Leadership Preparation Programs Research Articles

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.

“Deeper Than a Lesson”: New Jersey School Superintendents’ Approaches to Culturally Relevant Education

This study investigates what equity-focused school superintendents know and believe about culturally relevant pedagogy and how their leadership practices align with the tenets of culturally responsive leadership. We interviewed a diverse sample of 23 New Jersey district leaders who self-identified or were identified by others as equity oriented. Participant responses revealed an incomplete understanding of culturally relevant frameworks, although their practices often reflected the underlying principles of culturally responsive school leadership. Our findings demonstrate the need for leadership preparation programs to focus on both how and why culturally relevant education can be put into practice.

Equity as a Crucial Component of Leadership Preparation and Practice

As schools become more racially, socioeconomically, and linguistically diverse, there are increasing calls for educational leaders to be more representative of student demographics and be explicitly prepared to advance equity through culturally responsive/relevant leadership practices. We discuss how applying an equity lens to three key content areas taught in leadership preparation programs (building relationships, culturally diverse practices, and practical opportunities for learning) can lead to both improved student outcomes and educator retention, particularly for teachers of color. We close with questions for school districts and leadership programs—and for aspiring principals and superintendents—to consider in bringing to life equity-oriented educational leadership practices.

School Leadership under Covid-19 Pandemic: A Critique of the South African School Context

Abstract The advent of COVID-19 exposed the lack of readiness for school leaders to cope with demands of leading during a pandemic. Globally, school leaders were not trained to deal with a crisis of COVID-19 proportions. Leaders in the twenty-first century need to have the required skills like the twenty-first century leadership skills and Fourth Industrial Revolution skills. This study investigated how school leaders are handling the challenges of school leadership under the COVID-19 pandemic in the 4IR era. This study adopted a qualitative research approach. An analysis of local and international literature was done to identify gaps. The study revealed that school leaders and teachers have inadequate information and communication technology skills. Leadership preparation programmes are lagging behind in preparing school leaders to lead in a crisis. Furthermore, the study revealed that school leaders and teachers do not establish communities of learning to learn leadership skills from each other. The study has concluded that there is no alignment between the level of readiness for school leaders and leadership skills of the twenty-first century.

Conflict-competent leadership

Conflict management is one of the most stressful and frustrating aspects of a school leader’s job. An inability to overcome conflicting viewpoints, ever more palpable in today’s polarized climate, stymies innumerable school reform efforts. Yet, the subject is rarely examined in graduate-level leadership preparation programs or in-service professional development. Robert Feirsen and Seth Weitzman explain that conflict in schools is normal and discuss why knowing how to manage conflict can strengthen leaders and build capacity for school improvement. They offer specific strategies to build conflict resolution skills and embed collaborative problem solving in school culture.

Leadership preparation in progress: evidence from a district-university partnership

PurposeThis study aims to analyze the experiences of a closed cohort of aspiring leaders and connects the university and school district partnership relationship to building the leadership capacity of the cohort. This study builds on previous literature in district-university partnerships and leadership preparation. Powerful learning experiences (PLEs) and interpersonal-intrapersonal leadership development models serve as frames to examine how aspects of successful leadership preparation programs were present.Design/methodology/approachThis qualitative study was conducted with a team of researchers from the university and school district and relies on data from semi-structured interviews with students from the closed cohort.FindingsResearchers identified three major themes of aspiring leaders' preparation experience: confidence building, reflection and mindset change.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the emerging literature on PLEs by illustrating how this type of partnership creates opportunities for powerful learning experiences for aspiring school leaders.

Learning Improvement Science to Lead: Conditions that Bridge Professional Development to Professional Action

