School Leaders in a Time of Accountability and Data Use

2021 ◽  
pp. 1782-1806
Author(s):  
Evan G. Mense ◽  
Dana M. Griggs ◽  
Julius N. Shanks
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
School Improvement Plan ◽  
Educational Leadership Programs ◽  
Quality School

School leaders are challenged with the task of high stakes testing and student achievement. In the data-driven K-12 setting, it is necessary to have quality school leaders in place. Universities are charged with preparing these quality school leaders. Educational leadership programs need to contain quality structure and key components. These key components required of leadership preparation programs consist of data, leadership style/theories, data culture/climate school leader organizational and management, school community relations, professional development, school/teacher improvement, school improvement plan (SIP), implementation of SIP goals, and field experience. These key components need to encompass the national educational leadership preparation (NELP) standards and the professional standards for educational leaders (PSEL) standards to maintain a successful educational leadership program.

School Leaders in a Time of Accountability and Data Use

2018 ◽  
pp. 235-259
Author(s):  
Evan G. Mense ◽  
Dana M. Griggs ◽  
Julius N. Shanks
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
High Stakes Testing ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
High Stakes ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
School Improvement Plan ◽  
Educational Leadership Programs ◽  
Quality School

School leaders are challenged with the task of high stakes testing and student achievement. In the data-driven K-12 setting, it is necessary to have quality school leaders in place. Universities are charged with preparing these quality school leaders. Educational leadership programs need to contain quality structure and key components. These key components required of leadership preparation programs consist of data, leadership style/theories, data culture/climate school leader organizational and management, school community relations, professional development, school/teacher improvement, school improvement plan (SIP), implementation of SIP goals, and field experience. These key components need to encompass the national educational leadership preparation (NELP) standards and the professional standards for educational leaders (PSEL) standards to maintain a successful educational leadership program.

Implementing School Improvement Plans: Perceptions and Implications of Aspiring Principals for Educational Leadership Programs

2020 ◽  
pp. 194277512096482
Author(s):  
Miguel M. Gonzales ◽  
Dana L. Bickmore ◽  
Maria B. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
School Improvement ◽  
Leadership Skills ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
School Improvement Plan ◽  
Principal Candidates ◽  
Educational Leadership Programs ◽  
Study Approach ◽  
Improvement Plan ◽  
Aspiring Principals ◽  
Data Driven Decisions

This study examines what aspiring principal candidates in one universitybase preparation program learned as a result of developing and implementing a school improvement plan. A case study approach was used to examine 53 aspiring principals’ reports of what they learned from implementing school improvement plans. Findings revealed three significant themes: (1) the importance of collaboratively engaging the participants of the school improvement plan; (2) the essential need of establishing relationships; and (3) understanding the significance and impact of data-driven decisions. Findings can inform leadership preparation programs to redirect coursework that will help aspiring principals improve leadership skills.

Reflections on the evolution of educational leadership preparation programs in the United States and challenges ahead

2015 ◽  
Vol 53 (3) ◽  
pp. 416-438 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martha McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
The United States ◽  
Political Climate ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
The Us ◽  
Educational Leadership Preparation Programs

Purpose – The purpose of this legacy paper is to review leadership preparation over time in the United States and addresses challenges ahead. It is hoped that the US developments will be instructive to an international audience interested in strengthening the preparation of school leaders. Design/methodology/approach – The paper synthesizes research and commentary on leadership preparation programs in the US as a basis for identifying five challenges ahead. Findings – Meaningful change should be informed by the past but not bound by tradition. It is imperative to be open to different viewpoints, to take reasonable – and at times bold – risks, and to question deeply held values and assumptions. Broad recognition of the significant role school leaders play in facilitating student learning suggests that the political climate is right to effect meaningful reforms in leadership preparation in the US. Those involved in preparing school leaders are urged to address the challenges identified in this paper. Research limitations/implications – Encouraging work is underway, but many more people need to be involved in efforts to rigorously assess and improve leadership preparation. Practical implications – We do not have all the answers but cannot be paralyzed by what we do not know. We are ethically responsible to act on what we do know, such as incorporating the compelling research on learning theory into the leadership preparation curriculum. Originality/value – The traditional complacency in the educational leadership professoriate cannot continue if university preparation programs are to meet the needs of the next generation of school leaders. The time is short, and the stakes are high for all involved especially for PK-12 students.

The Leaders of Leadership Preparation Programs: A Study of Program Coordinators at UCEA-Member Institutions

2018 ◽  
Vol 15 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-149
Author(s):  
W. Kyle Ingle ◽  
Joanne M. Marshall ◽  
Donald G. Hackmann
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Leadership Programs ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Program Coordinators ◽  
Educational Leadership Programs

Using a cross-sectional survey, we collected data from program coordinators at UCEA-member institutions to understand the various roles, time investments, and cost commitments associated with program coordination, including incentives institutions provide (or do not provide) for assuming such responsibilities. We seek to improve our understanding of the work and role(s) program coordinators play, the time commitments they report, and the types of incentives provided for assuming the role of program coordination of educational leadership programs. Understanding these roles help us understand how best to support these leaders in administering quality preparation programs.

