Leadership Preparation Research Articles

Nurse Leader Preparation for Disasters: A Cross-sectional Survey.

The aim of this study was to evaluate nurse leader confidence in emergency management and disaster preparedness. There is a dearth of evidence in the literature regarding the preparation of nurse leaders to manage emergencies and disasters. Research suggests significant gaps in nurse leader confidence across roles and in structured education that prepares nurse leaders across the spectrum of experience to manage in a crisis. An exploratory, cross-sectional survey included a sample of 432 RNs who are members of the Northwest Organization for Nurse Leaders. Results indicate significant variance in nurse leader confidence across roles, experience, and previous disaster-related education. Positive associations regarding nurse leaders' confidence in managing disasters exist with more advanced positions, advanced education, and structured training. Nursing leaders lack consistent education that prepares them for emergency and disaster management. Nurse leaders across all levels would benefit from formal education in these areas.

Characteristics and Formative Experiences of DEI Leaders in Music Education Professional Associations

In music education professional associations (MEPAs), volunteer member-leaders collaborate to guide music education and provide services such as professional development. Recently, we observed some MEPAs creating diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, positions, or committees. The purpose of this survey study was to examine the characteristics and formative experiences of the people leading these efforts. Survey participants ( n = 62) were representative of the music educator profession in terms of gender. Regarding other characteristics, respondents were older, more educated, and more racially diverse than music educators as a group. Respondents were nearly all practicing music educators who taught a variety of content areas in PK–16 settings. Most did not feel prepared to lead DEI initiatives. While few respondents described their undergraduate education as relevant to DEI leadership, some named graduate education as an important formative experience. Respondents described life experiences as catalysts and preparation for leadership and indicated they taught themselves about DEI through reading, social media, and attending optional professional development. We discuss how these findings illustrate a leadership conundrum and exemplify structural issues in MEPA DEI action. We conclude with implications for teacher education and professional development.

Education Leadership Programs Responding to Current American Crises

The 2020 global pandemic has further exacerbated the inequities suffered by our most vulnerable students. Here in the United States, the intersection of two pandemics have raised major issues surrounding racial discrimination, civil rights, and equal justice. This essay details one university responding to the current American crises in three areas that are pertinent to leadership preparation programs: recruitment, curriculum, and the problem in practice dissertation. By sharing our experiences and the literature that guides our actions, this paper aims to inspire education leadership programs to revitalize their efforts to support education leaders committed to social justice.

Birds of a feather flock together: Understanding Filipino millennial academic managers’ mindset

Today, more than ever, there is a need to uncover the patterns of thinking that shape the rationality of the leader cohort to aid them in their role-making of the challenging niche truly. This Husserlian phenomenological inquiry purported to explore the individual and collective lived experiences of nine (9) purposively selected Filipino academic managers regarding the essence of Dweck’s growth and fixed mindsets in their leadership preparation. A semi-structured interview was employed as the main data gathering tool. Field texts were analyzed using Colaizzi’s Procedural Steps to abstract the phenomenon's essence and were validated through the member checking procedure and critical friend technique. Interestingly, the study debuts an insightful Taxonomy of Cognitive Personas, which typifies the dynamic nature of the leader cohort's mindsets. Embedded in the Perennial Learner, Proactive Player, and Pragmatic Leader personas are cognitive tools and value priorities utilized in various influencing and regulating experiences in academic organizations. Academic organizations can use the findings of this study to focus on the cognitive preparation of millennial managers for higher leadership roles. Such findings are expected to complement the skill-based preparation that the millennials can employ for their role-making efforts in school leadership.

