This study examines educational leadership internship experiences at four public University System of Georgia universities. It is a qualitative multiple case study. The research presented contributes to the literature by providing information about leadership training through internship programs that was collected via interviews with program faculty and documentary analysis. Presentation of the data in this manner offers a comprehensive description of internship experiences at four universities within the state of Georgia. This description helps explain the linkages between classroom knowledge and its application as it relates to the internship experience. This study also utilizes cross-case analysis. Following the comprehensive presentation of each individual case, the four cases are considered together, and analyzed for similarities and differences. The purpose for analyzing the data in this manner is to provide both an in-depth analysis of each program and an understanding of the similarities and differences in internship experiences throughout the state of Georgia. The research presented in this inquiry contributes to the literature by providing information about internship programs through interviews with program faculty and data collected from the programs. The findings of this study could be of interest to university personnel as they examine and modify their criteria for designing internship experiences. Additionally, this investigation contributes to the literature by providing a comprehensive description of internship experiences at four universities. Through this study, the voices of the university personnel and information from the data collected provide insight into the overall experience of the educational leadership internship. Finally, this study provides insight into the correlation between classroom knowledge and the application of this knowledge within the field through internships.

Prospective education leaders face challenges in a demanding environment often lacking critical resources necessary to make a difference in schools. The potential to acquire these resources may be found in the mentoring relationships formed during internships in educational leadership preparation programs. A lack of understanding exists regarding variations in the nature of these mentoring relationships—specifically in terms of relational embeddedness—the type and degree to which partners form ties embedded within a social relationship. Variations in relational embeddedness may impact mentoring quality and the potential to acquire the resources needed to succeed in demanding school environments. Theoretical frameworks in mentoring and social network theory were used in this quantitative study to examine the nature of relational embeddedness and its association with a variety of internal and external factors, which may influence the potential relational embeddedness developed in these relationships. Internal factors such as sex and behavior characteristics of both the perspective education leaders and their mentor principals, as well as previous relationship history were among the variables associated with relational embeddedness. This study lays theoretical groundwork and suggests directions for future research regarding relational embeddedness as a means to influence the mentoring quality needed to acquire resources for effective school leadership outcomes. This study also provides practical implications for administrators in educational leadership preparation programs regarding the multidimensional nature of relational embeddedness and the internal and external factors associated with its development.

The rapidly expanding use of technology in education has brought about the need for principals to be prepared as technology leaders. Although, there is a need for principals to be prepared as technology leaders, many currently are not prepared for this role. It is crucial that principals are prepared in order ability to lead their school in successful technology integration. The primary purpose of this quantitative study was to determine the perceived level of technology leadership preparation of Utah elementary principals using the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards for Administrators. In addition to the study’s primary purpose, the study identified the types and quantity of professional development principals are receiving and how this professional development relates to the principals’ levels of technology leadership. In addition, this study concluded whether or not the perceived technology leadership preparedness level of Utah principals correlates with the number of hours spent in technology leadership training. Furthermore, the study compared differences in technology leadership preparation levels based on principal characteristics. Literature shows that technology leadership research is scarce. The findings from this study will help fulfill some of the need for additional technology leadership research. In addition, the findings can help educators have a better understanding of how to prepare principals to be effective technology leaders. The data for this study were collected from 129 Utah elementary school principals using the 2009 Principals Technology Leadership Assessment (PTLA). This survey used the 2009 ISTE Standards for Administrators as the framework. The results were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, t test, ANOVA, and qualitative coding. The findings provide evidence that Utah elementary school principals are not adequately prepared to lead as technology leaders. Furthermore, a technology leadership professional development model has been designed to further assist educators.

The transition from the comfort of a familiar role, that of teacher, to the discomfort of a new role, that of school administrator, is a transformative process. Transforming oneself requires leaving what is known and venturing into the unknown. Researchers have illuminated women's struggle to attain school leadership positions, but the transformation of females making this change in professional roles is seldom addressed in leadership literature. Although context cannot be ignored, there are some challenges common to many women undergoing this transformation. Situated in the elementary education setting, this study investigated the perspectives of female, early-career administrators who recently experienced the transition from teacher to administrator. The purpose of the study was to describe and explain selected female leaders' perspectives on the transition from teacher to school administrator. My exploratory questions that guided the study were: 1.What elements constitute the perspective of the participants? 2.What variables influence women's perspectives as they make the transition from teacher to administrator? 3.What barriers and challenges do women encounter as they move from teacher to administrator? 4.What variables contribute to resiliency and agency for female administrators? The theoretical framework of this study was feminist phenomenology. Employing qualitative research methodology, this researcher conducted semi-structured interviews with five purposefully selected participants. The interviews yielded several shared perspectives on the transition from teacher to administrator, including a focus on: work/life balance; unfreezing from the teaching role; refreezing into the administrative role; resiliency; mentorship; considerations of gender's effects on the transition. Essential elements of meaning that emerged from the early career administrator's data were: unpleasant surprises; a sink or swim induction; surviving and thriving in the new role. Implications for leadership preparation and induction were described. Although these five women developed adaptive behaviors and persevered in the role despite challenges, formal mentors and more purposefully designed induction programs would have benefitted them. They also would have benefitted from more integration of theory and practice during their preparation programs. The study contributed to development of a fuller phenomenological understanding of the perspectives of female, early career school leaders as they make the transition from teacher to administrator.

