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The role of principals is central and important in improving and maintaining quality education, and therefore, school leaders are expected to be knowledgeable of and skillful in school leadership, management and education. This paper reports on a study of the Principal Preparation Program in Indonesia conducted from 2014 to 2016. This study found that the majority of aspiring principals in Indonesia require more development in the capabilities necessary for exemplary leadership, management, entrepreneurship, and academic supervision. The Principal Preparation Program in Indonesia is expected to provide prospective principals and in-service principals with the relevant content and skill-based training to build these capabilities. The location of schools and the different local policies directly influence the work of school principals. The study also found that the different contexts in which principals work means that the Principal Preparation Program has to be tailored to meet both the national policy requirements and those conditions specific to local contexts. The paper argues that professional learning programs for aspiring school principals should be systematic, provide professional learning-that is directly relevant to local contexts, and ensure that all school principals understand their central role in leading learning.
Keywords: Principal preparation program, quality education, school leadership