The purpose of the study was to determine whether the study of diversity topics embedded in a Principal Preparation Program (PPP) internship changed candidates' self-awareness of their biases in educational environments and the biases they observed in their school community. In this study PPP candidates' perceptions of their biases and those of…

In 2010, Illinois became one of the first states to legislatively require a complete redesign of all its principal preparation programs, with the goal of advancing statewide school improvement through strengthening school leadership. This effort was ambitious and sweeping, calling for radical shifts in previous practice, including: (1) A targeted…

The demographic profile of the United States has been rapidly changing; by 2020, minority students will constitute the majority of the public school student population nationwide. This makes cultural competence a necessity for today's school leaders. Educational leadership preparation programs are responsible for preparing culturally competent…

The increasing emphasis on the myriad of leadership preparation standards have caused university principal preparation programs to necessarily focus on the more secular aspect of leading schools. For the Catholic school principal, this has left little focus on the development of critical strategies to lead for Catholic Identity and faith…

The purpose of this study was to more fully understand: (1) the degree to which administrative interns are provided with the opportunity to lead administrative experiences; (2) the types of administrative experiences in which interns engage during the administrative internship experience; and (3) the value of the administrative internship to…

After widespread accusations that universities were not adequately preparing school leadership candidates with real world experiences, the movement to reform U.S. university principal preparation began. The National Policy Board for Educational Administration approved the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) standards as guidelines…

The purpose of this qualitative case study was to explore new principals' perceptions of how their preparation impacted their performance in an administrative position and how this empowered them as school leaders. The primary research question that directed this study was the following: What methods and programs did newer principals perceive…

This phenomenological investigation explores the experiences of administrative interns throughout their administrative internship to discover how they perceive and make meaning of their internship experiences--their thoughts, feelings, concerns, and aspirations. All thirteen participants were students in one university administrator preparation…

In order to better serve our nation's youth, educational leadership preparation programs must be willing to transform current preparation practices. This paper emphasizes the need to develop high quality school leaders to successfully create and sustain necessary changes in schools. The dynamic transformation of a principal preparation program,…

This article describes the development and implementation of a pilot program to prepare teachers seeking New York state certification as school district administrators, by assigning them as administrative interns to a school district. The superintendent of a large urban school district and the director of a college program to prepare school…

The increased complexity of today's work environment has made the need for soft skills, such as teamwork, communication, leadership, and problem solving, more salient than ever. Employers hire for these skills because it is increasingly the human resources that give organizations a competitive advantage. Therefore, academia must respond to these…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to identify how current administrative interns enrolled in a university administrator preparation program describe and make meaning of their internship experiences. Design/methodology/approach: For this qualitative study, the researchers interviewed administrative interns enrolled in one university preparation…

This study is situated within a larger research initiative in a university-based School of Education that is continuing accreditation with the Council of Educator Preparation Programs. With a focus on candidates in the educational administrator program, this study examined how key assessments were used in clinical practice to support candidates.…

This study discusses East Carolina University's (ECU) preparation program and its emphasis on the study and application of diversity throughout the internship. ECU's comprehensive internship provided candidates time to apply theory and knowledge about school leadership and diversity topics addressed on a monthly basis at internship seminars. A…

In 2010, Illinois policymakers sought to advance statewide school improvement by strengthening school leadership. Illinois became one of the first states to legislatively require a complete redesign of all its principal preparation programs with the goal of ensuring future principals would be "highly effective in leadership roles" and…