- Research Brief
Aspiring Principals’ Instructional Priorities in Tennessee: Evidence from the Vanderbilt Aspiring Leaders Study
- By Francisco A. Santelli, Jacob M. Rubin, Jason A. Grissom, Kaitlin Binsted
Key Findings
- Over three-quarters of aspiring principals rank “coaching teachers” as the most important activity for improving instruction.
- Aspiring principals frequently rank “organizing teachers into instructional teams to collaborate around student data” and “developing measurable goals for student learning” among the top three most important activities for improving instruction.
- Personnel management activities, such as hiring new teachers and assigning teachers to classrooms, are among the least likely to be ranked as most important for improving instruction.
- Aspiring principals are least likely to rank “sending teachers to professional development sessions outside the school” among the top three most important activities for improving instruction.
Suggested Citation
Rubin, J. M., Grissom, J. A., Binsted, K., Santelli, F.A., (2026). Aspiring Principals’ Instructional Priorities: Evidence from the Vanderbilt Aspiring Leaders Study. Tennessee Education Research Alliance.