Being an excellent teacher does not automatically prepare someone to lead an entire school. New research from the University of South Florida’s College of Education examines why preparing future school leaders requires more than technical expertise, performance assessments and administrative knowledge.
“A teacher may have years of classroom experience, strong instructional skills, and a deep understanding of student learning, but stepping into the principal's office brings an entirely different set of challenges,” said Assistant Professor Noemi Nagy. “Suddenly, leadership involves navigating difficult conversations, managing competing expectations, supporting teachers and families, making consequential decisions and taking responsibility for an entire school community.”
In a recent study, published in the GILE Journal of Skills Development, Nagy suggests that the answer goes beyond traditional leadership skills. “Preparing effective principals also means supporting the human process of becoming a leader,” she said.
The research, completed alongside College of Education Students Naila Peken and Shivanand Benimadhu, examines how U.S. principal-preparation programs address the personal, relational and developmental dimensions of school leadership.
“As education is increasingly shaped by technology and AI, we wanted to return attention to the deeply human process of becoming a school leader,” Nagy said. “Future principals do not only need to know policies, budgets and instructional frameworks. They also need to develop relational authority, ethical judgment, confidence and the ability to lead people through uncertainty.”
To understand how future principals are prepared for these responsibilities, the researchers analyzed national leadership standards, state policies, university preparation models and mentoring programs. They also examined relevant research on principal preparation and leadership development.
“What stood out to me in this study is that leadership preparation is not only about meeting standards, but about helping people grow into a new professional identity,” Peken said. “Aspiring principals need opportunities to reflect, receive meaningful mentoring and practice leadership in ways that prepare them for the human complexity of school life.”
According to Nagy, the study also highlights an often-overlooked contradiction: Future principals are expected to support the well-being of teachers, students and school communities, yet their own emotional readiness and well-being may receive considerably less attention during preparation.
She recommends that universities, school districts and policymakers look beyond whether preparation programs offer internships, mentoring, and performance assessments and examine how these experiences actually support leadership development.
“That means connecting coursework with meaningful leadership experiences, creating mentoring relationships where aspiring principals can openly discuss uncertainty and challenges, and providing continuing support during their first years in the role,” she said. “In an AI-mediated world, the question is not only what future leaders can demonstrate at the end of a program,” Nagy said. “It is how they learn to exercise judgment, build trust, support people and lead responsibly in complex school communities.”
As AI and other technologies continue to transform education, the findings offer a reminder that effective school leadership cannot be reduced to technical knowledge or measurable competencies alone.