by NASSP to unite key preparation elements, the "Potential Administrator Development Program" stresses field-based experiences via theory-to-practice classroom activities, mentoring opportunities,…

The internship, a culminating program experience for aspiring building-level administrators, affords university faculty and mentors rich insight into the transition that occurs when interns pedagogically shift from teacher to building administrator; a transition that intimately connects classroom learning with authentic experience. Grounded in…

Beginning educational administrators often find that they are unprepared to deal with the realities of school administration. This paper describes how the Halifax County, North Carolina, school system worked with a national organization and an area university to develop a plan to improve its administrator-preparation program. In 1992 the school…

This paper describes a program designed to provide a unified sequence of graduate studies for principal certification in Alaska. The University of Alaska Learning Cooperative offers a single set of statewide program requirements, which reduces the costly duplication of instructional services and staff-development programs. The paper describes the…

A description and analysis of the transition and transformation experienced by interns in educational administration, with a focus on meaning from the interns' perspective, are presented. Methodology involved document analysis, participant observation, and informal interviews with 50 administrative interns. A model of the evolution of meaning in…