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PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERSA Gap Analysis of Principal Preparation Programs in Illinois:
Viewpoints of Superintendents, Principals, and Teachers
Joseph Pacha, Linda Morford, Jon Crawford,
June Grivetti, John Murphy and Jenny TripsesABSTRACT
Many studies about preparation programs proclaim their faults. To review if Illinois prin-
cipal preparation programs were preparing candidates with the needed competencies/skills to
be effective, a gap analysis was conducted to compare current superintendents’, principals’,
and teachers’ perceptions of principal preparation on competencies/skills with those they
deemed to be most important. A list of 17 principal competency/skills was organized from a
comprehensive literature review. These skills were then used in surveys to address two ques-
tions: (1) to rate the degree of the quality of the 17 skills/competencies listed they received
from their principal preparation program and (2) to rate how important it is for principal
preparation programs to teach the competency/skill? Surveys were distributed to superinten-
dents, principals, and teachers. The data summaries, findings, and the implications for prepa-
ration programs in the state of Illinois are shared.
INTRODUCTION
The importance of leadership by school principals cannot be overstated. A recent compre-
hensive review of research on school leadership concluded, “Of all factors that contribute to
what students learn at school ... leadership is second only to classroom instruction” (Leith-
wood, Louis, Anderson, & Wahlstrom, 2004, p. 12). On June 25, 2007 the United States Su-
preme Court acknowledged the difficult yet vitally important role school principals serve
(Morse v. Frederick, 2007).
There is an ongoing debate about the quality of university-based leadership preparation
programs. Critiques of preparation programs come from multiple stakeholders, including pro-
fessors of education leadership, seeking to prepare their students for 21st century schools.
Stakeholders in the national debate include policy makers, practitioners, and other critics. One
particularly strong voice is that of Levine, who in the 2005 report, Educating School Leaders,
offered little to encourage anyone about the status of leadership preparation. A second power-
ful group of stakeholders are practitioners and professional organizations who share the bur
den of improving leadership preparation, among them the Southern Regional Education Board
(SREB). In their report, the SREB (2006) contended that “there is a lack of urgency for refo-
cusing...principal preparation programs based on the needs of schools and student achieve-
ment” (p. 4).
Joseph Pacha Illinois State University
Linda Morford Eastern Illinois University
Jon CrawfordNorthern Illinois University
June Grivetti, University of St. Francis
John Murphy, Northern Illinois University
Jenny Tripses, Bradley University