The George W. Bush Institute (2016) stated the following:
"Across the United States, as many as 700 principal preparation programs are preparing and certifying principals to lead our nation's schools. The methods that preparation programs use to train principals vary nationally and are a source of concern among policymakers, university faculty, and educators (p. 2)."
The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze administrators' perceptions of the program components they perceived prepared them to be effective school leaders, and whether their preparation program components were aligned with the Professional Standards of Educational Leaders (PSEL). The literature review findings indicated that the PSEL, in addition to program components, are necessary for an effective program. A non-experimental quantitative Likert-style scale survey was used to collect data from a snowball sampling of 46 school leaders pursuing or having completed their doctoral degrees. Doctoral students have developed research skills that can be used to apply new knowledge to the education field; therefore, reflecting upon their initial administrative experiences may provide insight into Principal Preparation Programs (PPP). The research findings indicated that school leaders perceived that their program experiences were aligned with the PSEL and they were prepared for administrative assignments after completion of their PPP. The findings also indicated despite being prepared for their assignment, changes were suggested to improve their PPP. Implications for practice for improving their PPP are included in this study, as well as, suggestions for future studies. / Doctor of Education / The purpose of this quantitative study was to analyze administrators' perceptions of the program components they perceived prepared them to be effective school leaders, and whether their preparation program components were aligned with the Professional Standards of Educational Leaders (PSEL). The literature review findings indicated that the PSEL, in addition to program components, are necessary for an effective program. This non-experimental quantitative study used a Likert-style scale to collect data from current and past doctoral students who were administrators. Doctoral students were selected as survey participants because they have developed research skills that can be used to apply new knowledge to the education field; therefore, reflecting upon their administrative experiences may provide insight into Principal Preparation Programs (PPP). The sampling technique of snowballing was used and resulted in 46 survey participants.
The research findings indicated that school leaders perceived their program experiences were aligned with the PSEL and they were prepared for administrative assignments after completion of their PPP. The findings also indicated despite being prepared for their assignment, changes were suggested to improve their PPP. Suggested changes to PPPs included curriculum/coursework, practicum/internship, faculty, and method of instructional delivery. Implications for practice for improving PPPs include such considerations as a process to systematically assess graduates to determine what changes should occur to their principal preparation program. Suggestions for future research were also addressed in this study.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/97908 |
| Date | 24 April 2020 |
| Creators | Hairston, Sonji Chavez |
| Contributors | Counselor Education, Cash, Carol S., Johnson, Timothy Erskine, Mullen, Carol Ann, Price, Ted S. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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