Field-based internships and on-the-job coaching by expert principals are reported as principals' most valuable but least experienced learning opportunity¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2017 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Principals often report coaching and mentoring as their most valuable learning opportunity but the one they are least likely to experience in many states. → Sutcher 2017

Evidence¶

Sutcher 2017¶

Sutcher, L., Podolsky, A., & Espinoza, D. (2017). Supporting principals' learning: Key features of effective programs. Palo Alto, CA: Learning Policy Institute. https://learningpolicyinstitute.org/product/supporting-principals-learning

q2 · i? · review · r2

The report's review of coaching and mentoring in education distinguishes coaching as more formal and skill-focused from broader interpersonal mentoring, and states these practices improve leader effectiveness and productivity.

"Principals often report that this is the most valuable learning opportunity for them, but also the one they are least likely to experience in many states."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Only 46% of principals reported a preparation internship involving real leadership responsibilities, and few in-service principals had coaching or mentoring — related
• Access to mentors and coaches is inequitably distributed, with high-poverty schools far less likely to have supported principals — related
• Access to high-quality principal learning varies by school poverty level: principals in high-poverty schools report fewer opportunities — related
• School leaders in higher-wealth schools are more likely to attend high-quality principal preparation programs, creating inequitable access — related
• Principals with access to high-quality professional learning opportunities are more likely to stay in the profession — related
• Far fewer elementary principals participate in authentic, job-embedded professional learning than have access to professional development content — related
• State policy differences shape principals' access to high-quality learning: California principals report more access than national peers, North Carolina principals less — related
• Competency-focused internships improved the depth, clarity, and practicality of principal preparation internships compared with hour-accumulation models — related
• Mentorship was important to apprentices, but mentor quality and time with mentors varied across programs — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Equity-oriented leadership preparation through applied and reflective learning can deepen aspiring principals' understanding of bias and equitable practices — related