The experience and reflection of participants of the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI) program are the focus of this article. Many Kansas superintendents face the challenge of working hundreds of miles from colleagues who wear similar hats and work in comparable roles. Often the closest professional mentors or peers live hours away,…

Strong leadership has a tremendous impact on organizations. This special edition of "Educational Considerations" highlights the journey of the Kansas Educational Leadership Institute (KELI), from inception to implementation. All of the authors in this special themed edition of "Educational Considerations" describe the various…

Over the past several years, public higher education, both in the U.S. and internationally, has increasingly been required to explain, defend, and validate its performance and value to a wide variety of constituents, including governors, legislators, students, parents, employers, and taxpayers. In addition, in 2006, then U.S. Secretary of…

The impact of the Great Recession and its aftermath has been devastating in Nevada, especially for public education. This article discusses the budget shortfalls and the impact of the economic crisis in Nevada using case study methodology. It provides a review of documents, including Governor Gibbon's proposals for the public K-12 education system…

In recent years, doctoral programs in education leadership have been subject to notable criticism and proposals for reform. Starting with a synthesis of this criticism, this article focuses on the two primary constituencies--university faculty members who teach in such programs, and school superintendents, who are the leading practitioners such…

Over the years, many scholars have criticized traditional leadership preparation programs for failing to produce qualified educational leaders capable of moving public education into the 21st century. As a result, many university-based principal preparation programs have introduced reforms aimed at better preparing future school leaders. Many of…

Each preservice or inservice teacher who faces the prospect of student diversity in clinical experiences or practice settings does so with an individual set of assumptions about cultures and languages that differ from his or her own. Mezirow (1991) maintained that reflections on such assumptions and presuppositions about oneself and others can…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) was founded in 1954 to serve as an independent body in promoting high quality teacher preparation programs. Its mission is to ensure accredited institutions produce high quality educators, administrators, and specialists able to meet the needs of all learners. Institutions seeking…

Standard 4-Diversity of the National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) requires that preservice teachers, or candidates, demonstrate and apply proficiencies related to diversity. To that end, preservice teachers need to develop the knowledge, skills, and dispositions to enable them to successfully work with diverse…

The National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) is the premier teacher education program accreditation body. In addition to reviewing teacher preparation programs in institutions of higher learning, NCATE also reviews school administration programs and other school specialist programs, including school counseling programs. The…

To be prepared to teach in an urban setting, preservice teachers must exit their teacher preparation program with a professional disposition toward equity and social justice as well as the knowledge and skills required to meet the needs of all students in their classroom. The National Council for the Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE)…

Accreditation bodies for institutions of higher education like the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) and Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC) require colleges and universities to create campus climates and experiences for students that foster diversity. In particular, schools of education have the…

In March 2007, Florida Atlantic University hosted a joint NCATE/Florida Department of Education site visit. This successful site visit and following Unit Accreditation Board report resulted in full NCATE accreditation with only one weakness cited. The weakness related to the implementation of the College's assessment system at the Advanced Levels.…

In a 1991 report, the Indian Nations at Risk Task Force documented a lack of Native educators as role models for Native American students and set a goal of doubling their number by the year 2000. Under-representation of Native American educators remains an issue today particularly with regard to school leaders (Planty et al. 2009; Snyder and…

Online learning has changed education in many ways. This change was not mandated, but instead filled a need expressed by students. A problem with this shift toward online teaching is that it has happened randomly and irregularly within K-12 systems. Demands from students for online learning at both K-12 and higher education levels have not always…