Much of the literature criticizing university-based school leadership preparation programs concludes that programs are, at best, reluctant to change, a conclusion often based more on anecdotal stories than a more systematic inquiry. This article provides evidence on the extent of change in programs since passage of the "Standards for Advanced…

Increasing criticism of practicing educational leaders has led to additional critiques of the university programs in which they are prepared. In response, many states have mandated statewide university preparation program redesign. The articles in this special issue describe five unique cases of principal preparation program redesign--including…

Calls for changing educational leadership preparation have led many state policy makers to initiate program redesign efforts; the governor of Alabama constituted a working group to examine the situation and develop recommendations. This article details the school leadership preparation program redesign process in Alabama from the perspective of…

This case study presents a chronicle of events spanning a decade in Kentucky that led to state policy changes for principal preparation and details the response to those mandated changes by professors at the University of Kentucky. Professors' collaborative efforts resulted in a new teacher leadership program and redesigned principal…

This article provides a descriptive case study of the process used at one of North Carolina's public universities to respond to a state-mandated "revisioning" directive for educational leadership preparation programs. The case provides an overview of the state educational leadership policy context, discussion of state and local…

In 2007, educational leadership programs in Florida were notified by Florida's Department of Education of a law requiring all programs to align with new legislation, State Rule 6A-5.081. Previously, most state-approved preparation programs were based on Florida's Leadership Preparation Standards, a version of the 1996 Interstate School…

In 2004, the New Jersey Department of Education issued a mandate to the 17 leadership preparation program providers to revise their leadership preparation programs after completing a critical friends review. This case study explores the challenges, programmatic, and political experiences of one preparation program as state support dwindled.…

There is a pervasive and ongoing perception that leadership preparation is a problem. Important questions remain about the intentions, capacity, and impact of state departments of education engaged in leadership preparation program redesign. In this essay, I take up several issues concerning this state policy work, including whether a one size…

Aspiring leaders in preparation programs need up-to-date research applied in real-life situations. University faculty need to change their understandings of what it means to effectively promote leadership development through university programs. This article presents understandings on how exploratory, field-based coursework offered through a…

Universities interested in remodeling licensure programs to prepare 21st-century superintendents are faced with a plethora of data to guide curriculum design. This article summarizes survey and focus group findings from current and prospective superintendents and outlines how these data informed the restructuring of the superintendent licensure…

This article argues that a framework of educational leadership must be so designed as to specifically speak to the transitioning demographics in schools in the United States. Particularly salient is a framework that addresses the issue of race within a broader context of social justice. The article outlines five ingredients of such a framework,…

This article identifies four elements of complexity that influence how university educational leadership programs can leverage program change: faculty reward systems, faculty governance, institutional resources, and state-level influence on leadership preparation. Following the discussion of the elements of complexity, the article provides a…

This article looks at shifts in pedagogy used to prepare school leaders. "Leaders for America's Schools" is the focus around which the authors build their case, beginning with a recap of the early phases of administrator training. Next, the authors examine "A Nation at Risk" and the impact the educational reform movement had on administration…

The research in this special issue of the "Journal of Research in Leadership Education" (JRLE) is critically important for moving forward the practice of school leader preparation. The articles are well done and each includes at least one multimedia example of technology-suffused educational leadership pedagogy in practice. Every one of these…

This paper reports a review of the professionalization services in educational leadership available from New Zealand's tertiary institutions at a time of accelerating retirements and turnover. Case studies of current programs identified six urgent policy issues: the need for research-based provisions in early childhood education (ECE); potential…