Principal preparation programs are criticized for failing to produce school leaders who can successfully face the growing complexity of today’s educational leadership. Inasmuch as the literature highlighted systems thinking as beneficial for complex situations, this study aimed to explore how preservice principals, enrolled in a systems thinking course as part of their principal preparation program, would identify practical opportunities to apply systems thinking principles in school leadership. Findings showed that preservice principals considered the characteristic of leading wholes as helpful for instructional leadership (curriculum and community) and the characteristic of adopting a multidimensional view as useful for interpersonal relationships and decision making. Implications and further research are discussed.

中文翻译：

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校长预备课程的入学者的系统思考

校长预备课程因未能培养出能够成功应对当今日益复杂的教育领导力的学校领导者而受到批评。由于文献强调系统思维对复杂情况有益，因此本研究旨在探讨在职前校长注册系统思维课程作为校长准备计划的一部分，如何确定将系统思维原则应用于学校领导的实际机会。调查结果表明，职前校长认为领导整体的特征对教学领导（课程和社区）有帮助，而采用多维观点的特征对人际关系和决策有用。讨论了影响和进一步的研究。