Background: As more education practitioners adopt techniques of improvement science to address problems of practice, there is an increasing demand for leaders with the knowledge and capacity to lead improvement efforts. However, little research explores how school leaders learn to lead improvement science in their school context or the challenges they may face in doing so. To ensure leaders are supported in learning increasingly common school improvement frameworks, there is a need to understand better the contextual conditions that may influence how practitioners come to learn and lead improvement science in their school contexts. Purpose: The purpose of this research paper is twofold: first, to understand how contextual conditions throughout a learner’s journey into, during, and after an educational leadership program could influence aspiring and current leaders’ efforts to lead improvement science. Second, the study aimed to explore the broader question of how context influences a practitioner’s ability to mobilize new knowledge into action. The researchers introduced the concept of “improvement science fluency” as a methodological contribution to specify the capabilities required to learn and lead improvement science effectively. The research question guiding the inquiry was: “What are the conditions that influenced the development of educational leaders’ improvement science fluency?” Research Design: The study focused on participants who completed a 10-week improvement science course as part of an educational leadership preparatory program at a large public university in Southern California. The research team conducted semistructured interviews with 17 participants who met the inclusion criteria of recalling and using the course concepts in their work since graduating from the program. Interviews were audio-recorded, transcribed, and coded using a weighted coding schema to assess participants’ improvement science fluency in guiding principles, tools, and dispositions. The research team analyzed the data to identify conditions that influenced participants’ application and adaptation of improvement science, categorized as professional experiences prior to the course, experiences within the course, and conditions in the organizational environment post-course. Contrasting cases were considered to enhance the robustness of the analysis and acknowledge potential variations within the dataset. Conclusions/Recommendations: The findings provided insights into the contextual factors that challenge or support the application of improvement knowledge to action, offering implications for designing and enhancing school leadership preparation programs to cultivate effective educational leaders for sustainable school improvement. The study emphasizes that organizational role and slack play a crucial role in shaping practitioners’ authority, opportunities for practice and application, and access to continued training and coaching, ultimately impacting their fluency in improvement science. To effectively support moving improvement knowledge to action, the paper recommends: (1) activating prior knowledge to prepare for future learning; (2) attending to the importance of the learning problem and its relevance to practitioners’ roles, scaffolding for role by providing support for practicing new knowledge within professional contexts; (3) addressing the organizational context to create an environment conducive to innovation; and (4) offering follow-up learning opportunities through sustained communities of practice. The study concludes that changing practice is not solely a matter of will and skill but requires careful attention to the broader context before, during, and after the learning experience to support innovations in practice effectively.

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.

Principal perceptions of the staying power of changes made in response to COVID-19

ABSTRACT Beginning in early 2020, schools around the world experienced an unprecedented disruption to teaching and learning: the COVID-19 pandemic. Leading schools during this unprecedented time has undoubtedly been challenging, and school principals have been tasked with making sense of these challenges and adopting many new schooling practices in response to the pandemic. While research is beginning to emerge on how principals engaged in leadership during the early stages of the pandemic, questions remain about the future of schooling. Specifically, what changes to schooling made in response to the pandemic have the potential to remain post-pandemic? To investigate this topic I applied a narrative research design and conducted 40 interviews with 15 traditional public school principals in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The findings of this work indicate principals made significant changes to schooling as a result of the pandemic. These principals believe many of these changes have staying power, which will result in the profession becoming more virtual in the future. These findings yield several practical implications including the need for states, districts, and leadership preparation programs to make intentional efforts to support principals as they evolve into ‘virtual’ leaders.

Preparing School Leaders and Developing Rural Leadership Capacity: A Collaborative Effort on the Great Plains

This qualitative study explores the early implementation of a university school leadership preparation program and school district collaborative effort to develop school leaders and sustain leadership capacity in nine rural school districts. Emerging findings drawn from survey, focus-group, and participant observation data include (a) the development of a strong leadership network of professional relationships that included peers and district mentors, (b) a sense of individual leadership growth and targeted professional development preparing participants for their next leadership role, and (c) an emerging statewide rural school leadership development network.

“From Two Different Perspectives” to Simultaneous Renewal: Program Components That Inform and Transform Practice through a University–District Leadership Preparation Partnership

University-district partnerships are promising models for leadership preparation programs, however many partnerships fall short of their potential. In this two-year qualitative, action research study, we examine how a university-district partnership led to the simultaneous renewal of the district and university as it sought to develop transformational school leaders. Analysis of semi-structured interviews with program participants, university staff, and district administrators indicated the impactful role of cohorts, co-teaching, and inquiry-based instruction in the continual improvement of all stakeholders. We show how each of these program components informed and transformed the university and district. We also identified partnership conditions that supported their effectiveness. Our findings inform universities and districts designing partnerships for leadership preparation and provide existing partnerships that incorporate cohorting, co-teaching, and inquiry-based instruction a better understanding of their potential impact.

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.

Leadership Preparation Programs and Teacher Shortages: Are Leaders Prepared to Address School Discipline, Trauma and Stress Related Issues?

Leadership Preparation Programs and Teacher Shortages: Are Leaders Prepared to Address School Discipline, Trauma and Stress Related Issues?

