In recent years, education systems around the world have been keeping a keen eye on rankings of student achievement as measured by internationally benchmarked tests. This has led to considerable attention being paid to teasing out success factors that may account for countries that have emerged top of the ranks or those that have shown the most…

The Educational Leadership Master's Cohort Program at Delta State University was redesigned in 2011 to reflect current industry standards and streamline the program. Since its inception in the mid-1990s, the program has provided a nationally acclaimed model for principal preparation. The recent redesign focused on preparing school principals to…

The intent of this article is to examine how the best type of internship, i.e., the full-time, job-embedded model can be enhanced using coaching. Before illustrating an exemplary internship program with coaching, this paper describes what an exemplary full-time, job-embedded internship experiences looks like and expounds on the importance of…

College student mentors are increasingly mentoring at-risk youth, yet little is known about the benefits that college students derive from their experience mentoring within the context of a service-learning course. This qualitative study used focus groups to examine college students' experiences as participants in a unique program, Campus Corps:…

In July 2008, Riverbend Public Schools (RPS) in Western Michigan and Grand Valley State University (GVSU) received a grant from the Wallace Foundation that supported the development of a specialized educational leadership program. The project was designed to customize an existing degree program in the university's College of Education, focusing on…

In this chapter, the authors identify and review a number of key features in the successful development and maintenance of a PhD program delivered at a distance. The University of Oklahoma's PhD program in organizational leadership was developed in the early 1990s and delivered (primarily, but not completely) to military personnel and families…

This instructional module describes a performance assessment designed to equip prospective principals with the knowledge and skill needed to evaluate curriculum, observe and assess instruction, interact meaningfully with teachers about instructional decision-making, and design professional learning opportunities that enhance student learning…

This paper reflects on how one mid-Atlantic University innovatively incorporated technology into the development of a hybrid doctoral program in educational leadership. The paper describes a hybrid doctoral degree program using a rigorous design; challenges of reworking a traditional syllabus of record to a hybrid doctoral program; the perceptions…

In 2007, the Workers' Educational Association's (WEA) Yorkshire and Humber region was funded by the Academy for Community Leadership to deliver a programme of active citizenship learning in South Yorkshire. The programme was expected to: equip potential and existing community leaders with the skills, knowledge and experience necessary to address…

Instead of focusing on how principals should be trained, an contrarian view is offered, grounded upon theoretical perspectives of experiential learning, and in particular, upon the theory of andragogy. A brief parable of the DoNoHarm School of Medicine is used as a descriptive analog for many principal preparation programs in America. The…

This article makes the case for a different approach to the professional development of teachers and school leaders called personal, professional coaching (PPC). Personal, professional coaching is grounded in reflective practices that cultivate self-awareness, emotion management, social awareness, and relationship management. Findings from two…

The Brigham Young University-Public School Partnership (BYU-PSP) has been serving K-12 public schools in Utah for 29 years. The Partnership includes five school districts, BYU's David O. McKay School of Education, and the seven arts and sciences colleges at BYU that participate in preparing teachers. This article describes the structure of the…

It has become accepted wisdom that there is a shortage of leaders in the library profession. A number of leader and leadership development programs have emerged in Australia, Canada and the United States that attract interested participants, yet what is the core purpose of these programs? Do they work? Review of leadership programs reveals that…

The Church has lost much of her relevance, credibility and impact in the modern world. There is serious leadership crisis in the Church today. Basing on my own "Church-experience", I inquire into the leadership's consistent and continuing failure to be just, compassionate, caring and trusting. I explore the often displayed behavior that is…

Effective integration of learning and practice continues to remain a challenge in leadership preparation. This paper describes a learning module used in a course within the Swedish National Principal Training Program and how it attempts to bridge learning with practice. In this course, each participant conducted a study in a school with the…