This study examines what aspiring principal candidates in one university-based preparation program learned as a result of developing and implementing a school improvement plan. A case study approach was used to examine 53 aspiring principals’ reports of what they learned from implementing school improvement plans. Findings revealed three significant themes: (1) the importance of collaboratively engaging the participants of the school improvement plan; (2) the essential need of establishing relationships; and (3) understanding the significance and impact of data-driven decisions. Findings can inform leadership preparation programs to redirect coursework that will help aspiring principals improve leadership skills.
BeachR. H.LindahlR. (2004). Identifying the knowledge base for school improvement. Planning and Changing, 35(1–2), 2–32.
2.
BernhardtV. L. (2017). Data analysis for continuous school improvement. Routledge.
3.
BoudettK. P.CityE. A.MurnaneR. J. (2005). Data wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment results to improve teaching and learning. Harvard Educational Press.
4.
BoudettK. P.CityE. A.MurnaneR. J. (2013). Data wise: A step-by-step guide to using assessment results to improve teaching and learning, revised and expanded edition. Harvard Educational Press.
5.
BowersA. J.ShohoA. R.BarnettB. G. (2014). Using data in schools to inform leadership and decision making. IAP.
6.
CaputoA.RastelliV. (2014). School improvement plans and student achievement: Preliminary evidence from the quality and merit project in Italy. Improving Schools, 17(1), 72–98.
7.
CharmazK. C. (2006). Constructing grounded theory: A practical guide through qualitative analysis. SAGE.
8.
Cohen-VogelL.CannataM.RutledgeS. (2016). A model of continuous improvement in high schools: A process for research, innovation design, implementation, and scale. Teachers College Record, 118(13), 1–26.
9.
CoplandM. A. (2003). Leadership of inquiry: Building and sustaining capacity for school improvement. Educational Evaluation and Policy Analysis, 25(4), 375–395.
10.
CowieM.CrawfordM. (2007). Principal preparation–still an act of faith?School leadership and Management, 27(2), 129–146.
11.
CreswellJ. W. (2007). Qualitative inquiry & research design: Choosing among five approaches (2nd ed.). SAGE.
12.
CrowG. M.WhitemanR. S. (2016). Effective preparation program features: A literature review. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 11(1), 120–148. https://doi.org/10.1177/1942775116634694
13.
Darling-HammondL.LaPointeM.MeyersonD.OrrM. T.CohenC. (2007). Preparing school leaders for a changing world: Lessons from exemplary leadership development programs. Stanford Educational Leadership Institute.
14.
Darling-HammondL.MeyersonD.LaPointeM.OrrM. T. (2010). Preparing principals for a changing world: Lessons from effective school leadership programs. John Wiley & Sons.
15.
DavisS. H.Darling-HammondL. (2012). Innovative principal preparation programs: What works and how we know. Planning and Changing, 43(1–2), 25–45.
16.
Drago-SeversonE.Maslin-OstrowskiP.Blum-DestefanoJ. (2018). Looking behind the curtain: Principals’ internal experiences of managing pressing challenges. Journal of School Leadership, 28(3), 315–343.
17.
FernandezK. E. (2011). Evaluating school improvement plans and their effect on academic performance. Educational Policy, 25(2), 338–367.
18.
FullanM.Rincón-GallardoS.HargreavesA. (2015). Professional capital as accountability. Education Policy Analysis Archives, 23, 15.
19.
HallingerP.HeckR. H. (2010a). Collaborative leadership and school improvement: Understanding the impact on school capacity and student learning. School Leadership and Management, 30(2), 95–110.
20.
HallingerP.HeckR. H. (2010b). Leadership for learning: Does collaborative leadership make a difference in school improvement?Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 38(6), 654–678. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143210379060
21.
HavardT. S.MorganJ.PatrickL. (2010). Providing authentic leadership opportunities through collaboratively developed internships: A university-school district partnership initiative. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 5(12), 460–480.
22.
HessF. M.KellyA. (2005). The accidental principal. Hoover Institution, Stanford University.
23.
HolmesE.MaiersS. (2012). A united commitment to change: Districts and unions collaborate to implement school improvement plans. Journal of Staff Development, 33(2), 40–43.
24.
HsiehH. F.ShannonS. E. (2005). Three approaches to qualitative content analysis. Qualitative Health Research, 15(9), 1277–1288.
25.
HuberD. J.ConwayJ. M. (2015). The effect of school improvement planning on student achievement. Planning & Changing, 46(1–2), 56–70.
26.
KatzR. L. (2009). Skills of an effective administrator. Harvard Business Review Press.
