Principals play a critical role in supporting students with disabilities; however, many may lack sufficient preparation to effectively lead special education initiatives. This study employed a community conversations-based focus group framework that included a broad group of educational and community stakeholders to examine challenges principals encounter in meeting the needs of special education students. Findings revealed limited experience with the complexities of special education, lack of integrated special education training, challenges supporting teachers in effective special education practices, and insufficient interpersonal collaboration and relationship-building. Recommended solutions include ongoing, rigorous, practice-based preparation, targeted professional learning and coaching opportunities, fostering inclusive cultures, and reducing fear connected to special education leadership.
School principals play a pivotal role during wartime crises, balancing educational continuity with policy interpretation and community needs. This study explores how principals articulated their role during the October 7th war crisis through metaphorical language. Based on 36 in-depth interviews with high school principals across Israel, content analysis revealed three themes: principals as anchors of stability (“lighthouse,” “supporting wall,” “home”); as protective mediators articulating and framing policy in humane, clear, and accessible terms (“bridge,” “interpreter,” “protective wall”); and as leaders navigating uncertainty (“storm,” “fog”). The findings highlight metaphors as interpretive resources for sense-making and for articulating emotional and relational dimensions of leadership, underscoring principals’ mediating role during emergencies.
School principals’ complex position intensifies during crises. This study explores resources available to principals for reducing stress and increasing wellbeing during wartime, examining occupational efficacy (OE) as a mediator. Ninety-five Israeli principals responded to an online questionnaire. Findings revealed that OE fully mediated the connection between psychological capital and social support to principals’ stress, and between social support to wellbeing. OE partially mediated the connection between psychological capital and wellbeing. These findings highlight the importance of OE in principals’ adjustment to stressful circumstances and suggest that developing professional resources should become a top priority in principals’ professional development programs.
This paper presents a study of an integrated course model for EdD research methods which aims to support EdD students learning across three methods courses: Intro to Qualitative Research, Intro to Statistics, and Advanced Methods. Drawing from theories of learning and transfer, this study examines students’ perceptions of their learning of research methods and their emerging views of themselves as researchers in relation to the integrated course model. The study findings support the development of integrative models of research courses but raise questions about the potential for EdD students to bring their emerging researcher identities to their professional practice.
As the educational landscape shifts toward digital modalities, School Leadership Preparation and Development Programs (SLPDPs) have adopted online and hybrid models to enhance flexibility and accessibility for diverse learners. This systematic review examines the promises and challenges of online and hybrid SLPDPs through the critical lens of Cultural-Historical Activity Theory (CHAT). Utilizing a narrative synthesis approach informed by CHAT, we highlight congruencies that boost learner engagement and retention, alongside structural tensions that threaten instructional quality. Our findings underscore the urgent need for comprehensive faculty development and robust quality assurance measures to uphold high standards in online and hybrid formats.
This study uses data from the 2020 to 2021 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) to study novice principals' time spent focused on instructionally related tasks as it is associated with participation in a district- or school-led aspiring leaders program (ALP) and prior leadership experience. Findings demonstrate that there is a significant positive association between participation in an ALP and prior leadership experience and the time that novice principals spend focused on instruction. Larger estimates are observed for novice principals with both factors. These findings hold implications for school districts in their hiring and their investment in developing ALPs and principal preparation programs (PPPs) in their development of novice principals.
The Professional Standards for Educational Leaders require that effective school leaders promote student academic success and student well-being. The National Educational Leadership Preparation Program standards go even further to require that effective school leaders also promote the well-being of the adults in the building, which includes the administrators themselves. This exploratory qualitative study was designed to examine what strategies or curricula related to well-being were in place in educational leadership programs across the country. The study's findings indicate that principal preparation programs need an intentional approach to well-being using the structures and processes they already have in place.
This article presents findings from a grounded theory study of how secondary teachers in high-need schools perceived their values and roles as they co-constructed leadership. The authors analyzed interviews with seven award-winning teachers and 10 award documents. The teachers perceived their leadership as connected to values of empowering and connecting with others, improving educational experiences for students, and innovating. The teachers' perceptions of their values and roles contrasted with some of the purposes of their award programs. Findings provide insights about constructivist leadership theory, implications for teacher leadership training programs, and potential to support teacher leaders in high-need schools.
This study provides a comprehensive, post-Covid landscape analysis of university-based principal preparation programs (PPPs) in the U.S. Using an original, nationally verified dataset of 638 programs, it identifies where PPPs are, delivery models, trends, and institutional predictors of delivery model shifts since 2018-19. A key finding is the sharp rise of fully online (FOL) programming, the dominant licensure path by 2024. This shift carries major implications for access, program design, and research. The study and dataset invite future collaboration and analysis, especially as questions surrounding PPP quality, equity, access, sustainability, and national data collection become increasingly urgent.
This participatory action research study employed a two-step critical reflection process to investigate the connection between the learning process, pedagogies, student experiences, and their scholar-practitioner leader identity. As part of this investigation, we also explored how to guide generative AI to assist with analyzing reflection data while maintaining privacy, ownership of results, and transparency in the analysis steps. We found engagement in critical reflection on specific elements of active learning can shape the scholar-practitioner leader identity for both students and educators, and that human expertise in research ethics and methodology remains essential for maintaining appropriate ethical guardrails when using AI.
Disparities in demographic representation between students, teachers, and educational leaders have persisted for decades, as have outcomes on licensure exams across fields. With administrative data from the California Administrator Performance Assessment (CalAPA), we used descriptive analyses to elucidate a demographic profile of California's educational leadership pipeline. We then used general linear models to explore patterns of association among racial/ethnic and gender groups on administrator candidate scores from the CalAPA. We found that diversity in California's principal pipeline shows promise for future diversification in the principalship, yet disparities in licensure assessment outcomes raise some concerns about fairness.