Exploring Perceptions Related to Teacher Retention Issues in Rural Western United States

The rural setting is one that must be better understood because of the broader discussions of changing demographics, growing diversity, the need for economic development, and community engagement. Additional research is needed to understand the interconnection of rural spaces and teacher retention. The purpose of this study was to understand the perceptions of educational stakeholders in a rural region of the western United States as they relate to retaining teachers in rural school communities that are experiencing shifts in the community due to limited rural opportunity and underdevelopment, ageing populations, poverty, out-migration, and shrinking economies. The study collected data from teachers, administrators, parents, patrons, legislators, students, and other educational stakeholders through a survey instrument (n= 806). Data were collected from October of 2017 to January of 2018. The methodological approach was a mixed qualitative and quantitative inquiry. The mixed-method approach was due to several open-ended questions on the survey, along with quantitative, closed-ended survey questions. The findings illuminate the critical role leadership plays in retaining teachers, and the significant need for robust mentoring and support programs for new teachers. Findings also consider the relationship between rural education policies, leadership practices, teacher recruitment and retention, and broader issues related to rural development. In addition to finding ways to better support mentoring, there are several implications for teacher and leadership preparation programs to better support rural placements.

Special Education Teacher Leadership: Toward a Teacher Leadership Framework for Professional Development

ABSTRACT Through the design of a survey and measure validation using exploratory factor analysis (EFA), we aimed to identify and define constructs required for special education teacher leadership that may inform the focus of professional development opportunities. Results of the analysis indicate a four-factor model is best suited for measuring special education teacher leadership capacity at the individual level. The teacher leadership domains that were defined through the EFA were as follows: (a) pedagogical confidence, (b) ethical considerations, (c) collaboration, and (d) assessment practices. Additionally, we identify differences between general and special education teacher identification of leadership skills, which can assist in targeting professional development to the specific needs of special education teachers that differ from general educators. Implications for research and professional development are presented to improve our understanding of and preparation of special teacher leadership. Through this work, we present a teacher leadership framework for the professional development of special education teacher leadership.

High-leverage teacher evaluation practices for instructional improvement

This study's purpose is to extend our understanding of school leadership for student learning by identifying high-leverage teacher evaluation practices that improve teaching. A partnership with a state education agency administered a teacher questionnaire regarding evaluation practices multiple times in one semester, then linked teacher responses to their next within-semester observation score. Broadly, teachers reported on scoring practices, the facilitation of post-observation conferences, feedback characteristics, and post-conference supports for evaluation-informed professional learning. Fixed effect regressions effectively compare observation scores and teacher-reported evaluation practices within the same teacher or teacher-by-evaluator pairing over four months while controlling for month-to-month influences on performance. The methods remove several serious confounders plausibly affecting related estimates in prior work. The analysis identifies six high-leverage teacher-reported evaluation practices, most of which apply to post-conference practices linking evaluation to professional learning. The evidence refines the academic understanding of leadership for student learning and implies that leadership preparation and in-service programs might emphasize the six high-leverage evaluation practices to promote active use among practicing leaders. Policymakers might ensure that aspiring and in-service leaders can develop these practices and that there are strong links between teacher evaluation and professional learning systems for school leaders to use.

Strategies to Improve Women's Leadership Preparation for Early Career Global Health Professionals: Suggestions from Two Working Groups.

Background:Despite advances in gender equality, women still experience inequitable gaps in global health leadership, and barriers to women’s advancement as leaders in global health have been well described in the literature. In 2021, the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health conducted two virtual working groups for emerging women leaders to share challenges and suggest solutions to advance women’s leadership in global health. In this paper, we present emerging themes from the working groups, provide a framework for the results, and discuss strategies for advancing women’s leadership in global health.Objectives:The objective of this paper is to synthesize and share the themes of the two working group sessions to provide strategies for improving women’s leadership training and opportunities in the field of global health.Methods:Approximately 182 women in the global health field participated in two virtual working group sessions hosted by the Johns Hopkins Center for Global Health using the Zoom platform. Participants were divided into virtual breakout rooms and discussed pre-assigned topics related to women’s leadership in global health. The participants then returned to share their ideas in a plenary session. Notes from the breakout rooms and transcripts from the plenary session were analyzed through a participatory and iterative thematic analysis approach.Findings:We found that the working group participants identified two overarching themes that were critical for emerging women leaders to find success in global health leadership. First, the acquisition of individual essential skills is necessary to advance in their careers. Second, the institutional environments should be setup to encourage and enable women to enter and succeed in leadership roles. The participants also shared suggestions for improving women’s leadership opportunities such as including the use of virtual technologies to increase training and networking opportunities, intersectionality in mentorship and sponsorship, combatting impostor syndrome, and the importance of work-life balance.Conclusions:Investing in women and their leadership potential has the promise to improve health and wealth at the individual, institutional, and community levels. This manuscript offers lessons and proposes solutions for increasing women’s leadership through improving individual level essential skills and fostering environments in which women leaders can emerge and thrive.

