Do Something That Scares You Each Day - The Role of Self-Efficacy in Preparing School Leaders

Oct 15, 2026

Examines how leadership readiness beliefs of prospective school leaders relate to efficacy-building experiences during university preparation programs. A survey was administered to 176 candidates during the final months of administrative credential preparation. Results show a moderate positive correlation between the number of efficacy-building experiences and leadership readiness reported by participants. The article recommends that university programs strengthen efficacy-based training to better support future school leaders.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages12

Reading Time30 min

AccessFree to download

Abstract

Study design and findings

Recommendations for university programs

Self-efficacy and leadership performance

Do Something That Scares You Each Day: The Role of Self-Efficacy in Preparing School Leaders Jaymi Abusham University of La Verne Abstract This study examined the relationship between the leadership readiness beliefs of perspective school leaders and the efficacy-building experiences in which they participated during university preparation programs. I developed and administered a survey to 176 prospective school leaders during the final months of their preliminary administrative credential preparation programs. I found a moderate positive correlation between the number of efficacy-building experiences in which students took part and the leadership readiness that they reported. Based on these results, this article offers specific recommendations for university programs that desire to best prepare their students through efficacy-based training. 64 Educational Leadership Administration: Teaching and Program Development March 2018; Vol.29: Issue 1 As a new leader, I arrived at my school site each day and told myself that I would confront my fear of new challenges at least one time during that day. If I encountered that task first thing, I gave myself permission to delay subsequent challenges when possible. In time, I came to realize I was leaning on solid research for success in school leadership. However, the list of demands placed upon today’s leaders is longer than it was for me, and it continues to grow (Davis, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, & Meyerson, 2005; Fisher, 2011) . Among other responsibilities, our school leaders are expected to transform instructional practices for diverse learners, foster inclusive cultures, meet the social and emotional needs of students and staff, develop coalitions that engage families and community partners, optimize fiscal resources, and respond to crises as they develop. Indeed, a newly appointed school principal is tasked with considerably different work than the retiring principal that he or she replaces. Complex tasks, often occurring simultaneously, require leaders to constantly rethink their roles, modify their responsibilities, and build new relationships (Davis et al., 2005; Dimmock & Hattie, 1996) . Although alternative methods for credentialing are available in some states, most school leaders continue to prepare through university programs. Critics have called for reform to these programs for many years (English, 2006; Levine, 2005; Murphy, 2006; Teitel, 2006), and some progress has been made with the revision of professional standards. Updated standards can serve to align expectations within and across programs, but they alone are not sufficient to ensure that programs will adequately prepare prospective leaders. Acknowledging this, some states have developed performance assessments that require candidates for the administrative credential to execute responsibilities associated with school leadership. Although the shift to performance assessment holds promise, effective preparation programs must do more to develop learning experiences that promote success in a broad range of school settings, under widely varied circumstances, and within an environment that changes rapidly. The preparation of effective leaders should not focus on a fixed set of skills, because those skills are likely to continue to change at a rapid pace. Leadership preparation should be based upon tools that have been proven to correlate with successful performance, and the construct of efficacy has been shown to be essential. Bandura (1977, 1993) demonstrated that individuals process, weigh, and integrate diverse sources of information when encountering anew task. They filter the tasks that they choose and the effort that they expend based on feelings about their capacity to succeed. People with stronger efficacy set higher goals for themselves and are more committed to accomplishing them. Knowledge, skills, and prior success are all less predictive of performance than efficacy (Pajares, 1996) . Ef

FAQs

What was the focus of the study on school leaders?

The study examined the relationship between leadership readiness beliefs of prospective school leaders and the efficacy-building experiences they encountered during university preparation programs.

How was the research conducted and how many participants were involved?

The researcher developed and administered a survey to 176 prospective school leaders during the final months of preliminary administrative credential preparation programs.

What did the study find about efficacy-building experiences and leadership readiness?

A moderate positive correlation was found between the number of efficacy-building experiences participants took part in and the leadership readiness they reported.

Oct 15, 2026

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