University Principal Preparation Initiative

University training for future principals has not kept up with the growing demands of the principal's job. In 2016, The Wallace Foundation launched an effort to try to improve university-based principal preparation programs. Seven universities along with school districts participated. States were involved, too.

A male teacher in a suit standing over a table with mixed gender and race young students, pointing to something in a notebook

What we did

The initiative involved seven universities from seven different states. Each university worked in teams with partners including state agencies and the school districts that hire the preparation program graduates. The goal was to learn lessons about curricular and other improvements that can be adopted across the country by university-based principal preparation programs.

What we learned

The RAND Corporation studied the initiative and the teams' efforts to redesign programming. Methods included interviews with the various partners, focus groups, observations, and surveys. Findings are presented in a series of full reports and briefs. Researchers found that universities can collaborate with school districts, state organizations, and others to adopt evidence-based features of high-quality programs.