Twenty-sixth International Conference on Learning

Abstract

Principals in primary and elementary schools face escalating literacy requirements for their students, teachers, and themselves. These requirements include selections of appropriate materials for the instruction of students across all individual needs, additional instructional categories and requirements from state and regional entities, and interpretation and response to a variety of assessment materials, practices, and data sets. Many educational leadership candidates have never worked as a teacher in a primary or elementary, and they have no background in teaching literacy or literacy assessment as uniquely differing from other assessments. Principals who are currently employed may never have worked with children ages 5-12 before. What do these individuals wish they had known when they began their work, what have they had to learn on the job and is there a way to embed that learning in existing certification assignments within a state accredited leadership program? This presentation will share the results of surveys and interviews with current and future principals, and some assignments that may be helping to support these individuals.