Effects of School Leadership in Sweden: An Evaluation of the Principal Preparation Programme 2009–2021

The purpose of this study is to evaluate the effects of the Principal Preparation Programme on student outcomes and instructional leadership in Swedish schools. We examine whether the mandatory principal education leads to improvements in schools’ grade results, national test results, and teachers’ assessments of principals’ instructional leadership. Our investigation is based on data from 3 783 programme participants during the years 2009–2021.

We use a longitudinal research design that combines a dynamic difference-in-differences analysis with a multilevel analysis to follow principals over time, before and after the programme start. The study includes an additional analysis where principals who were on a waiting list are compared with those who were directly admitted during 2018–2021.