Educational Leadership Preparation Research Articles

Preparing Early Education Leaders: An Analysis of UCEA Principal Preparation Programs

Purpose: Recently, a confluence of factors has focused elementary school leaders on early education. One factor is that nearly 60 percent of all public elementary schools in the U.S. today have a Pre-K program in the building. Yet, prior research reveals that leaders are often not prepared to effectively lead early education programs. This study assesses the current state of early education leadership preparation among UCEA-affiliated programs. Method: Using a sequential explanatory mixed-methods approach, our study draws on survey data from 232 principal preparation faculty members at UCEA-affiliated programs, follow-up interviews with 20 purposively sampled survey respondents, and content analysis of 113 program web pages. Findings: We found that preparation programs currently afford little attention to early education leadership coursework and content, despite faculty expressing it as an important goal. Only four percent of faculty from the survey reported that their program required a course focused on child development and/or early education—a finding corroborated by the website analysis. Last, our interviews reveal reasons for the limited engagement with early education leadership, including time constraints, limited faculty experience, and licensure and accreditation requirements. Implications: Policymakers aiming to improve early education leadership may revise principal certification requirements that could prompt revisions in principal preparation programs. Principal preparation programs, similarly, could revise their programming to intentionally expose principal candidates to key topics in early education leadership. A bi-directional and concerted reform effort is likely needed to meaningfully advance change in this area.

An Examination of Educational Leadership Preparation in Ontario: Are Principals Prepared to Lead Equitably?

<p>In response to the changing demographics of schools in Canada and efforts to better equip principals to challenging inequity, leadership preparation programs have adopted new policies focused more on leading with an equity lens. However, studies have demonstrated a disconnect between what is covered in these leadership programs and how school principals actually perceive their ability to lead equitably and work with diverse learners. Six current school principals and vice principals in Ontario, Canada who have successfully completed a Principal Qualification Program (PQP) course were interviewed to understand their perceptions on the program’s ability to prepare them to lead, and their perceptions on concepts of equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI). The racial experiences and identities of each participant shaped their definitions of EDI, as well as their understandings of difference. Study findings indicate several critical areas of change for principal preparation programs in Ontario: training guidelines, efforts to prepare educators to be equitable leaders, and the educators’ perceptions on their preparedness to lead. Utilization of Critical Race Theory in Education and Applied Critical Leadership additionally help frame analysis and support the need to integrate culturally relevant pedagogical practice into leadership preparation programs.</p>

Preparing school leaders for social justice: An analysis of educational leadership preparation programs in Jamaica

The purpose of this study was to explore the extent to which the curricula across three educational leadership preparation programs in Jamaica are addressing issues of social justice and social justice leadership in their preparation of aspiring school leaders. The methodological approach used was content analysis to determine the presence or absence of specific concepts within leadership preparation programs’ curricula. Increasingly, several scholars in education have been using this technique to explore how different concepts are addressed across leadership preparation programs. Findings revealed that the three leadership preparation programs gave minimal attention to preparing current and aspiring school leaders to engage in social justice leadership. Implications are offered for local policymakers and their reconceptualization of the job requirements of principals, leadership preparation programs, and faculty teaching in these programs.

Advancing Instructional Leadership: Instructional Coaching Skills Development Through Mixed Reality Experiences

Educational leadership preparation programs are tasked with advancing the development of future educational leaders’ instructional capacities, including the ability to engage teachers in instructional conversations through instructional coaching. The educational leadership program studied here includes a mixed reality experience designed to develop future educational leaders’ instructional coaching conversation skills. Therefore, the purpose of this research study was to examine future educational leaders’ perceptions of the development of instructional coaching conversation skills because of participation in the mixed reality experience. Findings indicated that, overall, participants held positive views of the mixed reality experience in supporting their development of instructional coaching conversation skills. Additionally, participants indicated development of other skills including, on-the-spot thinking, confidence, and reflection, among other skills. Results suggest that mixed reality experiences provide authentic, realistic learning opportunities to develop instructional leadership capacities.

