Mentor principals as key facilitators in aspiring leaders’ residency programs: the role of school–university partnerships in effective principal preparation
Sarah De La Garza et al.
What the paper says
Purpose This qualitative research study examines the experiences of aspiring leaders who completed a school-to-university 15-month field-based residency, proceeded through the principal pipeline, successfully secured an assistant principal position, and grew into a campus principal or district leader. Design/methodology/approach The authors use an exploratory narrative qualitative design to investigate the impact of principal mentoring from a leadership exchange lens years after program completion. The following research question guided this study using the experiences of four principal residency program graduates: What mentoring and leadership exchanges do aspiring leaders identify as most influential during a 15-month residency? A deductive analysis approach informed by leader–member exchange (LMX) theory framed the study’s findings. Findings The study’s findings categorized the high-quality exchanges between the mentor principal and the aspiring leader in four areas: (1) empowerment through guided autonomy, (2) open dialogue and feedback, (3) modeled leadership practices, and (4) systems thinking and strategic leadership. The low-quality exchanges involved (5) outsourcing mentoring activities to other individuals and (6) a lack of instructional leadership. Originality/value The study’s findings contribute to the literature in multiple ways. First, this exploratory study investigates the post-program impact of a principal preparation program and their mentoring experiences several years after aspiring leaders completed their field-based leadership residency in their home district. Secondly, the findings operationalize an effective mentor principal, the lynchpin of all preparation programs, within a LMX framework. Lastly, the practices described from field-based residency experiences are important feedback on program structures and expectations for future aspiring leaders.
Evidence weight
Balanced mode · F 0.40 / M 0.15 / V 0.05 / R 0.40
| F · citation impact | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
| M · momentum | 0.50 × 0.15 = 0.07 |
| V · venue signal | 0.50 × 0.05 = 0.03 |
| R · text relevance † | 0.50 × 0.4 = 0.20 |
† Text relevance is estimated at 0.50 on the detail page — for your query’s actual relevance score, open this paper from a search result.