At the Crossroads: Wellbeing and Principalship Preparation

This study was designed to gain a baseline understanding of how future K-12 building leaders in pre-service principal preparation programs address their own wellbeing. In this exploratory study, pre-service school leaders across the United States self-assessed their levels of stress and social–emotional competencies. Students from 30 pre-service principal preparation programs across the United States completed a survey that included four social–emotional learning scales. The findings indicate that this population may not be well equipped to deal with the stressors of the principalship. The findings can be used as a baseline to understand how changes in curriculum might impact these constructs.