Volume 4 - Issue 1 - DBU Journal of K-12 Educational Research - Page 36

34 Introduction Charter school leadership is a key factor to determining the success of schools (New Leaders for New Schools, 2011b). However, some researchers believe leaders are not being adequately prepared for assuming the principal role within those schools (Campbell, Gross, & Lake, 2008; Curry, 2013). The purpose of the current study was to determine the most effective elements of charter school principal preparation programs to support the use of best practices that will better prepare charter school leaders to be successful. The current study focused on residency-based charter school specific principal preparation programs. These programs provide future principals with a pathway to the principalship that includes leadership competencies, as well as targeted support in developing the leader in instructional strategies, and key operational skills. For the current study, the researcher worked with an expert panel to formulate important elements of charter school principal preparation programs and then worked with current principals who completed residency-based principal preparation programs to learn which elements were most beneficial to them in preparing for the principal role through a research method called Q Methodology (QM). Literature Review Charter schools were first established in the early 1990s as a public school option for families focused on innovative or non-traditional school choices, and as a free market approach to reform. Charter schools are typically more urban, more likely to serve minorities, and found in communities where the traditional public school district is perceived as underperforming using state accountability requirements (Center for Research on Education Outcomes [CREDO], 2015). In urban districts with students who are majority minority and highly impoverished, strong school leadership is a key characteristic of successful schools (New Leaders for New Schools, 2011a). School leadership matters to all school success, but especially charter school success (Marchand, 2015) because of the unique nature of the field (Bickmore & Dowell, 2014; Campbell et al., 2008). Principals impact nearly every aspect of the school, including educational outcomes, attrition, and family involvement (Hallinger & Heck, 1996; Heck, 2000; Heck, Larsen, & Marcoulides, 1990; Hoy & Hannum, 1997; Leithwood & Jantzi, 2008). While a large majority of charter school principals have completed principal preparation programs (National Association of Secondary School Principals [NASSP], 2018), the pool of principals who are hoping to assume charter school leadership is underprepared (Campbell, 2010). Some charter school management organizations such as KIPP, the Noble Network, and IDEA Public Schools, as well as the independent Accelerate Institute have sought to correct these issues by developing leadership pathways that will prepare their leaders to found, turnaround, or successfully navigate succession in their schools (Accelerate Institute, 2019). For the current study, the researcher Journal of K-12 Educational Research 2020, VOL. 4, ISSUE 1 www.dbu.edu/doctoral/edd PERCEPTIONS OF PRINCIPALS AND IDENTIFICATION OF EFFECTIVE ELEMENTS FOR CHARTER-SPECIFIC PRINCIPAL PREPARATION PROGRAMS R. Cody Yocom, EdD