Principal leadership is a key factor in school improvement in European schools and elsewhere. Principals are expected to manage schools effectively in the face of multiple and varied competing pressures. How principals are prepared in different contexts and how well their preparation fulfills their needs in their first three years is the focus of the International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP). The ISPP is based on the premise that ‘principal preparation is a crucial aspect of school development and progression, and that programmes of preparation should have positive outcomes for those who undertake them’ (Cowie & Crawford 2007, p. 129). This cross-continent study involves researchers and newly appointed principals from Australia, Canada, China, England, Germany, Jamaica, Mexico, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Tanzania, Turkey, and the United States. As Cowie and Crawford (2007) report the ISPP aims to examine ‘the utility of principal preparation programmes for novice principals in our different contexts, the differences and the similarities, and see what lessons we can learn from each other’ (p.129-130). So far, the ISPP reinforces findings from other studies about the large variation in principal preparation among countries (Karstanje & Webber, 2008; Slater, Garcia & Gorosave, 2008; Onguko, Abdallaa & Webber, 2008; Thody, Papanaoum, Johansson & Pashiardis, 2007; Wildy & Clarke, 2008; WIldy, Clarke & Slater, 2007; Yan & Enrich, 2009). The study reported in the proposed paper compares and contrasts both the challenges faced by novice principals in Australia and Turkey in their first three years and the extent to which they believe they were adequately prepared to meet these challenges. The premise on which our research methods have been based is that rich understanding of the challenges faced by principals can best be garnered by engaging directly with the principals at their place of work. Our approach is inductive and involves synthesising the views and perceptions of principals about their own professional experiences in the field.

The study reported is part of a larger international study now in its fifth year. The first part of the study was a mapping of existing preparation programs in each of the partner countries. The second part of the study was a series of case studies of newly appointed primary principals aimed at identifying and describing the challenges and dilemmas faced by novice principals in their first three years. The study reported here is the third part of the international project. Based on the findings of the international case studies a survey was developed. Issues associated with the validation of this instrument were reported to the 2008 ECER by Wildy and Clarke. The survey was translated to Turkish and administered to 60 novice primary principals in three cities of Turkey. The English version of the survey was administered to 50 novice principals in one state of Australia.

An earlier publication (Wildy, Clarke & Slater, 2007) shows that principal preparation in Western Australia resembles the processes adopted in Mexico more closely than it resembles the preparation of principals in either Scotland or England. Specifically, the preparation consists of a one or two day induction conference. The current study will show not only whether the issues faced by Australian novice primary principals are similar to those experienced by their peers in Turkey but also the extent to which they felt they were prepared to deal with them. Such evidence might provide compelling argument for strengthening the programs offered to those who take up the position of leadership especially in times of social, environmental and economic difficulty.