Linking Principal Preparation to Teaching and Learning: Lessons Learned through a Multiple Case Study

Principal preparation programs have long been criticized across the nation by policy makers, school leaders, scholars, and professional organizations. These experts have raised concern about the lack of relevance between theory and practice, and a lack of collaboration with school districts (Pounder & Young, 1996); lack of coherent and rigorous curriculum content (McCarty, 1999; Murphy, 1993), and lack of substantial clinical experiences (Levine, 2005). In 2001, Terry Orr and the University Council of Educational Administration/Learning and Teaching in Educational Leadership (UCEA/LTEL) Taskforce on Evaluating Educational Leadership Preparation began an investigation into the preparation of school leaders and developed a survey, School Leadership Preparation and Practice Survey (SLPPS, formerly UCEA/LTEL Survey of Leadership Preparation and Practice) and a companion Teacher Survey. Two institutions in different regions of the United States fielded the Teacher Survey within schools where their program graduates served as principals. Both principal preparation programs emphasized developing leadership skills for the improvement of teaching and learning. The purpose of this multiple case study was to examine how teacher voice can inform the continuous improvement efforts of principal preparation programs. Specifically, the research question was: How do the perceptions of teachers and program graduates about principal and teacher actions inform principal preparation? The findings add to the knowledge and practice base of program evaluation and provide a stronger link in the chain of factors from preparation to practice that influences school improvement in teaching and learning.