Got theory?: Reconceptualizing the nature of the theory-practice gap in K-12 educational leadership

2019 ◽  
Vol 57 (1) ◽  
pp. 2-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rachel Roegman ◽  
Sarah Woulfin
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Theory And Practice ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Institutional Contexts ◽  
Practice Gap ◽  
Theory Practice Gap ◽  
K 12

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to reconceptualize the theory-practice gap in educational leadership, not as a deficit, but as a necessity for legitimacy within institutional contexts. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws on institutional theory to reframe the theory-practice gap, which is often seen as a deficit of leaders or preparation programs. Findings Three vignettes illustrate how aspiring and current educational leaders engage with theory and practice within specific contexts and in relation to specific aspects of leadership. Importantly, the vignettes show that when school leaders decouple theory from practice, they may be doing so to function as legitimate providers of K-12 educational leadership. Research limitations/implications The theory-practice gap, while often perceived as something negative, can have certain benefits within particular contexts. Scholars interested in the interconnections of theory and practice would benefit from considering why and how school leaders engage theory and practice. Practical implications Implications for leadership preparation programs highlight developing more complex views of the challenges that leaders face in tightly coupling theory and practice. To support future and current leaders, leadership preparation programs need to ensure that their students understand their institutional contexts and the reasons that leaders may decouple theory from action in various ways. Originality/value Instead of viewing the theory/practice gap as a deficit, this paper argues for a new way to consider why school leaders and leadership candidates may engage with theory and practice in different ways.

scholarly journals How Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation Programs Hone the Interpersonal-Intrapersonal (i2) Skills of Future Leaders

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan A. VanGronigen ◽  
Kathleen M.W. Cunningham ◽  
Michelle D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
Transformational Learning ◽  
Learning Experiences ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Coach Leadership ◽  
Educational Leadership Preparation Programs ◽  
Educational Leadership Preparation

John P. Kotter argues that business schools continue to prepare leaders for 20th century needs, as they typically teach students how to manage an organization, rather than how to lead one. In this article, we explore how Kotter’s assertion applies to educational leadership preparation programs. We examine the ways a purposive sample of exemplary programs structure and implement learning experiences for aspiring educational leaders. Leveraging our findings from these cases and the literature on transformational learning and leadership, we argue that today’s programs should include “powerful learning experiences” that challenge and coach leadership candidates to build the skills and capacities necessary to both manage and lead organizations. If educational leaders are the “driving subsystem” for school improvement efforts, then leadership preparation must move aspiring leaders beyond technical competence and toward the more transformational aspects of leading.

scholarly journals Research Courses in Educational Leadership Programs: Relevance in an Era of Accountability

2011 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Rebecca M. Bustamante ◽  
Julie P. Combs
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
School Improvement ◽  
School Leadership ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
Leadership Programs ◽  
Research Skills ◽  
Inquiry Skills ◽  
Course Content ◽  
Educational Leadership Programs ◽  
Course Offerings

This study examined master’s degree level research course offerings of 72 university educational leadership programs to examine the relevance of course content to the research skills required of practicing school leaders. Researchers analyzed course titles and descriptions using a classic content analysis approach and the method of constant comparison. The number of research courses required by each program was analyzed descriptively. Findings revealed considerable variation in research course requirements, course titles, and course descriptions between university programs, suggesting a potential lack of consensus on the importance of research skills to school leadership as well as on how these skills typically are identified and described. Analysis of course descriptions indicated minimal emphasis on inquiry skills focused on actual school improvement and program evaluation. This research points to the need for further studies on research course offerings and the inquiry skills needed by practicing school leaders.

Promoting Social Justice and Caring in Schools and Communities: The Unrealized Potential of the Cohort Model

2001 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 313-334 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raymond A. Horn
Keyword(s):  
Social Justice ◽  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Instructional Methods ◽  
Educational Leaders ◽  
Organizational Structures ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
Cohort Model ◽  
Preparation Programs ◽  
Administrative Practices ◽  
Educational Leadership Preparation

The problem of the efficacy of educational leadership as a promoter of just and caring change in schools and communities is explored in the context of educational leadership preparation practices. An exploration of this problem is based on the premise that despite the use of innovative instructional methods, in most cases current preparation programs merely reproduce the use of modernistic administrative practices and organizational structures. Here, the cohort model is identified as a means to promote just, caring, and relevant educational leadership. After a review of the benefits, drawbacks, and the nature of the use of cohorts in leadership preparation programs, a cohort structure is examined that will prepare educational leaders who are able to promote just and caring change in our postmodern communities.

Professional Standards for Educational Leadership

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michelle D. Young
Keyword(s):  
Educational Leadership ◽  
Educational Administration ◽  
School Leaders ◽  
National Policy ◽  
Leadership Preparation ◽  
The United States ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Professional Standards ◽  
School Level ◽  
Professional Fields

Standards are used in a variety of professional fields to identify core elements of practice within the field as well as to describe a desired level of performance. The first set of standards for the field of educational leadership in the United States was introduced in 1996 by the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC). Since then, they have become the de facto national standards for educational leaders. The ISLLC standards have been updated three times and were recently renamed Professional Standards for School Leaders (PSEL) under the authority of the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA). Over this same period of time, multiple sets of sister standards (e.g., standards for leadership preparation) have emerged as have evaluation tools and practice resources. Soon after their release, a variety of concerns were raised about the standards and their potential impact on the practice of education leadership, particularly school level leadership. Some argued that the standards were too broad, while others argued that they were too specific. Similarly, concerns were raised about the focus of the standards and what was left out or only weakly included. These and other concerns continued to plague newer versions of the standards. Concerns notwithstanding, today, educational leadership standards are fully embedded in the lifeworld of the educational leadership profession. They have been adopted and adapted by states, districts, professional organizations, and accrediting bodies and used in a variety of ways, including: setting expectations for educational leadership preparation and practice, state certification, leadership recruitment, professional development and support, and evaluating leadership practice.

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