Culturally Intelligent Educational Leaders: Effectiveness of Preparation Programs in Developing Educational Leaders Cultural Intelligence

The burgeoning cultural diversity in public schools calls for culturally competent educational leaders. Drawing on the theoretical framework of cultural intelligence (CQ), this quantitative, causal–comparative study examines the relationship between educational leadership preparation programs and participants’ cultural competence development. Data collected from 546 graduate students at 54 U.S. universities and analyzed using an independent samples t-test revealed no statistically significant difference between program starters’ and program completers’ aggregate CQ, cognitive CQ, and metacognitive CQ. Program completers had significantly lower levels of motivational CQ and behavioral CQ than program starters . Findings yield implications for educational leadership research and preparation programs.

What Do School Administrators Think About Race? A Critical Race Mixed-Method Study

Purpose: This study intends to be a catalyst in preparing school leaders to go beyond the call of social justice, to step into the role of anti-racist school leaders who advocate and actualize systemic changes in the educational landscape. Research Methods: Data were gathered using a mixed method approach, starting with an online survey (ARDSA) of 223 school administrators across Texas followed by in-depth interviews with a representative sample of 19 school administrators. Data analysis techniques included quantitative analysis of surveys to determine school and district administrators’ perceptions of racism in schools and need for professional development followed by qualitative analysis to look for patterns and themes. Findings: Women agreed significantly more than men on Perceptions of Racial Inequities, Perceptions of Equitable Expectations, Addressing Racism, Critical Self-Awareness about Race, and Professional Development on Antiracism. Black and Latinx participants placed higher value on Engaging in Dialogues about Race with close connections more than Whites. Latinx and White participants agreed more with the items on remaining silent when witnessing or hearing about racism. Themes that emerged from the qualitative phase of this study included: Fear of Talking about Race, and Lack of Preparation from Educational Leadership Programs to Address Matters of Race. Implications: School districts and educational leadership preparation programs should be intentional about professional development, curriculum, and experiences that support leaders in developing critical awareness about race, understanding positionality and its role in school leadership, critical policy analysis, and engaging in courageous conversations that center race.

Wisdom of the Outsiders Within: How Career Technical Education Leaders Can Inform Educational Leadership Preparation

This study examines insights from Career and Technical Education (CTE) leaders that help to better inform the preparation of all school leaders. CTE leaders find themselves in the interesting position of being inside the PK-12 system but at the outside edge. This outsider within perspective not only gives CTE leaders a unique understanding of schools but also on the preparation of school leaders. These practitioners helped to identify three key areas of focus for leadership preparation: a new focus on college and career readiness, the importance of instructional leadership, and an expanded understanding of community.

Developing Educational Leadership in Mathematics and Science: Insights From Teaching and Learning Faculty

This study extends existing research on content-specific leadership for mathematics and science and educational leadership preparation. Interview data from mathematics and science education faculty reveal that principals should know what questions to ask teachers about instruction, be able to identify high-quality mathematics and science teaching in classrooms, recognize specific considerations related to mathematics and science, and attend to equity in science and mathematics classrooms. Interview data suggest principals support mathematics and science by fostering a culture that values mathematics and science, providing resources, prioritizing depth in instruction, dedicating time for inquiry and exploration, and trusting and empowering teachers with expertise.

On Being Ed Emcees: Toward Hip-Hop Educational Leadership Theory, Research, and Praxis

ABSTRACT Advocating for the advancement of hip-hop based education, critical qualitative research, and leadership for educational equity, I explain a theory of hip-hop educational leadership and discuss findings from my hip-hopography of hip-hop educational leaders who are spoken word artists, poets, rappers, or emcees and serve as community partners inside urban high schools across the United States. Using blackout poetic transcription to analyze data, I suggest that these individuals can be called educational emcees, who invoke love as a condition for learning and engagement in their schools through a series of meaningful practices. These individuals also embody poetry and spoken word as an organic hip-hop pedagogy. Opportunities for additional qualitative research about hip-hop educational leadership and educational emcees are presented, along with implications for education leadership preparation, recruitment, and development.

