A review of literature on the preparation and training for assistant principals showed that there are gaps in the current support structures in place to encourage them to be effective in their position or prepared to assume other leadership roles (Armstrong, 2009; Barnett et al., 2012; Morgan, 2018). The role of assistant principal is an important area of educational leadership that has historically been underrepresented in the literature, and it is "one of the least researched and least discussed topics in educational leadership" (Weller and Weller, 2002, p. xiii). The researcher adapted the quantitative methodology techniques and survey tool of Inabinett's (2015) study titled, The Nourishment of Assistant Principals: The Effective Development of Future School Principals in Alabama. The researcher focused on assistant principals' beliefs about their preparedness for the principalship and how their real and ideal development compared to one another. Specifically, the study considered the five elements (professional development, mentoring, aspiration, networking, and experiences) from the Assistant Principal Development Framework as being instrumental in preparing assistant principals for the principalship. The purpose of this study was to identify assistant principals' self-reported perceptions regarding their job experiences as defined by the Assistant Principal Development Framework. This study reported assistant principals' perceptions of their ideal development compared across each of the five domains of the Assistant Principal Development Framework. Additionally, this study identified specific professional development that assistant principals perceive they need to become future principals and determined which components of the Assistant Principal Development Framework were currently utilized in their leadership practice. This study sample included assistant principals in one PK-12 school division in Virginia. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) What are the self-reported perceptions of assistant and associate principals' levels of preparedness for the principalship based on their real job experiences? and 2) How do their self-reported perceptions compare to their ideal development across each of the five domains in the Assistant Principal Development Framework? The research method included a researcher-adapted survey titled the Assistant Principal Perceptions Survey. The survey instrument consisted of 63 items: 11 demographic questions, 51 Likert-scale questions, and one open-ended question. Descriptive statistics, including a paired sample t-test, were used to analyze the data and identify findings and implications. Results from this study revealed that assistant principals perceived a difference between their current job experiences and what their ideal experiences should be to prepare them for the principalship. Participants reported the need for readily accessible professional development, opportunities for networking with other administrators, formal mentoring, and more experience in the areas of curriculum and instruction, organizational management, student achievement, and professional and ethical behaviors. Furthermore, the findings provide educational leaders with relevant research and awareness related to assistant principals' perceptions of their preparedness for the principalship. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this study was to identify assistant principals' self-reported perceptions regarding their real job experiences as defined by the Assistant Principal Development Framework. Additionally, the study also reported assistant principals' perceptions of their ideal development compared across each of the five domains of the Assistant Principal Development Framework as defined by Inabinett (2015). In this quantitative study, a survey research design was used. The study was conducted in one PK-12 public school division in Virginia. The research questions guiding this study were: 1) What are the self-reported perceptions of assistant principals' levels of preparedness for the principalship based on their real job experiences? and 2) How do their self-reported perceptions compare to their ideal development across each of the five domains in the Assistant Principal Development Framework? Results from this study revealed that assistant principals perceived a difference in their current job experiences opposed to what their ideal experiences should be to prepare them for the principalship. Participants reported the need for readily accessible professional development, opportunities for networking with other administrators, formal mentoring, and more experience in the areas of curriculum and instruction, organizational management, student achievement, and professional and ethical behaviors. Recommendations for future studies and implications for practice were provided.

Research suggests that perceived degree satisfaction and perceived job preparedness are related to positive experiences from undergraduate degree programs. Research also suggests that perceived levels of degree satisfaction and job preparedness may vary based on whether the student was a traditional or nontraditional student. Therefore the purpose of this study was to analyze the level of degree satisfaction and the level of job preparedness of distance learning students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies program at Mississippi State University in relation to that of on-campus students enrolled in the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies program at Mississippi State University. Participants for this study included graduates between the years of 2001 and 2009 from on-campus and from the distance learning campuses of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies degree program at Mississippi State University. The instrument for collection was the Degree Satisfaction and Job Preparedness Survey which was adapted from the Survey of Occupational Education Program. Data were collected in the areas of degree satisfaction, job preparedness, and demographics. Based on the researcher’s interpretive scale, the study found that the overall level of degree satisfaction among graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Mississippi State University was relatively high. The study also showed that degree satisfaction was higher among distance learning graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program than it was among on-campus graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program. The study also found that based on the researcher’s interpretive scale that the overall level of job preparedness among graduates of the Bachelor of Science in Interdisciplinary Studies Program at Mississippi State University was relatively high. In addition the study also showed that job preparedness was higher among distance learning graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program than it was among on-campus graduates of the Interdisciplinary Studies Program.