| Summary: | The importance of providing support to principals to help them tackle increased and varied demands regarding schoolwork has been pointed out. It is believed that both professional and personal support is needed that also aims for the principals’ professional development (Davis and Darling Hammond, 2012; Gumus and Bellibas, 2016; Howley, Chadwick and Howley, 2002; Myers and Ginsberg, 1994). The support should be adapted to the principals’ situation in each school and focus on empowering them as principals and enhancing their leadership capacities (Woods, Woods and Cowie, 2009). Preferably this should be done through formal leadership programs, mentoring, research work and learning engagement within their schools etc. (Davis and Darling-Hammond, 2012; Gates et al., 2014; Gumus and Bellibar, 2016).In many countries, including Iceland, the local authorities (municipalities) are financially and professionally responsible for pre- and compulsory school education. It is increasingly seen as the responsibility of local school authorities to provide necessary support to principals, both with regard to formal postgraduate education and in their professional development in general (Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson, Orr and Cohen, 2007; Ikemoto, Taliaferro, Fenton and Davis, 2014; Louis, Leithwood, Whalstrom and Anderson, 2010). Little research has been conducted in Iceland on what kind of support principals receive or need. Existing research indicates that they receive only limited backing, and that local school authorities are not well prepared to provide the necessary assistance, possibly with the exception of the largest districts (Ingibjörg Magnúsdóttir, 2013; Rúnar Sigþórsson, 2013).The aim of the study was to explore the personal and professional support principals in pre- and compulsory schools experience from local school authorities and others, in their professional work, as well as in attending postgraduate programs. The findings generate knowledge in an under-researched field and, more particularly, inform ...
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