Research indicates that preparation programs featuring partnerships between universities and districts have a greater impact on career advancement of graduates than more conventional university-based programs. The University of Denver's (DU) Ritchie Program for School Leaders has been identified as a "model" of university-district…

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…

This paper considers the effectiveness of leadership development (LD) processes in relation to school leaders' needs within an eastern Chinese District Education Bureau (DEB). The analysis is based on Chinese and English sources relating to LD, documentary analysis of DEB initiatives and interviews with ten school leaders from two schools. The…

With the changing face of educational leadership, and the changes in programing for preparation programs, the question of the importance of developing specific leadership practices based on the size of districts served by the program arises. By looking at the relationship between leadership practices and the demographics of current leaders in…

Purpose: We used gatekeeping theory to frame our examination of whether and when educators with superintendent certification become superintendents, and how their likelihood of making that transition is influenced by race, sex, and other characteristics. Furthermore, we sought to identify variation in career pathways to the superintendency. Data…

Providing an in-depth look at the processes, pitfalls, and successes that can emerge from major education reform efforts at the state level, this volume covers the full policy change cycle in the development and transformation of the Illinois principal preparation program. Offering perspectives from the major stakeholder groups involved in…

This chapter provides the critical leadership logic model as a tool to help educators develop leadership-learning opportunities. This proactive logic model includes curricular and co-curricular educational experiences to ensure critical thinking through leadership education.

This study surveys educators who have completed, or are in their second year of, an administrative coaching program that results in a California Clear Administrative Credential, also known as Tier II. The purpose of the study is to determine the perceptions of these educators regarding whether current practices in administrative coaching programs…

I wrote this reflective piece in 1999 as I was assuming my first full-time position as a professor with limited administrative responsibilities at the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB). After 30-plus years in administrative roles in higher education that provided the opportunity to teach on a part-time basis only, I quickly became aware of…

Training School Principals as Talent Developers: An International Perspective focuses on how to prepare school principals to lead their schools by training and supporting teachers in their craft. The main goal of schools is improving teaching and learning in order to maximize students' potential to be college ready and career ready. Principals…

The pandemic has amplified and exacerbated many of the existing challenges facing the field of early childhood education and care (ECEC) and forced the field to innovate and change much of what had become the status quo. The McCormick Center has a 30-year history of providing intensive (6-12 months in duration), cohesive (curriculum content is…

The study aimed to examine the career attitudes of young individuals by certain variables. The study sample consisted of 173 volunteer students, 105 (60.7%) male and 68 (39.3%) female, studying at the Department of Sports Management of Istanbul University-Cerrahpasa Sports Sciences Faculty. In addition to a personal information form, the…

This article explores the case for integrating intellectual virtues into the curriculum and pedagogical practice of preparing future school leaders. Professional accreditation standards provided a foundation for demonstrating the role of intellectual virtue in the practice of effectively running schools. The Virtuous Scientist project served as…

Rural school principals continue to have difficulty hiring and retaining qualified teachers. Researchers have sought to determine the preferred type of preparation programs and the specific characteristics of teacher candidates, but few have specifically focused on the perceptions of the rural principal. The purpose of this study was to understand…

The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the challenges professors of educational leadership encounter as they prepare aspiring principals to be instructional leaders. Drawing upon an open-ended questionnaire and semi-structured interviews of professors from across the U.S.A., we analyzed significant statements and created themes that…