27.
KaufmanT. E.GrimmE. D.MillerA. E. (2012). Collaborative school improvement: Eight practices for district-school partnerships to transform teaching and learning. Harvard Education Press.
28.
LachatM. A.SmithS. (2005). Practices that support data use in urban high schools. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 10(3), 333–349.
29.
LevinJ. A.DatnowA. (2012). The principal’s role in data-driven decision making: Using case-study data to develop multi-mediator models of educational reform. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 23(2), 179–201. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2011.599394
30.
LevineA. (2005). Educating school leaders. The Education Schools Project.
31.
LincolnY. S.GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. SAGE Publications.
32.
MandinachE. B.GummerE. S. (2013). A systemic view of implementing data literacy in educator preparation. Educational Researcher, 42(1), 30–37.
33.
MarshJ. A.FarrellC. C. (2015). How leaders can support teachers with data-driven decision making: A framework for understanding capacity building. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 43(2), 269–289.
34.
MarzanoR. J.WatersT.McNultyB. A. (2005). School leadership that works: From research to results. ASCD.
35.
MendelsP. (2016). Improving university principal preparation programs: Five themes from the field. Wallace Foundation.
36.
MercerD. K. (2016). Who is the building leader? Commentary on educational leadership preparation programs for the future. Educational Considerations, 43(4), 6–10.
37.
MerriamS. B. (2009). Qualitative research: A guide to design and interpretation. Jossey-Bass.
38.
MeyersC. V.VanGronigenB. A. (2019). A lack of authentic school improvement plan development. Journal of Educational Administration, 57(3), 261–278.
39.
MitgangL. (2012). The making of the principal: Five lessons in leadership training. perspective. Wallace Foundation.
40.
MurphyJ.VriesengaM. (2006). Research on school leadership preparation in the United States: An analysis. School Leadership and Management, 26(2), 183–195.
41.
NorthouseP. G. (2019). Leadership theory and practice. SAGE Publications.
42.
OrphanosS.OrrM. T. (2013). Learning leadership matters: The influence of innovative school leadership preparation on teachers’ experiences and outcomes. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 42(5), 680–700. https://doi.org/10.1177/1741143213502187
43.
OrrM. T. (2011). Pipeline to preparation to advancement: Graduates’ experiences in, through, and beyond leadership preparation. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(1), 114–172.
44.
OrrM. T.OrphanosS. (2011). How graduate-level preparation influences the effectiveness of school leaders: A comparison of the outcomes of exemplary and conventional leadership preparation programs for principals. Educational Administration Quarterly, 47(1), 18–70. https://doi.org/10.1177/0011000010378610
45.
PattonM. (2015). Qualitative research and evaluation methods (4th ed.). SAGE Publications.
46.
PembertonC. L. A.AkkaryR. K. (2010). A cohort, is a cohort, is a cohort. . . or is it?Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 5(5), 179–208.
47.
PollittK.LeichtyR. (2017). Principal’s action plan for the Every Student Succeeds Act: Providing all students with a well-rounded and complete education. American Institutes for Research.
48.
RuddyA. M.PrusinskiE. (2012). Professional development for school improvement: The case of Indiana. Journal of School Leadership, 22(1), 55–78.
49.
SaldañaJ. (2013). The coding manual for qualitative researchers (2nd ed.). SAGE.
50.
SchleicherA. (2012). Preparing teachers and developing school leaders for the 21st century: Lessons from around the world. OECD Publishing.
51.
SebringP. B.AllensworthE.ByrkA.EastonJ. Q.LubbescuS. (2006). The essential supports for school improvement. Consortium on Chicago School Research.
52.
StrunkK. O.MarshJ. A.Bush-MecenasS. C.DuqueM. R. (2016). The best laid plans: An examination of school plan quality and implementation in a school improvement initiative. Educational Administration Quarterly, 52(2), 259–309.
University Council for Educational Administration. (2019). What effective, affordable & sustainable principal pipelines mean for preparation programs. Author.
55.
VanGronigenB. A.MeyersC. V. (2017). Topics and trends in short-cycle planning: Are principals leading school turnaround efforts identifying the right priorities?Planning and Changing, 48(1–2), 6–42.
56.
VerbiestE.PolM.VanlommelK.MahieuP.LazarovaB.MalmbergK.HortlundT. (2014). Becoming a data-wise school leader: Developing leadership capacity for data-informed school improvement. Sodobna Pedagogika, 4, 64–78.
57.
WaldronN. L.McLeskeyJ. (2010). Establishing a collaborative school culture through comprehensive school reform. Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 20(1), 58–74.
