Criticism of the schools has been linked to calls for change and demands for school improvement. While much of the attention has focused on curriculum content, student knowledge and skills, and school duration, considerable attention has been directed to the school principal and the importance of school leadership. Strong, effective leadership provided by the building administrator--specifically, instructional leadership--has been identified as a key characteristic of effective schools. To determine whether principal selection has been influenced by this new focus on the instructional leadership aspect of educational administration, a questionnaire was sent to 187 of the 337 public high school principals in Tennessee; returns were received from 144 subjects for a response rate of 77%. The study sought to distinguish principals chosen at an earlier time from those chosen more recently in order to assess whether principal selection criteria had changed, the type of selection criteria used; and whether these criteria reflected new conceptions of the role. Findings indicate that no standard or systematic process is in use for principal selection. Further, the absence of differences between new and old hires in areas such as background, preparation, and experience suggest that new conceptions of the role of principal have not--or not yet--changed selection criteria, at least in Tennessee. (35 references) (KM)