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Record Details - EJ820425
| Title: Learning to Lead: What Gets Taught in Principal-Preparation Programs |
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| Title: | Learning to Lead: What Gets Taught in Principal-Preparation Programs |
| Authors: | Hess, Frederick M.; Kelly, Andrew P. |
| Descriptors: | Educational Administration; Educational Change; Course Descriptions; Instructional Leadership; Principals; Administrator Education; Educational Improvement; Curriculum; Program Content; Content Analysis; Schools of Education; Administrator Qualifications; Surveys |
| Source: | Teachers College Record, v109 n1 p244-274 2007 |
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| Publisher: | Teachers College, Columbia University. P.O. Box 103, 525 West 120th Street, New York, NY 10027. Tel: 212-678-3774; Fax: 212-678-6619; e-mail: tcr@tc.edu; Web site: http://www.tcrecord.org |
| Publication Date: | 2007-00-00 |
| Pages: | 31 |
| Pub Types: | Journal Articles; Reports - Research |
| Abstract: | Background/Context: School leadership is the key to school improvement. In a new era of accountability, where school leaders are expected to demonstrate bottom-line results and use data to drive decisions, the skill and knowledge of principals matter more than ever. Meanwhile, public school choice, charter schooling, developments in teacher compensation and hiring, and site-based budgeting have created new opportunities for principal leadership. In this environment, school improvement rests to an unprecedented degree on school leaders. Purpose/Objective/Research question/Focus of study: Today, school principals are asked to lead in a new world marked by unprecedented responsibilities, challenges, and managerial opportunities. Are principal-preparation programs equipping their charges for this new role? Research design: We examined the content of instruction at a stratified sample of the nation's principal-preparation programs, including the programs training the most candidates, the programs regarded as the most prestigious, and more typical programs. Data collection and analysis: We surveyed 56 programs and collected at least four "core" course syllabi from 31 that met the standards permitting systematic coding for a total of 210 syllabi. The syllabi yielded 2,424 total course weeks. Findings/Results: Just 2 percent of 2,424 course weeks addressed accountability in the context of school management or school improvement, and less than 5 percent included instruction on managing school improvement via data, technology, or empirical research. Of 360 course weeks devoted to personnel management, just 12 weeks mentioned teacher dismissal and nine mentioned teacher compensation. Critics often assert that education schools are ideological. In fact, just 12 percent of all course weeks focused upon norms and values. In the norms-and-values lessons, however, there was strong evidence of normative bias in the topic descriptions and assigned readings. There was little attention to management thinkers from outside of the narrow field of educational administration. Of the 50 most influential living management thinkers, as determined by a 2003 survey of management professionals and scholars, just nine were assigned a total of 29 times in the 210 courses. Conclusions/Recommendations: The evidence raises questions about whether preparation is well-matched to the contemporary world of schooling, and whether graduates of principal-preparation programs are being equipped for the challenges and opportunities posed by an era of accountability. This study suggests new avenues for future research, including the degree to which syllabi actually reflect the content of instruction and what approaches to instruction or assessment are employed in the course of principal preparation. |
| Abstractor: | As Provided |
| Reference Count: | 0 |
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| Note: | N/A |
| Identifiers: | N/A |
| Record Type: | Journal |
| Level: | N/A |
| Institutions: | N/A |
| Sponsors: | N/A |
| ISBN: | N/A |
| ISSN: | ISSN-1467-9620 |
| Audiences: | N/A |
| Languages: | English |
| Education Level: | Higher Education; Postsecondary Education |
| Direct Link: | http://www.tcrecord.org/Content.asp?ContentId=12742 |
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