Kentucky's Institute for Beginning Principals was designed and implemented by a study group sponsored jointly by the Kentucky Association of School Administrators (KASA) and the Appalachia Educational Laboratory (AEL). AEL's study group concept calls for an association to select a topic for study--one of high priority in the state related to school improvement. It next calls for appointing members willing to serve on such a group and to define the scope of their study such that it can be accomplished with limited funds in a reasonable time period (12 to 24 months). This report is a summary of the KASA-AEL study group's work, from the selection of a topic, through the planning stages, to the culmination of their work in the 1987 Institute for Beginning Principals. The research question chosen by the study group was: how can KASA help beginning principals have an effective first year? Identified as the study population were 55 Kentucky principals who had completed their first year of service in 1985-86. The bulk of the report describes and tabulates the results of 34 completed interviews concerning that first year and revolving around these issues: most rewarding experiences; helpful resources; problem areas; major time-consuming and preferred tasks; effective principalship areas; adequacy of preservice preparation; inservice experiences; recommended orientation for the job; and demographic information. Appended are the interview instrument employed by the study group; the codes used for KASA-AEL interviews; tables displaying data on principals' tasks, inservice experience, and demographic characteristics; the institute agenda, participants' list, and handouts; and evaluation results of the institute. (Author/TE)