This pedagogy-practice article portrays three instructional activities that were implemented with aspiring leaders and refined over four rounds of teaching the course in a northeastern state's principal preparation program (PPP). After describing each activity, I share lessons learned regarding the pedagogy of principal preparation. I make the…

States and districts are embarking on efforts to improve school leadership as a lever to promote school improvement. Such efforts have a solid base of research attesting to their effectiveness, and some view them as particularly cost-effective because principals "can be powerful multipliers of effective teaching and leadership practices in…

This special issue of the "Journal of Research on Leadership Education" presents the findings resulting from a set of studies focused on understanding how leadership preparation standards were used, by whom, and to what end. In addressing these questions, the authors reviewed how standards were used by program faculty, professional…

Leadership training for future senior United States (US) community college leaders is an ongoing focus of US community college education. Leadership training is also a focus of US university international educators. Community college literature has assumed that full-time positions at community colleges devoted to overseeing and implementing…

In the world of public school education everything depends on good leadership. Sadly, many of our schools administrators can't differentiate the difference between leading and managing; far too many of them don't know the first thing about fundamental leadership principles. In short, they don't understand the fundamentals of Mission Oriented…

Mid-level leadership is key to a functioning university and it is important that mid-level leaders feel they have the tools and resources they need in order to succeed. To be successful in a new mid-level leadership position, entering supervisors must clearly communicate a strong sense of vision, values, and principles to their staff and establish…

Nearly every graduate school, especially professional schools, claims to train, educate, and develop leaders. However, the leader-development literature offers little evidence of how a graduate level leader-development course might actually do that. Developmental theory informing experiential and constructivist leader-development methods suggest…

In recent years, leadership training for school administrators has become equated with knowledge of or the learning of a set of hard skills or competencies and an internship period that may or may not include activities reflective of the overarching position of the principalship. What seems to be missing with increasing regularity in training…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to compare two years of results for one state's performance-based assessments for principal licensure Performance Assessment for Leaders (PAL). This includes the field trial (2014-2015) and first year of statewide implementation (2015-2016) when passing score requirements and fees were added. Survey results on…

Vice chancellors of public universities in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region face a myriad of challenges that require research- and data-driven decision-making. This paper presents a decision-making model for college and university leadership - The Two-Way Practitioner-Researcher Loop. This scholarship of practice has the…

This case outlines a dilemma encountered by faculty and graduate assistants in a K-12 educational administration graduate program. The case offers a detailed illustration of tensions arising when faculty were asked to increase "diversity" within their program. Faculty uncover disrupting institutional systems of domination that often play…

This study uses data from the "Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement through Research in Educational Leadership (INSPIRE) Preparation Program Features Survey" to respond to national critiques of university-based principal preparation programs. The findings provide insight into the program content and relevancy, personnel, and…

This paper provides a review of school leadership preparation and development in Australia through considering the requirements for becoming a principal, how leadership preparation and development occurs, and consideration of recent developments to provide an Australian standard for school leaders. Australian educators have relied mostly on a…

Globally, education systems have been affected by radical social, political and economic changes. Although school principals play a pivotal role in improving student learning and attaining educational outcomes, they work under strenuous conditions to deal with multifaceted transformational issues. Principals experience great difficulty in coping…

The purpose of this research study is to examine current Midwestern community college leaders' demographics, educational backgrounds, career pathways, career preparation, diversity and inclusion competencies, and competencies in accord with the 2013 American Association of Community Colleges' (AACC's) Competencies for Community College Leaders as…