The Educational University Policy as the Most Important Means of Implementing the National Education Concept

The global changes that the modern world is facing are distinguished by their constancy and continuity, and, moreover, are characterized by a clearly expressed tendency to accelerate. Changes of this magnitude cannot but affect the participants in these processes, and the role of education in human activity is becoming increasingly important. On the other hand, young people are becoming an increasingly active participant in the social, political and cultural life of the state, which requires new theoretical and activity approaches and systematic mental and activity methods in working with youth, as well as the development of new educational content for those areas of training that prepare personnel for the youth sector. As a result, the problem of the system of organization of educational work in the system of higher education comes to the fore and becomes more relevant than ever. Educational work should be carried out along two vectors — the preparation of future youth leaders who will implement youth policy at the municipal, regional and federal levels, and the education of civic responsibility in all future specialists.

Second Most Important Decision

For principal preparation program success, the selection of an aspiring school administrator’s internship placement/mentor principal is second in importance only to the decision about whom to select into the program. In this article, we review the scant literature on internship placement assignment processes, none of which are specific to rural places. We then describe the Principal Preparation for Excellence and Equity in Rural Schools (PPEERS) program – a partnership of 12 rural districts and a large public university – and explain the process by which the partnership co-designed their internship placement protocol and Assignment of Internship Placements tool. We then introduce the protocol, which involves program leaders traveling to each rural partner district across a wide geographic area to meet with the superintendent and District Point Person – the cabinet-level administrator who is the lead district liaison for PPEERS – to consensually select a mentor principal/internship site for each Intern, using the internship tool, which identifies factors to select for and to avoid. After describing the protocol and introducing the tool, we outline our action research methods. Utilizing a two-phase reflective inquiry process, we drew on perceptions of leadership coaches, district partners, and program leaders to reflect on contextual considerations, the impact of the tool, and ways to improve our placement practice. Contextual considerations reflect realities of rural districts, including limited placement choices in small districts, limited number of principals who fit the mentor principal criteria, and micropolitical considerations. Improvements to our process include considering the entire leadership team of a school when selecting placements; including additions to the tool regarding consideration of equity, diversity, and inclusion, as well as addition of a “Goldilocks school” element; and ideas for increasing mentor principal readiness and intern knowledge of curriculum and pedagogy when placed in a school level that is unfamiliar to them. In these ways the partnership can leverage rural partner assets and address contextual challenges. We conclude with implications for rural school leader 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.

From intern to "accepted": A guide to preparing for fellowship in emergency medicine.

The number of fellowship options for emergency medicine (EM) physicians continues to expand. While guides exist to help residents explore individual fellowship pathways, we aimed to create a comprehensive guide for all residents considering fellowship. At the direction of the Society for Academic Emergency Medicine (SAEM) Board, 9members of the Fellowship Guide Workgroup, including members of the Fellowship Approval Committee, and 2 members of SAEM Residents and Medical Students (RAMS) group collaboratively developed the guide using available evidence and expert opinion when high-quality evidence was unavailable. The guide was reviewed and approved by all members. The guide offers advice to EM residents on how to conceptualize key aspects of their training with respect to preparation for fellowship, including scholarship, teaching, leadership, and electives. Additionally, it offers perspective on selecting a fellowship that matches the resident's interests and goals and successfully applying. This fellowship guide for EM residents considering fellowship summarizes the best currently available advice for residents considering fellowship training after residency.

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.