Abstract The perceptions of school leaders on the effectiveness of the school leadership preparation program (SLPP) in the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands (CNMI) public school system have not been examined. Highly qualified teachers are selected and trained for administrative and leadership roles through the SLPP. This qualitative case study was conducted to evaluate the level of effectiveness of the SLPP in the CNMI public school system. The conceptual framework was the Seven Habits of Effective Principal Preparation Programs by Davis and Jazzar. The theoretical frameworks were transformational leadership as articulated by Burns and instructional leadership. The research questions involved how aspiring leaders and their mentors described the effectiveness of the SLPP in the CNMI public school system and how aspiring leaders' field experience helped them learn essential skills associated with transformational and instructional leadership. A purposeful sampling of 4 participants was used, consisting of current school administrators who had completed the SLPP. Interviews were conducted to collect qualitative data. Interview data were transcribed, and transcripts were examined, organized, and synthesized to develop codes and themes. Member checking was used to validate transcriptions and findings. Findings from this study show that relevant courses, knowledge and experience in curriculum and instruction, internship and mentoring, leadership skills gained by participants, and relationship and collaboration are among the components that must be included in the SLPP. The social change can be derived from this study is that the findings from this qualitative case study are meaningful for policymakers, district leaders, and school leaders in the CNMI public school system.

Effective school leadership is at the center of educational reform in urban environments. Constituents expect school leaders to transform under-performing schools. However, the educational leadership field relies on traditional ideologies that largely ignore Black principals’ experiences and exclude their voices from politically engaged conversations on leadership. The purpose of this qualitative study was to explore four contemporary Black school leaders’ perspectives of their practices in urban environments. Cultural Historical Activity Theory and Distributed Leadership Theory informed the multiple case study. I employed ethnographic data collection methods of prolonged engagement, interviews (formal and informal), shadowing, documents and artifacts, on-line discussions, field and reflexive journals, and memos, which allowed for crystallization of the data. I adopted and adapted grounded theory and analytic induction to interpret and re-present the Black school leaders’ educational philosophical beliefs, perspectives of traditional preparation, and conceptualizations of leadership that influenced their practices. The findings revealed that the four contemporary Black school leaders from middle and high schools held belief systems that challenged traditional structures and differed from White majority leaders’ beliefs, which aligned with white supremacy and deficit ideologies. The participants thought differently about the purpose of education for all students, especially marginalized groups. These thoughts helped shape their conceptualizations of effective school leadership as an alternative to traditional canons. Their leadership ‘model’ afforded them the ethical latitude to challenge the political sociocultural structure of ‘minimum competency’ standards to afford their students ‘high performance’ school communities. The findings also highlighted traditional leadership programs as ineffective and irrelevant for preparing aspirants to affect substantive changes in contextualized school environments, particularly when the classroom discourse obfuscates issues of equity, race, class, and cultural diversity. Furthermore, the findings revealed participants’ practices, undergirded with moral imperative, humanism, and social justice perspectives, were strategically implemented to dismantle unjust structures. In so doing, they were able to provide students equitable school conditions that allowed them to learn to their highest capacities. Indeed there is the urgent need to include race, ethnic, class, and culturally diverse perspectives in program preparations, policies, and theoretical paradigms to help shape how we think and thus practice school leadership.

Educational leadership preparation is not an explicit priority in the scholastic formation of future Catholic priests in the Philippines. Consequently, there may be those assigned to lead in parochial mission schools early on in their ordained ministry but lack leadership training and experience. Thus, this study sought to answer the following research questions: What are the experiences of educational leadership successes and challenges of newly ordained Jesuit priests assigned as directors of Jesuit mission high schools in the Philippines? What are the perceptions of newly ordained Jesuit priests assigned as directors of Jesuit mission high schools in the Philippines on how their seminary formation contributed to their preparation as school leaders? This phenomenological research explored the experiences of seven first-time Jesuit school directors of mission high schools in the Southern Philippines and examined their perceptions about the leadership formation that they received as seminarians before being missioned to the ministry of leading high-needs schools in the peripheries of rural Philippines. Through a modified educational leadership preparation framework presented originally by Capper, Theoharis, and Sebastian (2006), I analyzed the qualitative data from the field and determined how the participants’ peculiar leadership experiences and keen assessment of their seminary formation can inform enhancements in the Jesuit leadership formation’s context-specific curriculum, andragogy, and holistic evaluation to prepare future Jesuit educational leaders’ critical consciousness and socially just leadership knowledge and skills. In line with this, I recommended the institutionalization of programmatic leadership training modules for Jesuits before they are missioned as first-time school directors.