Research on leadership preparation programs in our field typically focuses on program design and delivery mode (e.g., closed cohorts, internships, distance learning, partnerships), curriculum and pedagogy (e.g., learning theories, syllabi content, learning outcomes), and occasionally program faculty. A critically missing component of research is…

This article provides an overview of the contexts, the key features, and the evidentiary data--the criteria regarding candidates to engage in administrative work--for five innovative principal preparation programs. Short case studies and cross-case analysis of the sample programs are used to provide thorough descriptions. The five programs in fact…

This article describes an innovative approach, developed by North Carolina State University, to prepare leaders specifically for work in rural schools in high poverty districts. Operating with Race-to-the-Top funding, the Northeast Leadership Academy is a selective program with embedded practice and focused summer community internships. The…

The Educational Leadership Master's Cohort Program at Delta State University was redesigned in 2011 to reflect current industry standards and streamline the program. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the program has provided a nationally acclaimed model for principal preparation. The recent redesign focused on preparing school principals to…

Despite the dramatic shift in demographics occurring within public schools, there is still a dismal amount of research connecting issues of diversity and race with the curricula guiding educational leadership preparation programs. In the field of leadership preparation, little information has been offered as to how professors facilitate social…

Within the context of a pilot leadership seminar, this participatory action research project explores how to effectively lead in turbulent learning environments regulated by federal policy that mandates high levels of student achievement coupled with a rigorous standards-based reform movement. Our analysis indicates: (a) adult development is a…

This article describes the process of replacing a modest Master's level school leader preparation program with an innovative Ed.D. program at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). The new doctoral program is intensive, highly selective, intellectually rigorous, and field-based. The authors provide side-by-side comparisons of the difference…

In the globalized and technological world in which we now live, school leaders must be prepared to engage in complex and interdependent systems. Hierarchical power and authority will not provide the leader with the capacity to challenge people and systems to adapt and change to the emerging needs of students from differing social, political, and…

Despite the dramatic shift in demographics occurring within public schools, there is scarce research connecting issues of diversity and race with the curricula guiding educational leadership preparation programs. In the field of leadership preparation, little information has been offered as to how professors facilitate social justice oriented…

Instead of focusing on how principals should be trained, an contrarian view is offered, grounded upon theoretical perspectives of experiential learning, and in particular, upon the theory of andragogy. A brief parable of the DoNoHarm School of Medicine is used as a descriptive analog for many principal preparation programs in America. The…

This article presents the findings from a longitudinal study of pre-service principals during their required internship. The authors investigated interns' perceived acquisition of skills to meet licensure standards using scaled scores on the Colorado Standards Knowledge (CSK) instrument and structured reflective journaling. The findings revealed…

This study proposes participatory action research as a signature pedagogy for principal preparation programs. Signature pedagogies bring professional knowledge and core values together in distinctive teaching and learning arrangements. A rationale and learning results are presented that describe key components of action research intended to help…

Currently, considerable difference exists between learning experiences for school administrators at the pre-service and in-service stages in their careers. Individuals aspiring to formal school leadership roles participate in learning experiences that are part of university-based administrator preparation programs. Those already serving in…

Investigates role and attitudes of on-campus mentors (public-school administrators) in a Texas university principal-preparation program. After completion of summer session, mentors were asked what they found rewarding about their role and what impact the experience had on their practice. Mentors also identified certain mentoring difficulties.…

Before instituting any new selection criteria for admission to principal preparation programs, the author considers several factors that are likely to interact with admission criteria. These include the impact on program enrollment, effects on applicants' choices in the marketplace, benefits likely to accrue from any new measures vis-a-vis faculty…