Career Preparation Research For US Primary And Secondary School Principals

Pre-service accession is a necessary stage in the growth and development of principals, and principal preparation is an important way to realize the pre-service professionalization of principals. In recent years, with the advance of principal succession, principal professional development, and the sustainable development of the school’s sustainable leadership in research and practice, the theoretical and practical value of principal preparation has become increasingly prominent. However, for a long time, in China, researches of principal professionalization have mainly focused on in-service stage, while ignoring the pre-service link, which restrict the development of principal professionalization and the integrity, systematization and scientification of principal team building to a great extent.Pre-service preparation is the focus of the principal professional development in United States. It has a long history, and is moving towards specialization,institutionalization and systematization. National professional associations, such as ISLLC, ELCC, by developing and implementing the principal professional standards and preparation program standards, set expectations and requirements for future principals and programs to prepare principals who center on students and students’learning and have the talents of teaching, management and leadership, so as to promote the professionalization of principal preparation; States’ policymakers,by using two policy levers, namely principal license oversight and preparation program approval,regulate basic requirements for applying for principal license and program approval, to promote the institutionalization of principal preparation; Universities, as the main provider of principal preparation programs, by carefully designing and arranging the whole process of recruitment and selection, curriculum, teaching internship and student assessment, comprehensively prepare principal candidates’ attitudes,knowledge and skills, in order to get them ready for the principal’s work,at the same time, federal governments, states, school districts and foundations, by funding, and cooperating with universities, to ensure the sustainable development of the university-based principal preparation programs.The practice of principals’ preparation in United States provides China with significant reference and revelation to promote principal professionalization and principal team building, we are supposed to:(1)strengthen the integration and convergence of pre-service preparation and in-service development; (2)implement principal professional standards preparation program standards; (3) improve the qualification certificate /license system and pay attention to preparation program approval ; (4)rely on universities and provide high-quality preparation programs; (5)promote the cooperation and synergy among different groups to ensure the sustainable development of principal preparation.