Assistant principals' perceptions: Knowledge, skills, and attributes for effective leadership

Research by Fields (2002) concerning professional development and new administrators found that the role of assistant principal is one of the least researched and discussed topics in professional journals and books on educational leadership. Barth (1990) reported that there is a shortage of knowledge concerning the skills that are essential to be a successful school leader. The professional development and training of assistant principals is further commented on by Hartzell, Williams, and Nelson (1995), who reported that the nature of the assistant principalship and the skills required to be successful as an assistant principal are oriented much more toward management than toward leadership.;The purpose of this study is to describe and examine the perceptions of assistant principals regarding the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed to be an effective leader. The results of this study will add to the research base of the assistant principal and provide useful information that can used to improve the position of the assistant principal which serves as the primary training ground for principal succession. Recent research indicates that the assistant principal position does not provide the appropriate training or preparation for assistant principals to become principals (Fields, 2002; Goodson, 2000; Mertz, 2000). This study is significant because the role of Assistant Principals is changing due to recent legislation such as No Child Left Behind (2001) which has changed the face of public education. Lezotte (2010) stated that an essential component to the effective school research is the presence of instructional leadership. The significance of the study will be to focus in and determine the knowledge, skills, and attributes not only to be an effective leader but also an instructional leader working to improve student academic performance.;The current study is a section of a larger multi-phase study called the Principal as a Successful Leader Project (Waxman, 2008) that examined the results from interviewed surveys completed by 371 practicing Assistant Principals from a large metropolitan area in the Gulf Coast region. The survey instrument included three main sections. Section 1 included 22 items for administrators' background information and school demographics, section 2 includes 62 Likert-scale items, and section 3 consists of 31 open-ended questions. The cognitive interview technique was used in section 3, and this study focuses on the responses of participants to one of the questions in section 3. The question is labeled section H and asks Assistant Principals' for their perceptions on the knowledge, skills, and attributes needed for effective Assistant Principals'. The Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS) will be used for data analysis. Descriptive statistics will be reported for all variables. An analysis of variance (Manova) will be used to determine if there are statistically significant differences among the following categories and each other from the surveys: gender, age range, years in education, elementary vs. secondary, and Accountability rating. The findings from this study will be useful in making recommendations to existing and future Assistant Principals and improve professional development and preparation programs for Assistant Principals.