Interweaving resilience: leadership of continuous improvement partnerships and Mary Parker Follett's theory of relational process

PurposeFollett's relational process theory illuminates key aspects of interdependence among organizations in the field of education that are essential to fostering capacities for interorganizational resilience. The article argues for the necessity of developing mutualism in systems of education as essential preparation for times of instability and crisis, as demonstrated through recent experiences with the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThis article provides an introduction to the relational process theory of Mary Parker Follett, a foundational theorist of organizing and administration. This theoretical review uses worked examples drawn from a collaborative, continuous improvement partnership focused on educational leadership preparation and development.FindingsThe author identifies four aspects of Follett's theory that connect most directly to collaborative, continuous improvement partnerships. These include mutualism as circular response, coactive power, embrace of difference through constructive conflict and integrating experience through learning. The article discusses how these offer an integrated framework of foundational concepts for nurturing and sustaining educational systems capable of adaptive change in the face of complex challenges.Originality/valueFollett's relational process theory offers a perspective on partnering as a dynamic and evolving constellation of interactions and activity. The implications of Follett's core ideas for education resonate beyond improvement partnerships and offer guidance at all levels of educational systems seeking to orient towards an evolutionary logic.

Critical reflection to develop transformative consciousness of racial differences

ABSTRACT Aspiring educational leaders must understand their own culture and the cultures of others to lead schools effectively and realise equitable outcomes for traditionally marginalised students. To explore the potential for professional learning to affect students’ frames of reference regarding cultural interactions, we analysed self-reflection papers from graduate students within an educational leadership preparation programme at a US public university. We investigated sociocultural distortions of race and ethnicity when students reflected on their first-hand (direct contact and conversations) and second-hand (news reports and stories) encounters with people who are phenotypically different from themselves. The course included readings, discourse, and reflective journaling about racial interactions. We utilised Mezirow’s theory of transformative learning to understand how students developed self-awareness and progressed through stages of intercultural competence and sensitivity. Most participants progressed through developmental stages of intercultural sensitivity, and many moved from ethnocentric to ethnorelative stances. Findings indicate the importance of purposely designing learning experiences that allow aspiring leaders to critically self-reflect on topics of race and equity prior to assuming formal leadership positions.

“We’ve Been Forgotten”: First-Hand Perspectives on Teacher Leaders and Teacher Leadership in Urban Schools

The use of teacher leadership in PK-12 education has experienced a resurgence since the late 1990s as school leadership models have evolved to include the engagement of diverse stakeholders in school and district leadership processes aimed at improvement efforts. Despite this resurgence, there remain several barriers to understanding the nature of the work in which teacher leaders engage and the contributions that they make. This grounded theory study examined teacher perceptions of teacher leadership, the types of work in which teacher leaders do and should engage, the boundaries of that work, and barriers to teacher leadership. Leveraging interviews with teachers in a large urban school district, we found that teachers function in many domains of work and are eager for pathways to leverage their expertise, but some faced a lack of access to their school’s leadership and management space. We conclude by discussing the implications from our findings for school- and district-level leaders, local and state policymakers, and educational leadership preparation programs.

Racial and Dis/Ability Equity-Oriented Educational Leadership Preparation

In this paper we discuss the connection between the lack of special education specific preparation for leaders and decades of evidence of racial inequities in special education. In doing so, we have a four-fold purpose. First, we outline the basic IDEA legal requirements that educational leadership preparation programs should provide prospective leaders. Second, we argue that educational leaders must develop a nuanced lens when engaging with the IDEA, informed by critical special and dis/Ability studies. Three, we provide a situated critique rooted in current IDEA racial equity monitoring to show how technical mandates are insufficient for assuring justice and equity on the ground level. And fourth, we propose three key components that should be added to special education leadership preparation programs in order to better prepare future administrators to achieve the goals of IDEA and reduce racial and dis/Ability disparities. We conclude it is imperative for future leaders to be equipped with the necessary IDEA legal literacy and critical dispositions so that educational equity and justice are possible for Black, Indigenous Youth of Color (BIYOC) with and without dis/Abilities in schools.
 
