How Principal Professional Development Impacts School Outcomes

When the Elementary and Secondary Education Act was reauthorized in 2015, states and schools were given flexibility to use their funds to support principal leadership. However, there is little research on if principal professional development programs really help to improve principals' performance and student achievement, according to the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences.

To gain more insight into the impact of professional development programs, IES funded a large-scale evaluation of one approach at the Center for Educational Leadership at the University of Washington. The program provided principals with 188 hours professional development training over a two-year period and found the program did not change principals' practices in ways intended. The results were published in a study on the IES website.

Researchers found that teachers were less likely to get instructional support and feedback from principals who had received professional development and the same teachers "whose principals received the program were no more likely to report positive perceptions of the usefulness of the feedback provided."

The retention rates for principals who worked in the study schools before the study began had slightly lower teacher retention than schools that did not participate. Students also had similar achievement in English language arts and math whether or not their principals had received professional development.

Chart from study showing effect of principal professional development on student achievement

One hundred elementary schools from eight districts in five states participated in the IES-funded program and the participating principals had five years of experience as administrators on average.

Seventy percent of program hours focused on instructional leadership and gave principals 100 hours more professional development than principals who did not participate during the first year. Participating principals also received 50 hours of individualized coaching to focus on specific goals and analyze the effects of those strategies each year.

The full study is available on IES's website.

About the Author

Sara Friedman is a reporter/producer for Campus Technology, THE Journal and STEAM Universe covering education policy and a wide range of other public-sector IT topics.

Friedman is a graduate of Ithaca College, where she studied journalism, politics and international communications.

Friedman can be contacted at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter @SaraEFriedman.

Click here for previous articles by Friedman.


Featured

  • Stylized illustration showing cybersecurity elements like shields, padlocks, and secure cloud icons on a neutral, minimalist digital background

    Microsoft Announces Host of Security Advancements

    Microsoft has announced major cybersecurity advancements across its product portfolio and practices. The work is part of its Secure Future Initiative (SFI), a multiyear cybersecurity transformation the company calls the largest engineering project in company history.

  • tutors helping young students with laptops against a vibrant abstract background

    K12 Tutoring Earns ESSA Level II Validation

    Online tutoring service K12 Tutoring recently announced that it has received Level II validation underneath the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). The independently validated study provides evidence of K12 Tutoring's role in creating positive student outcomes through effective academic intervention and research-based solutions.

  • glowing futuristic laptop with a holographic screen displaying digital text

    New Turnitin Product Offers AI-Powered Writing Tools with Instructor Guardrails

    Academic integrity solution provider Turnitin has launched Turnitin Clarity, a paid add-on for Turnitin Feedback Studio that provides a composition workspace for students with educator-guided AI assistance, AI-generated writing feedback, visibility into integrity insights, and more.

  • robot typing on a computer

    Microsoft Unveils 'Computer Use' Automation in Copilot Studio

    Microsoft has announced a new AI-powered feature called "computer use" for its Copilot Studio platform that allows agents to directly interact with Web sites and desktop applications using simulated mouse clicks, menu selections and text inputs.