Research Paper on:
Intern Programs for School Principals

Unformatted Sample Text from the Research Paper:
of internship program. Sufficient anecdotal comments supports the value of these programs, however. The literature review considers these topics: 1. Purpose of an internship program. 2. The complex job  of first year principals. 3. Description of a selected number of internship programs. 4. Summary of the literature review and a conclusion that supports the need for this study.  Purpose of Internship Programs Aspiring administrators lack experience in performing the many and diverse responsibilities of the school administrator. The literature has consistently concluded that the principal is the  key element in the success and effectiveness of the school. Portin and Shen reported a compilation of what the literature says about the principal: "Principals remain key individuals as instructional  leaders, initiators of change, school managers, personnel administrators, problem solvers, and boundary spanners for the school" (1998, p. 93). The role of principal is complex and difficult with  numerous elements and factors impacting what any school leader may do. Furthermore, the role of the school principal has changed over the years and continues to change. Roles, in fact,  have become blurred and often vague. The requisite skills have increased in number and in complexity over the years. Consider that Sergiovanni identified nine essential tasks of the principal: Purposing,  Institutionalizing values, Maintaining harmony, Managing, Motivating, Enabling, Explaining, Modeling and Supervising (Sergiovanni, 1996). Even though leadership models have changed to that of more collaborative operations and decision making, the principal  is still the single person in the school that is responsible (Portin and Shen, 1998). One of the many reasons for the principal being the nexus of leadership is the  fact of increasing diversity of the school population (Portin and Shen, 1998). Another reason has to do with the demands placed on schools to become more effective. Principals,