 

School Leadership During COVID-19

In one university-based school leadership preparation program, aspiring school principals were asked to intern virtually with principals during the COVID-19 school closures. During this internship experience, they interviewed principals about leading during a pandemic and wrote reflective responses explaining what they learned about leading during the pandemic. This case study examines the reflections and lessons learned of leading schools during COVID-19 from 27 aspiring principals in two cohorts of a university-based school leadership preparation program. The researchers employed an abductive qualitative analysis for each aspiring principals' reflection using both deductive and inductive coding methods. Findings revealed fourth themes: (1) the need for structure and organization, (2) attending humanistic needs, (3) struggling to respond to policy changes; and (4) finding meaning and uplifting morale. This study can be used to help inform and guide educational leadership preparation and development programs on how to redirect coursework and field-based experiences to better prepare aspiring school principals to lead during school closures.

K-12 school leadership perspectives from the COVID-19 pandemic

The 2020 global pandemic ushered in an unparalleled call to dramatically shift the focus of how school administrators responded to the COVID-19 pandemic. The transition needed to ensure the continuity of instruction in a distance learning environment demanded a new level of urgency. The long-term impact of COVID-19 presents new leadership challenges and continues to amplify the need for change during the global health crisis. This study aimed to understand the preparedness of school administrators in the United States of America as they responded to the worldwide pandemic and their perceived opportunities and challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. This case study collected data from a survey and interviews to investigate how school leaders rose to the occasion while working through unprecedented challenges. The findings revealed several new opportunities: visionary leadership, resources to address disparities, increased community partnerships, and innovative instructional models. The challenges faced by school leaders encompassed the digital divide, staffing shortages, online instructional practices, communication with families, and staff professional development. This study offers specific implications for school leaders and educational leadership preparation programs.

(De)Centering Whiteness at Summit High: Reflections of a Racialized Rural United States

This case was specifically written for practicing school leaders, as well as educational leadership preparation programs, to help create a nuanced conversation about how to decenter whiteness in the practices and policies of rural schools in the United States. The work is challenging, particularly given how race is baked into social institutions throughout the United States, including but not limited to financial, health care, and education systems. Educators reading this case should examine the historic factors that contribute to a racialized rural United States, as well as what can be done within rural education systems to help decenter whiteness.

Pedagogical gaps in the bridge from classroom to field for pre-service principal competence development

PurposeThis cross-sectional survey captured educational leadership preparation programs' (ELPPs') relative emphases on 12 evidence-based school leadership competences and related pedagogical approaches to identify the gap between optimal performance per the literature base and actual practice reported for US ELPPs.Design/methodology/approachA survey with closed and open-ended questions was sent to all program coordinators of US-based ELPPs.FindingsResults indicate instructional leadership and use of data are especially emphasized competences, and readings and class-based work were the most prevalent modes of instruction. The most prevalent teaching methods are text and class-based work, and residencies/internships. The least prevalent are instructional tools associated with practice and rehearsal, such as simulations.Research limitations/implicationsThe data were collected prior to the world-wide shift in educational delivery associated with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. While they do not capture during-pandemic approaches, the national-level findings provide an impetus for altering or strengthening approaches to leader preparation based upon the shortcomings these results suggest.Originality/valueThere has been no previous inquiry into all US ELPPs regarding how their curriculum aligns with empirically based leadership competences, what their pedagogical approaches include or the needs they identify to further improve their program's quality.

Educational Leadership Preparation Program Features and Graduates’ Assessment of Program Quality

Leadership preparation is essential in developing critical skills of effective school leaders. Educational leadership preparation programs vary greatly in terms of program features, it is important to identify which specific elements are likely associated with program quality. Using multiple years of Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement through Research in Educational Leadership (INSPIRE) data, this study analyzes the relationships between program features and graduates’ assessments of overall program quality. Our main finding is that multiple program features matter in quality preparation, including cohort model, face-to-face course delivery, field-based assessment, and strong district partnerships. Implications for policy and future research are discussed.

