How prepared are new school principals? analysis of training and labor trajectories prior to assuming their position

Abstract

The evidence shows that student learning is influenced by school principals and their leadership teams. In Chile, however, school leaders' practices present some weaknesses. Based on a survey of 500 principals of subsidized schools, this study analyzes the training and work experience of school principals prior to their first job in this role. Graduate training programs as well as previous experience in schools with some leadership responsibilities are key opportunities to develop skills and knowledge to yield effective leadership. Nonetheless, the results show that before becoming principals, one out of four did not attend specialized graduate programs or have some type of leadership role in schools. Furthermore, only 13% of the school principals were highly prepared for the role, with both specialized education and prior work experience. These results highlight the challenge of advancing policies that improve principals' specialized training as well as the need of articulation between educational leadership policies and other educational policies. The objective is to generate policies that will improve specialized leadership training and promote the importance of prior leadership experiences in schools, to yield effective school leadership practices.