The educational challenge of the 21st century is to achieve higher levels of learning for all children. This theme has become the overarching issue on the nation's domestic policy agenda as evidenced by the bi-partisan passage of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). The policy levers engaged to address this challenge include increased…

A key part of Grantmakers for Education's program portfolio to improve education philanthropy, the biannual Education Grantmakers Institute provides an especially unique and effective venue for strengthening the skills and knowledge of grantmakers. Held at a leading academic institution, the Institute includes noted scholars and researchers…

This paper addresses the changing face of the principalship--the role of leadership preparation and development programs in preparing women for positions of school leadership and the resulting changes in the conception of the work of school leadership. This increasing focus on preparing women for positions of school leadership highlights two…

This article shares findings from an exploratory case study about an advanced school leadership development program designed specifically for practicing principals and administrator-trained teachers. The program was designed to help a high-need rural district transform its principalship from school management into learner-center leadership while…

Academic leaders face particular challenges when they assume formal leadership roles in higher education. For the most part, they have had little prior engagement with the political, economic and strategic context of their institution and limited leadership networks on which to draw. The University of Western Australia has trialled a number of…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine distinctive features that have surfaced in school leadership development programmes for more than two decades in Singapore. Design/methodology/approach: The paper draws on information gathered from existing literature and the author's involvement in the programmes. Findings: The Diploma in…

This article presents an interview with J. Michael Ortiz, a member of the Aspen Institute's Commission on No Child Left Behind, on the issues concerning the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB). Aspen Institute's Commission is an independent panel that was established in 2006 to conduct a high-level review of the federal government's signature…

Too many school leader development products currently doing the rounds in East Asia are grounded in a set of cultural assumptions about what leadership means according to Anglo-American English speaking ideals. When such perspectives and programs are used presumptuously with leaders from other cultures, whose values may be quite different, their…

Background: The quest for a "knowledge base" in educational administration resulting in the construction of national standards for preparing school leaders has brought with it an unexpected downside. Purpose: It is argued that instead of raising the bar for preparing educational leaders, the standards have lowered them, first by embracing only a…

This empirical study examined a sample of 210 academic deans in research and doctoral institutions in the United States to investigate the relationship between academic discipline and the preparation of deans for their leadership role. Respondents reported relying on experience in past administrative posts and past relationships with faculty…

Learning leadership happens experientially, through involvement in opportunities to practice the skills, experiment with approaches, and try on the roles. For youth leadership development, it means creating opportunities for young people to do more than hear stories of great leadership or participate in skills-building activities. In much of her…

A theory and practice of social justice is fraudulent when it does not fully address lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender (LGBT) individuals and their intersections with other identities. Faculty who claim to be concerned with social justice cannot focus on one or perhaps two areas of difference while ignoring or giving short shrift to the others.…

This article is about the ways in which young people who have disengaged from learning in school can find a way back through leadership activities in art. It is based on a project which was funded by a small grant from the Wallenberg Foundation. The project explored the potential of an approach to developing positive leadership qualities in pupils…

An educator who has conducted leadership programs for Chinese principals since 1985 examines the changes in that nation's schools over a 20-year period. He finds them making slow progress, thanks in part to educational exchange programs that have given principals the skills and educational foundations needed to overcome entrenched and system-wide…

With the increasing number of Latina and Latino students in California schools, the need was clear for a mentoring program that not only increased the growth rate, but also supported the retention rate of Latina and Latino school superintendents and educational leaders. Such leaders are most often perceived by Latina and Latino students as…