As the efficacy of educational administration programs has come under increased national scrutiny, one area which has received particular attention is the administrative internship component. In Illinois, various professional, governmental, and state-supported organizations such as the Commission on School Leader Preparation, Illinois Council of Professors of Educational Leadership, and the Wallace Foundation have focused attention on the internship experience. A recent report to the Illinois General Assembly by the Illinois School Leader Task Force included a series of recommendations to improve the quality of school leadership programs. One of the recommendations suggested improvement of the administrative internship. There is a growing body of research which confirms the difference highly effective principals can make. Therefore, this study was designed to gather important information from the perspectives of Illinois principals about the nature and scope of Illinois university K-12 administrative internship programs. Principals presented recommendations regarding the types of experiences that should be included in the internship to adequately prepare administrators for their first administrative position. In addition, principals offered professors of education administration suggestions to improve other internship components. This manuscript reports the results of this research study.
ACCESS MANUSCRIPT AT: http://cnx.org/content/m23291/latest/