The purpose of this qualitative research was to identify the preparation needs of principals through the lens of school superintendents in the southeastern United States. This research was based on a collaborative university, multi-school district partnership. Superintendents were interviewed to determine their perceptions regarding the professional learning needs of principals. Three themes emerged from the analysis:(a) principal perception of community matters, (b) formal support is necessary, but challenging to schedule and scope, and (c) instructional and operational leadership are differentiated. These findings present several implications for university and district-based leadership preparation programs, both individually and collaboratively.

No abstract

This research answers the question, “How did pre-Brown African American school leaders lead their schools?” After conducting a metasynthesis on the leadership practices of pre-Brown African American school leaders, I constructed the Pre-Brown African American School Leadership Paradigm (PAASLP) and model. The PAASLP describes a paradigm that bridges a gap between under-researched leadership beliefs, goals, and practices of pre-Brown African American school leaders during segregation and up through desegregation. Aspirational beliefs were grounded in the assertion that through an exemplary education student could develop the skills to move beyond the segregated society and aspire to a different life free from imposed barriers. Resistant beliefs focused on practices designed to prepare students to engage and participate fully in democratic citizenship and to resist the constraints of the society in which they lived. This emergent paradigm offers a basis for African American school leaders’ student-centered leadership as an alternative to contemporary leadership paradigms focused primarily on accountability.

This is the introduction to the 2019 themed issue of GER.

The purpose of this study was to determine what school and principal characteristics influence the alignment of contemporary leaders’ beliefs with African American principals’ beliefs working during the pre-Brown v. Board era. Using OLS multiple regression on a sample of Georgia school principals, the study found a statistically significant relationship (b=.252, p ≤ 0.05) supporting that principals who worked in Title I schools encompassed higher levels of pre-Brown beliefs than principals of non-Title I schools. This finding indicates that leaders of Title I schools, much like the leaders who led the segregated schools for people of color during the pre-Brown era, instill a set of values that among other attributes are student-centered, optimistic, and dedicated which impacts school culture and potentially positive student outcomes.