Real World Experiences in a Principalship Preparation Program Sarah Grose, M.Ed., Doctoral Student, Marshall University Louis Watts, Ed.D., Associate Professor, Marshall University

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of the 36 field experiences required of principal candidates in Marshall University’s Leadership Studies Program.

Role of Marshall University’s Field Experiences Marshall University uses 36 field experiences, requiring candidates to engage in activities in a school setting under the supervision of a mentor principal. Surveys were conducted in fall 2011 and spring Results indicated field experiences were of great value, but differences emerged between the groups.

Population and Sample Population- Marshall University principal candidates and their mentors, who are practicing school administrators Sample- Included 200 people, approximately 150 principal candidates and 50 principal mentors

Data Collection The survey invitation was ed to participants through Survey Monkey. The online consent form and survey link was sent with each invitation. The survey began on April 8, 2013 and ended on May 10, The survey detailed questions regarding the 36 field placement experiences.

Ranked Questions Results Principal Candidates Ranked as “Very Valuable”: 12 requirements/activities Equally ranked as “Very Valuable” and “Valuable”: 5 requirements/activities Ranked as “Valuable”: 26 requirements/activities Ranked as “Some Value” or “Little Value”: 0 requirements/activities

Ranked Questions Results Principal Mentors Ranked as “Very Valuable”: 2 requirements/activities Equally ranked as “Very Valuable” and “Valuable”: 4 requirements/activities Ranked as “Valuable”: 19 requirements/activities Equally ranked as “Valuable” and “Some Value”: 6 requirements/activities Ranked as “Some Value”: 9 requirements/activities Equally ranked as “Some Value” and “Little Value”: 1 requirement/activity Ranked as “Little Value”: 2 requirements/activities

Open-Ended Questions Results Principal Candidates Beneficial activities to include: dealing with disgruntled parents or staff, job shadowing a principal, handling discipline issues Suggested changes: reduction of busy work, biases against principal candidates who are not teachers, adding a reflective class to share experiences with classmates, improvement of the checklists

Open-Ended Questions Results Principal Candidates Strengths: gaining access to the administrative process, daily communication and working with a mentor, practical application, hands-on experience with a variety of duties Eliminate: creation of job descriptions

Open-Ended Questions Results Principal Mentors Beneficial activities to include: analysis of school data, financial activity, training on new teacher evaluation and hiring process, job shadowing an administrator, training on Common Core Suggested changes: preparation for beginning of school, live classroom experiences, meetings between field experience supervisor and principal mentor prior to candidate placement

Open-Ended Questions Results Principal Mentors Strengths: conversations between candidates and a variety of leaders, as well as frequent visits by the supervisor Eliminate: writing a job posting and developing a school budget

Overall Responses Results Principal candidates and mentors agreed: Program field experiences provide candidates with a comprehensive and current understanding of the responsibilities of a principal. Field experiences’ explanations are adequate to enable candidates to successfully complete them.

Conclusions Principal candidates place more value on the field placement experiences than principal mentors. Principal mentors found a smaller amount of the field placement experiences to be very valuable or valuable, ranking 39% of the experiences as having some or little value.

Conclusions Principal candidates want to find out everything concerning the responsibilities and obligations of principals; every experience is valuable when trying to learn. Principal mentors may have been an administrator for many years, discerning the most important responsibilities from the least important.

Conclusions Principal candidates and principal mentors: Listed job shadowing an administrator as an activity that should be included. Believed communication between the principal candidate and principal mentor was a strength. Believed writing a job description should be eliminated.