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Educational Leadership » Resources Available resources:
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Centers for Educational Leadership There is a great deal of innovative and original work being done nationally and internationally to support the effective performance of educational leaders. The centers described in this section focus on a broad range of educational issues and provide foundational research and knowledge advancement for the field. In addition, many of the centers provide opportunities for professional development for principals through fellowships, online learning, workshops, and coaching.
Institute
for Educational Leadership (IEL) In collaboration with the Laboratory for Student Success (LSS) at Temple University, IEL provides support for a network of principals in low performing schools from across the country who are participating in 24 educational leadership development programs funded by the U.S. Department of Education. Through this network (the School Leadership Learning Community or SLLC), established in January 2003, participants are able to communicate across sites, sharing their work and exchange leadership strategies. Several reports summarizing the work of program grantees can be downloaded at no charge. More of SLLC members and information about the work of program grantees is available here. An influential report of IEL, published in 2002, Leadership for Student Learning: Reinventing the Principalship, asserted that principals in the 21st century must be “instructional leaders,” committed to strengthening teaching and focused on data-driven accountability and practical professional development; “community leaders,” who make the school part of the larger community and engage a range of stakeholders as active school advocates; and “visionary leaders,” who articulate a set of values based on the belief that all children can achieve at high levels and mobilize others to embrace this vision. IEL's Educational Policy Fellowship provides an opportunity for 200 principals to participate in a 10-month in-service leadership development program that includes national events in Washington, DC, and activities specific to each of 12 state sites. E-lead website is a free on-line resource provided in collaboration with the Laboratory for Student Success that offers states and districts information about how to provide better professional development for principals. It includes the following 4 components:
Through a series of multi-sector task forces, including one on “Principal Leadership,” the School Leadership for 21st Century Initiative is developing policies and practices to support creation of a new generation of educational leaders. This initiative, a collaboration of several public and private funders, has developed several reports available for free download from the IEL web site. Laboratory
for Student Success (LSS) On May 20-21, 2002, LSS held a national invitational conference on educational leadership in Vienna, Virginia. The conference focused on what educational leaders need to know and be able to do to effectively lead in the 21st century and on how scientific research on educational leadership can be used to improve leadership practice and related policy. The conference was prompted by the 101st yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (NSSE), The Educational Leadership Challenge: Redefining Leadership for the 21st Century, edited by Joseph Murphy published in 2002 which addressed the challenges facing educational leaders in the 21st century and proposes some models for change. The volume argued that dramatic political, social, and economic changes, as well as changes within education, call for new ways of organizing and managing schools. Reports and recommendations from this conference were published in the September 2002 issue of The LSS Review. This issue includes short articles on the following issues addressed at the conference:
Another resource from LSS, the spring 2005 issue of its LSS Field Notes on Preparing and Supporting School Principals summarizes face-to-face discussions held among program representatives of the Institute for Educational Leadership's (IEL) School Leadership Learning Community (SLLC). In 2002 and 2003, the U.S. Department of Education funded 24 programs to develop and enhance pre- and in-service professional development for educational leaders serving high-need, low-performing schools. All of these programs are collaborations between districts and either universities, community-based organizations, or professional education associations. IEL established the SLLC in January 2003 to provide these leadership preparation programs with a communication and consultation network. The 2005 issue of Field Notes summarizes key points from these discussions. National
College for School Leadership in the UK (NCSL) All of NCSL's programs are based on its Leadership Development Framework, the 10 propositions of which describe the essential qualities of school leadership:
School leadership development programs created and implemented by the National College are grouped by the stage of a school leader's career that each supports. These loose and overlapping career stages, as identified in a “Think Tank” report developed by a group of educators across the UK, and the programs included in each are as follows: Programs for “emergent leaders” provide development and support for teachers just beginning to take on leadership and management responsibilities. These include (a) a fast track program for those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership early in their careers; (b) a program extending over 1-2 years with modules that allow for personalized learning at one's own pace; (c) an “equal access to promotion program for black and ethnic minority teachers in middle management;” (d) a 10-month program for groups of 2-4 middle-level leaders from primary, secondary, or special schools working with a coach; and (e) a program designed to meet the needs of women transitioning from middle to senior leadership. The “established leader program” for assistant and deputy head teachers (i.e. principals) who are not seeking to become head teachers but want to enhance their leadership skills. The National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) for “entry to leadership” is intended for preparing candidates for head teacher positions. This credential will be required of all new head teachers by 2009. The NPQH is a 6-15 month program, depending on a candidate's needs, that combines on-line learning and self-study with face-to-face events and visits to other schools. This program is based on the UK's National Standards for Headteachers, published in Sept 2004 and available for purchase on-line. Also included in programs for “entry to leadership” is the Early Headship Provision (EHP), which provides learning opportunities appropriated to the early years of serving as a head teacher. This program is gradually replacing the Headteacher Induction Programme (HIP). In the “advanced leadership” career stage, NCSL offers the Leadership Programme for Serving Headteachers (LPSH), which is open to those with three or more years of experience as a head teacher. It is linked to the NPQH and aligned with the National Standards. It provides a flexible and personalized approach to professional development. Finally, for those with more experience as a head teacher, there is the Development Programme for Consultant Leadership, which enables school leaders to further develop their facilitation, mentoring, and coaching skills. NCSL also offers “strategic programmes” that focus on various leadership issues or leadership in particular types of schools. All NCSL programs are taught not by full-time faculty but by “teams of facilitators” whose members are experienced and successful head teachers. The NCSL web site also offers a superb, vast library of research and position papers on all aspects of the principalship. Southern
Regional Education Board (SREB) Leadership Learning-centered
Program Funded by the Wallace Foundation, SREB's Leadership Learning-centered Program stimulates and supports the efforts of member states to strengthen the preparation of school leaders to improve school and classroom practices for student achievement. Through this program, SREB works with 12 urban school districts and their university partners to redesign school leadership preparation programs. (See description of the LEAD—Leadership for Educational Achievement in Districts--program in the Wallace Foundation web page.) In addition to LEAD, the Leadership Learning-centered Program includes two other major efforts: (1) the preparation of reports pointing out the need for change in how educational leaders are trained and recommending research-based practices and processes for addressing these needs and (2) the design of 14 curriculum modules intended to help state academies and university preparation programs equip principals and school leadership teams to improve instructional programs and student performance. Stanford
Educational Leadership Institute (SELI) A key component of SELI educational leadership training is the use of case studies. SELI programs include:
SELI also offers a joint MA (Policy and Organizational Leadership
Studies)/MBA degree program |
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