This qualitative study sought to identify current principal professional development practices in four school systems in Georgia and to examine them by applying the principles of adult learning theory. The cross-case analysis of principal professional development initiatives in four school districts revealed nine common practices: connecting professional development to career development; individualizing professional development; engaging multiple sources of professional development; adapting, not adopting, externally provided professional development; aligning and focusing professional development; ensuring ongoing scheduled professional development; encouraging mentoring relations; providing data-informed and job-embedded professional development; and strategic planning of principal professional development. Although these practices possessed certain characteristics of adult learning -they were problem centered, relevancy oriented, and goal oriented -they were, however, rarely self-directed. By examining current principal professional development practices through the lens of adult learning theory, these findings contribute new knowledge about current principal professional development and offer implications for the use of adult learning theory in planning and providing principal professional learning.

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to examine principal succession planning and management by analyzing current practices of handling school leader succession in four Georgia school systems.Design/methodology/approachLooking through the lens of organizational leadership succession theory, the practices of school systems as they experienced changes in school leadership were examined. Participants included superintendents, assistant superintendents, other central office leaders, and principals. A multiple‐case approach was selected with semi‐structured interviews providing the major source of data.FindingsFindings suggest the following: there is a difference in the sense of urgency for the planning and management of the succession of principals; the development of aspiring leaders was identified as a critical component of planning and management of succession; mentoring was an essential practice through the succession process; and reliance on collaborative partnerships with outside organizations was highly valued.Practical implicationsThe implications of the study include a call for further research to determine the differences in leader succession planning and management needs related to the varying contexts. In addition, the study implies that building collaborative partnerships with university preparation programs and other external professional development organizations may assist systems in the planning and management of principal succession.Originality/valueThe originality of this study stems from the lack of literature that directly examines the experiences and practices of principal succession. The findings can inform school system leaders of succession planning and management issues and practices that exist in the four systems studied. As leadership becomes more recognized for its impact on student achievement and school performance, it is imperative that succession is managed and planned to ensure sustainability and effectiveness.

The importance of effective school leadership is well known. The inevitable changing of school leaders raises concerns over the successfulness of the succession process. Directly linked to leader succession is socialization; therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine the processes and practices of school systems that control the organizational socialization of school principals as they succeed into the principalship. Using a multiple-case study approach, this qualitative inquiry examined the practices of four US school systems regarding the socialization of principals. The study, framed by organizational socialization theory, found a custodial response to socialization supported by collective, formal, serial, and investiture tactics. The implications of these findings are discussed in terms of what system leaders and policy-makers might consider in supporting the socialization process of new principals.

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to examine principal mentoring, a process that is significant in principal identification, socialization, development, and retention.Design/methodology/approachThe study was framed within the social constructivism paradigm and thematically examined individual perspectives to develop the thematic constructs relevant to the participants’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring.FindingsThematic analysis of the interview data from 16 principals from the state of Georgia, USA, revealed five major themes related to leaders’ experiences of and perceptions about principal mentoring: mentoring as recruitment; mentoring as socialization; mentoring as support; mentoring as professional development; and mentoring as reciprocal learning.Research limitations/implicationsThese findings were limited to the sample of principals used for this analysis. Researchers are encouraged to examine principal mentoring in other contexts.Practical implicationsThe results of this inquiry suggest the need for formal and informal mentoring opportunities for new and experienced principals and call for further research on comparing mentoring practices between the large and small schools systems.Originality/valueThe paper identifies mentoring as an important path to principal effectiveness and contributes to the corpus of literature on educational mentoring by examining the perceptions and experiences of new and experienced principals about the mentoring they received and provided.

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