Principal leadership-skill demands in a global context: A comparative study

The job of principals in the 21st century is to find the future and take their people to it, which will require them to keep an eye on the big picture of life to relentlessly ask, "For what kind of life are we preparing our students?" (Synder, Acker-Hocevar, & Synder, 2008).;The purpose of this study was to examine principal leadership and the skill demands in a global context. This dissertation presents factors such as the failure of urban education, the impact of globalization on education, and the influence of changing demographics on education, as reasons why urban high school principals need to acquire new leadership skills. The hypothesis of this dissertation is that there are skills, professional development opportunities, and time priorities that urban high school principals can acquire and be involved in that will enable them to redesign schools that will prepare students to compete in a global context. This study utilized both inductive and deductive qualitative analysis approaches in determining the skills needed by urban high school principals.;The study found eight significant skills needed by urban high school principals and four characteristics and attributes needed by urban high school principals. Additionally, the study found that most urban high schools principals do not receive the training necessary to prepare students to compete in a global context. However, the study revealed five significant findings regarding training needed by urban high school principals. Finally, the study found that the urban high school principals identified in this study are actively and knowledgeably demonstrating skills designed to extend learning into a global context.