Leaders Changing how they Act by Changing how They Think: Applying Principles of an Anti-Racist Principal Preparation Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 120 (14) ◽  
pp. 1-26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark A. Gooden ◽  
Bradley W. Davis ◽  
Daniel D. Spikes ◽  
Dottie L. Hall ◽  
Linda Lee
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Cultural Racism ◽  
Leadership Beliefs ◽  
Principal Preparation Program ◽  
The Impact

Systemic racism and the impending inequities in schooling persist, making it apparent the concept of race still matters when it comes to educational leadership. In response, this chapter examines linkages between principal preparation programs, the orientations of the aspiring leaders enrolled within them, and the potential for program graduates to facilitate institutional change for racial equity. The concept of anti-racist leadership is explored to better understand how principal preparation programs can better prepare aspiring leaders to address how race, power, and individual, institutional, and cultural racism impact beliefs, structures, and outcomes for students of color. This preparation is accomplished by examining how a principal preparation program, adopting an anti-racist curriculum, further develops the racial consciousness of its predominantly White student cohort. The anti-racist curriculum made the impact of race more salient to students and had an impact on their leadership beliefs, decisions, and actions once they served in school leadership positions.

Systems Thinking Among Enrollees in a Principal Preparation Program

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 259-282 ◽  
Author(s):  
Haim Shaked ◽  
Chen Schechter
Keyword(s):  
Instructional Leadership ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Systems Thinking ◽  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Leadership Curriculum ◽  
Principal Preparation Program

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.

Preparing turnaround leaders for high needs urban schools

2017 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chad R. Lochmiller ◽  
Colleen E. Chesnut
Keyword(s):  
Principal Preparation ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Full Time ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Turnaround Leadership ◽  
Turnaround School ◽  
Principal Preparation Program ◽  
The Impact

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the program structure and design considerations of a 25-day, full-time apprenticeship in a university-based principal preparation program. Design/methodology/approach The study used a qualitative case study design that drew upon interviews and focus groups with program participants as well as program-related documents. Qualitative data analysis was completed using ATLAS.ti. Findings The analysis suggests that the apprenticeship had three specific design features that were intended to support the apprentice’s development for turnaround leadership. These included locating the apprenticeship experience in a turnaround school setting; focusing the apprenticeship on district structures and procedures; and situating the apprentice’s work within the district’s approved improvement process. Research limitations/implications The study was limited in that recurring, on-site observations of apprenticeship activities were not possible. The study has implications for principal preparation programs related to the design of fieldwork experiences, as well as for educational scholars seeking to study the impact of fieldwork on principal efficacy. Originality/value The study contributes to the broader discussion of effective fieldwork experiences for aspiring school leaders, particularly when specific conceptions of leadership are infused within program designs.

A Case Study of Lessons Learned from a Decade of Success in Preparing and Supporting Quality School Leadership Through District–University Partnerships

2020 ◽  
pp. 105268462098036
Author(s):  
Sheri S. Williams ◽  
Russ Romans ◽  
Frank Perrone ◽  
Allison M. Borden ◽  
Arlie Woodrum
Keyword(s):  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
University Partnerships ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Principal Preparation Program ◽  
Quality School

The purpose of this case study was to explore the context and key features of a successful decade-long district and university principal preparation program. Despite the importance of such partnerships, long-standing partnerships appear to be far from the norm. The partnership was designed in collaboration with faculty at a flagship university in the American Southwest and district leaders in a large urban school system. At the initiation of the partnership, the school district faced challenges similar to other districts in ensuring a steady pool of quality school leaders. The study was grounded in theory and anchored in relevant scholarly literature. Research methods included data collected from a qualitative analysis of the perspectives of key personnel who co-created the principal preparation program and supplementary data from external evaluations conducted by recognized appraisers. Findings indicate that district–university partnerships are more likely to endure when the partners are able to strengthen shared goals, leverage existing assets, sustain trusting relationships, uphold mutuality of purpose, and support collaborative interactions. The implications and recommendations from the study may appeal to other providers of principal preparation programs who desire to adapt the lessons learned and build on the assets that exist in their own unique school and community contexts. Future research on long standing district–university partnerships may help inform states in their oversight of principal preparation programs and university and district partners who wish to start or sustain the recruitment, preparation, placement, and retention of quality educational leaders in contextually specific and complex school environments.