Queering School Leadership Preparation Curricula for Gender Justice in Public Schooling

Recent education policies and laws such as a new rule to Title IX by the U.S. Department of Education (2020) and the Parental Rights in Education (HB 1557, 2022) also known as the “ Don’t Say Gay” law in Florida have important implications for how educational leaders are expected to address issues of gender, sexuality, and school-based sexual violence in public schools. The purpose of this article is to examine how education laws, policies, and practices privilege heteronormative values in our public schools and how the lack of educational preparation of school officials are complicit in the maintenance of hegemonic racial, gender and sexuality structures in public schooling. Structural intersectionality grounds this study and maps the corporeal consequences of systems of oppression while political intersectionality describes the strategies used to fight against those systems of oppression (Crenshaw, 2014). The study uses a qualitative narrative inquiry methodology to examine coursework data of doctoral students in an education leadership program to interpret their understanding of gender justice in teaching and leadership in public schools. Critical policy analysis as a discursive analytic is used in this study to reveal the interrelatedness of theory and method. The implications of this study bear important implications for understanding the need for gender justice curriculum in school leadership preparation programs and offers thoughts on how queering curricula can be an act of education activism.

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.
 
 

Explaining variation in the implementation of observational processes by school leaders: evidence from a Tennessee-based researcher–practitioner partnership

PurposeRecent teacher evaluation reforms across the globe can improve student outcomes, though doing so depends on implementation by school leaders. This study aims to describe how teacher reports about classroom observation processes (TROPs) vary across within-teacher observations, teachers and schools and depend on contextual, teacher and school characteristics.Design/methodology/approachA researcher–practitioner partnership collected TROPs using surveys administered multiple times during one semester and linked results to Tennessee administrative data. Random effects quantify TROP variation within examined clusters and estimate relationships between TROPs and the examined characteristics.FindingsAlthough observation processes are well implemented on average, TROPs vary considerably across teachers and observations within teachers over a short period. TROPs also depend on several examined characteristics, but not necessarily in ways predisposed toward teacher development.Originality/valueThe study extends the understanding of the degree and extent to which teacher evaluation implementation by school leaders varies. Leadership preparation programs and in-service support providers might use the evidence herein to improve the extent to which evaluation-related observation processes are implemented consistently and in ways supporting teacher development.

Sustaining at Scale: District Mathematics Specialists’ Adaptations to a Teacher Leadership Preparation Program

ABSTRACT A common approach to scaling up a professional development program is for the researchers who designed the program to prepare teacher leaders to facilitate it at their schools. When researchers eventually leave, however, teacher leaders may receive less support. To ensure that teacher leaders continue receiving support, researchers can prepare district mathematics specialists to assume responsibility for preparing the teacher leaders. Little is known, however, about district mathematics specialists’ role in sustaining, and potentially adapting, professional development programs. We examined district mathematics specialists’ facilitation of an adaptive teacher leadership preparation program. Program sessions were originally facilitated by researchers then by the specialists. We analyzed the adaptations specialists made to the sessions over four years and the rationales underlying these adaptations. Specialists maintained the program’s overall structure, continuing to model the facilitation of core program activities that teacher leaders would then facilitate in their site-based professional development workshops. However, they modified the thematic focus of these activities to address district goals, interests, and priorities. Adaptations were informed by specialists’ intimate knowledge of what was occurring in district schools. This approach maintained activities supportive of teacher learning, but also demonstrated that the specialists took increasing ownership over the program by adapting it.

New principals in the COVID corridor: an exploratory case study

PurposeThis paper aims to highlight how a group of novice principals in Connecticut and New York used relational, dispositional and situational factors to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. The study aims to support new principals and educational leaders.Design/methodology/approachUsing Mutch's (2015) dispositional, relational and situational framework to guide the inquiry, this paper uses qualitative methods and interviewing in particular to explore the questions of interest. Six novice principals were each interviewed over the 2020–2021 school year, each interview lasting approximately forty-five minutes. Data were analyzed thematically using both deductive coding techniques and cross comparative analysis.FindingsFindings show that novice principals tended to rely on dispositional factors to respond to the crisis. Additionally, novice principals reported limited responses to the situational factors of the crisis due to restricted access and guidance from the district leadership.Research limitations/implicationsDue to the small sample size and methodological approach, it may be inappropriate to generalize the findings across all novice principals in all settings. Further research in additional settings and larger samples are encouraged to support the proposed findings.Practical implicationsThis paper has several implications for districts and leadership preparation programs. Among these is the need for leadership preparation programs to adjust their curricula to train new principals properly.Originality/valueThis work fills a gap in the research regarding how new principals respond to a crisis. It also provides insights into practice and possible means to enhance the growing population of new principals entering the educational leadership workforce.