A perceptional analysis of the South Carolina Principal Induction Program as perceived by program participants

School districts are grappling with the problem of an alarming number of certified principals who are choosing not to enter the principalship. In many cases those who do enter are exiting only after a few years of service. Principals cite the long hours, low pay, and the stress of accountability as major reasons they are leaving the profession. The average age of national school principals is 50.2 years. School districts are faced with the possibility of a mass exodus of administrative talent within the next few years.;The research question is: How are states and local school districts preparing quality principals during the crucial early years to assume and continue with quality leadership in schools across America? One early training program is the new principal induction program which is mandated in forty two states (Hertting.M, 2007). This research reviews one such training program, the South Carolina Principal Induction Program (SCPIP), for new principals. The SCPIP is a yearlong program designed to help socialize and inculcate new principals into the principalship. The research analyzed the effectiveness of the four major components of the SCPIP as perceived by the program participants. Participants completed a Likert survey designed to measure perceptions of Technical Support, Instructional Leadership, Correlates of Effective Schools Research and Mentoring for new principals.;A mixed methods (quantitative and qualitative) approach was utilized in order to provide stronger and more reliable research results. A twenty question Likert survey was administered to program participants during a training session in Columbia, South Carolina. Nine months later ten principals were contacted by phone for follow up interviews. The ten principals included five principals of high performing schools and five principals of low performing schools. There were few differences in perceived effectiveness of the program based on demographics. The only two significant differences were principals from suburban school districts perceived the program as less useful than others. Also, female respondents rated the instructional leadership portion higher than their male counterparts. Overall the SCPIP received high marks from the program participants. The only area that was perceived less effective was the mentoring component. A concluding recommendation was state and local districts should do a better job of providing all new principals with proven mentors.;One unanticipated research finding was the revelation that in addition to the achievement gap and gap in funding equity, there was also a talent gap among school district administrators.