RESEARCH
AP2 Pilot Program
Assistant Principals
Menu
RESEARCH
AP2 Pilot Program
Assistant Principals
In the Assistant Principal (AP) Program in Puerto Rico, our investigative team is examining how the adoption of modern management practices can enhance the structure and capabilities of school leaders and educational administrators. Our focus is on understanding the impact of these improvements on the quality of public service delivery in developing countries. This project is issued under the Data Use Agreement between the Puerto Rico Department of Education and The Governing Council of the University of Toronto, on behalf of the Research Team, with an effective date August 11, 2023. Together with the Agreement, this Research Project Description governs the conduct of the research contemplated herein, with the Institutional Review Board Approval Number: REB #46227.
The project examines the consequences of embedding assistant principals in charge of operational and administrative leadership practices on:
Collecting detailed longitudinal data on school leadership’s managerial practices and time usage to measure both short-term and long-term adoption
Teachers’ classroom activities that are conducive to student learning, using observational data
Student achievement, relying on standardized test scores data
We’ve teamed up with Forward Society Lab (FoS) to accomplish some significant work. This effort is led by our in-house research manager, Mrs. Melissa Rivera. The FoS team includes social scientists, policy experts, and research practitioners from the University of Toronto’s Department of Economics, all dedicated to promoting equity.
Our lead researcher is Gustavo J. Bobonis, Co-Director of FoS and Professor in the Department of Economics at the University of Toronto. We’re also collaborating with professors from Northwestern University, Sara Hernández, and Daniela Scur from Cornell University. Additionally, Renata Lemos from the World Bank, who initially conducted this project in Brazil, is one of our partners. She helps us stay connected to the D-WMS survey in our project.
To assess the impact of the treatments on principals, teachers, and students, we will analyze linked longitudinal PRDE administrative records. These records will include student enrollment, demographics, grades, attendance, disciplinary actions, and standardized test scores. For teachers and school leaders, we will gather data on credentials, experience, positions, college majors, and attendance. Additionally, school-level information will encompass course catalogs, and the size and type of schools.
