Principal Preparation Programs: Addressing Aspiring School Leader Well-Being

Abstract

The National Educational Leadership Preparation Program (NELP, 2018) standards require that effective school leaders not only promote the well-being of students but also promote the well-being of the adults in the building, which includes the administrators themselves. Aspiring leader well-being is a much-neglected aspect of educational leadership preparation. The purpose of this sequential explanatory mixed-methods study was to use a positive psychology framework to address a gap in the literature and to inquire about the extent to which principal preparation programs were addressing well-being and what, if any, strategies or curricula were in place in UCEA-member institution educational leadership programs in 2023-2024 to promote the well-being of aspiring school leaders. The findings suggest that principal preparation programs need an intentional approach to well-being in their curricula and explicit ways to integrate well-being awareness and strategies into their programs that will assist future school leaders in their resilience and the sustainability and longevity of their careers using the structures and processes they already have in place.