Older workers’ retirement preparation and roles of corporation top leaders in South Korean workplace

PurposeThis paper aims to explore how heads in South Korean workplace perceive the retirement preparation of older Korean workers and their roles in accordance with life design perspective.Design/methodology/approachQualitative in-person interviews were conducted with top leaders of 15 corporations in small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and analyzed by using a conventional content analysis.FindingsTop leaders in corporations consider that older Korean workers whose retirement preparation is their own responsibility have not been actively preparing for their postretirement life. Nevertheless, some of these heads are attempting to assist with career development or career transition. Some believe that older workers should work as long as they are capable and should be retained after the official retirement age.Research limitations/implicationsThese exploratory findings are preliminary, and the top-down mechanism might work differently in a specific sector. Future research merits a large-scale investigation of each specific business.Practical implicationsIt is implied that policy initiatives should support SMEs with subsidy programs for older workers’ employment, empowering longer working as healthy pathways to postretirement.Originality/valueThis pilot study indicates some degree of possible roles of top corporate leaders for workers’ retirement preparation in terms of career development and career transition and retainment of older workers.

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.

Exploration of AI-enabled Contents for Undergraduate Cyber Security Programs

This paper investigates the AI courses and/or topics that are needed to enhance cybersecurity education towards preparation of the future AI-enabled cybersecurity leaders.~We found that, although sophisticated cyber crimes are now been perpetrated using AI technologies, AI courses and topics are currently missing in virtually all the undergraduate cybersecurity programs we reviewed.

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.

Supporting Ambulatory Nurses Transitioning From Direct Care to Leadership: A Pilot Project.

Frontline nurse leadership is foundational to career progression and succession planning, but preparation is often limited. COVID-19 has further complicated this process by limiting access to professional development resources typically available to new leaders. This article discusses the implementation of an innovative onboarding program that combined a web-based toolkit, mentor network, and precepted shadow shifts to navigate challenges associated with the pandemic and overcome barriers to frontline nurse leader preparation in the ambulatory care setting.

Employing The Media for Political Marketing to Improve the Image of Arab and Islamic Leaders Countries

The paper came from the reality of the impact of the media and its performance of its function towards awareness and guidance and the role it plays in building nations and focusing on showing leaders and their qualitative impact on people which made the trend to employ various media tools by leaders, politicians and owners of methodological and theoretical schools to benefit from the media. And its influential tools in finding and providing a popular base that enables leaders to exist and survive and highlight them as models and symbols through which convictions are formed and contribute to the rule and extension of the approach sought by different social groups and systems. How can the media contribute to the formation, building and preparation of leaders? To what extent have the media been employed by the political leaders of Turkey and Egypt? The paper included four axes. The first axis dealt with the concept of the media and its functions, the second axis was about the concept of leadership and its types, the third axis was about the influence of the media in building the personality of the leader, and the fourth axis included a presentation of the analysis and interpretation of interview questions for experts in the field of political science and media, and the paper concluded with several results. Including that the media, through its various means, has become an effective tool of political, economic and cultural control through which countries seek to compete to extend their hegemony and highlight their power. The media, by employing its various means, has achieved for political leaders many successes in achieving their goals and programs, and that the media works to prepare individuals to carry out the national duty. The paper also concluded with several recommendations, most notably the need to pay attention to media content that serves the goals of society, as well as the need to intensify efforts to employ it and own mechanisms and aids to achieve the goals of successful leadership programs and to create a variety of methods through the media that help in qualifying political leaders and building their personalities away from conveying their news and achievements as marketing and promotional news only.

School leaders' perceptions of their roles during the pandemic: an Australian case study exploring volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA leadership)

ABSTRACT As COVID-19 unfurled around the world in early 2020, it triggered volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA) for school leaders. This study explores the experiences of four school leaders, working in inner Melbourne, Australia, through a VUCA lens, and identifies their perceptions of such contextual disruption. Data were collected through focus group meetings over the initial phase of the pandemic in 2020. Findings illustrate the ways in which the school leaders perceived changes to their role and relationships, alongside their experiences of reprioritising approaches to their work and wellbeing. From the findings, implications are discussed for leadership preparation programmes, the rebalancing of ongoing professional learning for leaders and the need to resource and support school leaders’ wellbeing through and beyond this challenge as they negotiate the ‘new normal’. This case study is an empirical contribution to the collective effort of scholars immersed in the discourse of school leadership generated in this critical time and context.