Utilizing the Assistant Principalship as a Training Ground for the Principalship

Abstract

The purpose of this research has been to suggest an organization for a program to better prepare assistant principals for the principalship. The research was needed for three reasons. First, assistant principals come to the position with varied professional histories and experiences (years of service, positions held, graduate programs). Second, the job descriptions and evaluation instrument objectives for assistant principalships often vary greatly from the actual tasks and duties carried out by the administrator due to the leadership theories and styles adopted by the principal. Finally, research shows that new principals do not feel adequately prepared to handle all the facets of their position.

Through interviews with first and second year principals in public schools in North Carolina, it was determined that new principals felt unprepared or challenged by certain tasks or general areas related to their job. These topics focused on management and leadership. Management issues included budget and finance, facilities' management, organizational issues (scheduling and school system programs, policies and procedures), personnel relations and customer service and public relations. Leadership issues included decision making, school improvement planning, curriculum and instruction (testing and accountability, exceptional children, and instructional programs), and professional development (technology and current topics).

The research proposed an organizational plan for a program to better prepare assistant principals for the principalship which was rooted in the constructivist notion that learning is best achieved by doing. The program is organized through monthly assistant principals' meetings, facilitated by the superintendent?s designee. The topics noted as areas of challenge by the principals interviewed are divided into ten sections, one for each month's meeting, with suggestions for content and hands-on activities for each topic.