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Today, school principals are asked to lead in a new world marked by unprecedented responsibilities, challenges, and managerial opportunities. Are principal preparation programs equipping their students for this new role? This study examines the content of instruction at a stratified sample of the nation's principal preparation programs. The analysis looks at preparation at the programs training the most candidates, the programs regarded as most prestigious, and more typical programs. We surveyed 56 programs and were able to collect 31 sets of syllabi that met the standards permitting systematic coding. The syllabi yielded 2,424 course weeks in the 210 syllabi analyzed. Overall, we found surprising similarities across the various types of programs. Just 2% of course weeks addressed accountability in the context of school management or school improvement. Eleven percent of course weeks made reference to statistics, data, or empirical research in some context. Only 12% of course weeks focused upon norms and values, but within those weeks there was evidence of normative bias in the topic descriptions and assigned readings. The evidence raises questions about whether principal preparation has kept pace with changes in the larger world of schooling.
Hess et al. (Mon,) studied this question.