School Leadership in the Era of Neoliberalism

A lot of ink has been spilled to create a consensus around the meaning of the concept of leadership. This is so because the concept of leadership currently dominates the language of organizations including schools. What instead happened is a deluge of assumptions including but not limited to the beliefs that; leadership is static; it can be taught objectively and effectively to a different group of people in various situations; it can be learned quickly and easily, and the context is a secondary or tertiary importance. These assumptions gave birth to the leadership development industrial complex, an explosion of leadership training programs all over the world especially in the United States. This growing industry promises to create transformative and high performing leaders for a small fee. Despite this training explosion, it is the opinion of several scholars that leadership failure is almost everywhere. They wonder whether the leadership development industry has improved the human condition. The elephant in the room is the neo‑ liberal context in which all the above is taking place. Neoliberalism is an ideology whose proponents advocate the deregulation of the economy, liberalization of trade and industry and the privatization of state‑owned enterprise. This ideology pushes individuals to see themselves as self‑interested actors rather than people working for the social good. The new managerialism becomes the dominant form of management in organizations whose focus is on productivity, efficiency, surveillance, and accountability. Educational institutions are not immune to the new managerialism whose introduction deserves to be interrogated. Neoliberalism turns teachers and school principals into technicians rather than professionals. The influence of managerialism on education pol‑ icies is efficiency in all matters which leaves no room for the pursuit of equity, excellence and ethics and social justice (Codd, 1993). What vision of education should prospective schools’ leaders develop while they are being forced to adopt a managerialist approach to the leadership of school? Should school leaders develop both the ability to resist and build coalitions with proponents of neoliberalism at all costs? Neoliberalism has successfully coopted our education practitioners and students to turn them into docile minds and docile bodies to the service of the market. The question this phenomenon raises is whether faculty in education leadership preparation programs are preparing their candidates for a meaningful and purposeful life. Perhaps public education should focus on society reproduction, but individual values cannot be ignored. Unfortunately, the neoliberalism ideology and its proponents have taken it upon themselves to prioritize these values less. Hence the ideological struggle continues between proponents and opponents of the impact of neoliberalism in organizations but more specifically in schools.

Perceptions and experiences of leadership in undergraduate nurse education: A narrative inquiry

BackgroundThis research explored the experiences and perceptions of leadership preparation in pre-registration nursing education. The development of leadership skills in the pre-registration period is often considered a continuous process, and evidence suggests there has been an inconsistent approach to leadership within undergraduate nurse education. Exploring perceptions of experiences in this area was deemed important to guide future leadership development for undergraduate nursing students and formed the rationale for this Doctoral study. Design and methodsThe phenomena of interest were the expectations, experiences and perceptions of student nurses, academics, and nurses in preparation for the role of leadership. A narrative methodology to learning and contexts of learning was applied, data collection included semi structured interviews conducted early in 2020. Metaphorical associations through images are thought to support leadership development and philosophies; therefore, photographic elicitation was used to evoke association and emotions, facilitate reflection, and enable expression. The framework for narrative inquiry combined with the theoretical background was used for data analysis. ResultsLeadership is perceived to be an important aspect of the role of a qualified nurse and should be considered as central to learning development for undergraduate students. While all participants valued the importance of leadership in nursing, this research revealed how each narrated experience of leadership holds emotional impact on how leadership is viewed in self and others. ConclusionsParticipants' experience shaped each story of perceptions of leadership, both within education and in clinical practice. Students' narratives revealed tensions between expectations of leadership, defining leadership and associating their experiences with a personal vision of self as leader in the future role, along with a perceived disconnect between the social and cultural experiences and context of learning. Tensions within the experiences of the academics also revealed a juxtaposition between aligning their experience of leadership with the educational preparation of students and the experiences from clinical leadership, within the social constructs of dual professions and learning contexts.