From Ground to Distance: The Impact of Advanced Technologies on An Innovative School Leadership Program

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
pp. 216-233 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan Korach ◽  
Lyndsay J. Agans
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Teaching And Learning ◽  
Evaluation Framework ◽  
Online Discussions ◽  
Online Program ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Advanced Technologies ◽  
Principal Preparation Program ◽  
The Impact

An educational leadership preparation program for the 21st Century not only makes use of innovations in teaching and learning, but pushes the educational experience forward through the effective use of advanced technologies. This idea frames the delivery methodology for a blended online principal preparation program. The blended online program was designed upon the foundation of an existing innovative classroom-based principal preparation program. The technology enhanced program relied on three instructional technologies: high-participation threaded online discussions through Blackboard, the use of digital portfolios for project management and evaluation, and the establishment of online communities of inquiry and supportive networks. Since the classroom-based and blended online principal preparation programs share a common evaluation framework and project design, this consistency offers a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the utilization of advanced technologies in the delivery of a professional preparation program. Initial findings reveal that program participants in the blended online program report similar outcomes as those in the classroom-based program. The power of the field-based inquiry projects and the implementation and impact of the technologically advanced delivery system are discussed along with implications for program development.

Principal Preparation Programs and Principal Outcomes

2018 ◽  
Vol 55 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-115 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jason A. Grissom ◽  
Hajime Mitani ◽  
David S. Woo
Keyword(s):  
School Leadership ◽  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Evaluation System ◽  
Time Frame ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
State Evaluation ◽  
Principal Performance ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Principal Ratings

Purpose: Concerns about variation in the quality of preservice preparation provided by many university-based principal preparation programs (PPPs) has led to calls to use outcomes of program graduates to hold PPPs accountable. Little research, however, has assessed the degree to which different outcomes for PPP graduates in fact vary systematically by program. Research Methods: Using administrative data from Tennessee, we link approximately a decade’s worth of PPP graduates to their schools, licensure examination scores, and multiple measures of job performance in their first 3 years as principals, including supervisors’ practice ratings on the state evaluation system, teacher and assistant principal ratings of school leadership on a statewide survey, and measures of student achievement growth. We use which PPP a principal completed to predict these outcomes using a regression approach with different sets of covariates. Findings: Although we are able to associate PPPs with high and low principal performance, we find that programs’ rankings vary by outcome measure, and we are unable to identify PPPs that perform consistently well or poorly across outcomes. Moreover, we find that Tennessee PPPs vary substantially in the characteristics of the schools into which their principals are hired and that taking these characteristics into account is important in ordering PPPs based on outcomes. In addition, even over a fairly long time frame, some programs produce too few graduates who later become school leaders to allow for reliable estimates. Implications: Although the use of graduates’ outcomes to differentiate PPPs holds promise, the methodological challenges to drawing valid and reliable conclusions about PPPs from graduates’ job outcomes are substantial. Policymakers and researchers may arrive at very different assessments of which PPPs are successful depending on which outcomes are chosen and what modeling approaches are employed.

scholarly journals The Essential Role of Integrating Technology Content and Skills into University Principal Preparation Programs

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert Moody ◽  
Kathy Dale ◽  
Mike Slattery ◽  
Regi Wieland
Keyword(s):  
Principal Preparation ◽  
School Administrators ◽  
Just In Time ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Principal Preparation Programs ◽  
Goods And Services ◽  
Integrating Technology ◽  
Before School ◽  
University Leaders ◽  
The Impact

"Just-in-time" delivery of goods and services was the call to action phrase of the 1990's, but in the 21st Century, just-in-time is too late. University leaders in principal preparation programs must not only respond to the call of the field, but also anticipate the needs even before school administrators recognize the content and skills necessary with which to lead. As building principals become increasingly accountable for integrating technology into instruction and infrastructure, principal preparation programs are more accountable to prepare principals to succeed in their leadership roles, acknowledge the impact of principals on student achievement and teacher performance, and accept our responsibility to reinvent preparation programs instead of just reforming them.

Men’s Voices: Black and White Aspiring Principals Reflect on Their Preparation to be Racial Equity Leaders

2021 ◽  
pp. 194277512110691
Author(s):  
Natalie Rasmussen ◽  
Candace Raskin
Keyword(s):  
Identity Development ◽  
Principal Preparation ◽  
Phenomenological Study ◽  
Focal Point ◽  
White Male ◽  
Preparation Program ◽  
Racial Equity ◽  
Black And White ◽  
Aspiring Principals ◽  
Principal Preparation Program

This phenomenological study examined the racial identity development of Black and White men—aspiring school leaders—who had recently completed a principal preparation program as members of a racially diverse cohort of students. The principal preparation program was designed with an unapologetic emphasis on race and addressing issues of racism. The study found that making race and issues of racism a focal point of all curriculum and pedagogy increased participants’ racialized realization and produced Black and White male aspiring principals who felt prepared to lead schools through the lens of racial equity.

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