Educational leaders are increasingly encouraged to engage in practitioner inquiry to drive school improvement and advance equity. However, when such inquiry is conducted as part of a doctoral dissertation, particularly within Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate (CPED) programs, it often collides with district research and conflict of interest policies not designed for embedded, improvement-focused studies. This paper analyzes policies from 13 large urban school districts, collectively serving over 3 million students, to examine how these systems enable or constrain employees' ability to conduct dissertation in practice (DIP) research in their own settings. The findings reveal substantial variation in district guidance, reflecting underlying tensions between ethical oversight, institutional risk, and support for practitioner-led inquiry. These competing values and underlying institutional logics shape whether and how districts recognize the potential of embedded research to contribute to continuous improvement and equity. The study highlights how coherent, transparent policies can uphold ethical standards while fostering conditions for meaningful practitioner dissertation scholarship.
In the field of educational leadership, qualitative case studies offer important insights into leadership practices and experiences within a unique context or set of contexts. Yet, not all qualitative case studies are well designed, and not all doctoral students are provided rich opportunities to engage in, learn from, and grow throughout participation in the research process. The purpose of this article is to provide guidance for doctoral students interested in conducting a qualitative case study for their dissertation.
This qualitative study explores the impact of an Educational and Community Leadership (EDCL) doctoral program on its alumni, focusing on their personal growth, community engagement, and societal contributions. Guided by a holistic framework, the study addresses two key questions: (1) How do alumni make sense of their doctoral studies in retrospect? and (2) How does the doctoral program in EDCL impact alumni at the levels of Self, Organization, and Community? Through semi-structured interviews with 13 alumni, the study identifies three central themes: (1) Personal Growth, Identity, and Self-Discovery (2) Community Engagement and Leadership for Social Change, and (3) Educational Leadership Beyond Traditional Models. Participants emphasized the need for higher education institutions to incorporate student perspectives in program development to improve success and well-being. The study highlights the role of dynamic-critical pedagogy in shaping leaders and addressing gaps in student success, offering insights for improving doctoral programs and advancing equity in higher education.
Superintendents have been leading school districts through a turbulent and politically divisive environment since the COVID-19 pandemic. This unprecedented context begs the question of whether superintendents were adequately trained to lead in such times. We interviewed 20 superintendents to explore what superintendency preparation programs could emphasize to prepare superintendents to lead in divisive environments. They recommended that preparation programs teach how to manage four politically challenging contexts and develop a foundational mindset and skills. We argue that the NELP standards and the curriculum in preparation programs need to be revised to reflect the contemporary political demands of the superintendent's role.
This study examines how multiple factors shape principals' learning experiences in a professional network focused on improving student attendance. Drawing on Vygotsky's zone of proximal development, we analyzed how tasks, facilitators, learner characteristics, peer interactions, and social-institutional context interacted to expand or constrain principals' capacity for learning. While the network successfully reduced isolation and provided validation through peer connections, it simultaneously reinforced existing practices rather than promoting transformative change. Principals gravitated toward "quick fixes" over systemic approaches. We found that supportive cultures that build relationships may also inadvertently constrain transformative learning when facilitators prioritize affirmation over productive challenge.
This qualitative study examined how practicing principals across seven Arab states experienced leadership preparation amid rapid educational change. Based on interviews with sixteen principals, the study reveals a stark misalignment between formal curricula-perceived as outdated, managerial, and theory-heavy-and the dynamic demands of school leadership today. Participants found greater relevance and growth within global virtual networks, marked by autonomy, peer exchange, and contextual responsiveness. A recurring tension emerged: universities provided credentials, while virtual spaces fostered leadership capacity. These findings challenge prevailing assumptions and urge a reimagining of preparation models that are adaptive, grounded, and digitally attuned.
This conceptual paper introduces FRAME (Facilitating Reflective Awareness through Mental-Model Engagement), a constructivist framework for surfacing students' subconscious decision-making processes to support transformational learning and scholar-practitioner identity formation. Drawing on theories of mental models, constructivist pedagogy, and conscientization, FRAME articulates how Ed.D. faculty can foster reflective inquiry and theory-to-practice integration using dialogic instructional scaffolds. Situated within online and hybrid Ed.D. programs, this framework offers prescriptive guidance for cultivating cognitive disequilibrium that empowers students to apply theoretical lenses to complex leadership problems in their professional contexts, revise intuitive reasoning, and overcome barriers faced by diverse student populations.
This study explores the use of portfolios in preparing aspiring principals in Sweden. Forty postgraduate students used portfolios to document course content, reflections, and observations, assessed on themes like leadership, governance, and quality monitoring. Analysis showed strong foundational knowledge but limited development in reflection and practical application. Gender comparisons revealed minimal differences overall, though men reflected more on leadership, while women focused on resource management. The findings highlight portfolios' value as both assessment and reflective tools, suggesting a need to enhance curriculum elements that support deeper reflection and real-world application in leadership education.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of principals' servant leadership practices on teachers' job satisfaction. The researchers employed non-experimental correlational predictive design. A simple random sampling technique was used to select 524 secondary school teachers. The Servant Leadership Scales and the Minnesota Satisfaction Questionnaire were administered. To analyze the data, both descriptive and inferential statistics were employed. The results of this study showed that servant leadership style was practiced by principals in government secondary schools at a moderate level; teachers believed that the principals practicing servant leadership has positive effects on their job satisfaction.
