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Descriptors:
Educational Technology; Information Technology; Leadership; Learning Strategies; Computer Software; Leadership Training; Open Source Technology; Administrator Education; Educational Administration; Courseware; Computer System Design; Cohort Analysis; Minimum Competency Testing; Participant Characteristics; Database Management Systems; Instructional Material Evaluation; Computer Software Evaluation; Technology Uses in Education; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
The development in information technology has now moved from the first wave that emphasises on computer technical skills to the second wave which focuses on the application and management aspects. This paper aims to investigate the use of learning management system among future school heads in education management and leadership. The study was conducted in two phases. The first phase focused on developing a learning management system using open source software--"Moodle". This phase emphasized on the processes involved in designing and developing the learning management system prototype called "E-Headship". The second phase evaluated participants' suitability in becoming future school leaders and managers through the use of E-Headship for the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) programme. "E-Headship" was then evaluated in terms of the applications of the learning management system. Sixty (60) participants from Institut Aminudin Baki (IAB)--an institute for training school administrators took part in the study. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistic focusing on reporting of the results in percentile, means, standard deviation and frequency. As it compared the performance results of two groups, a simple T-test was also performed. The results revealed that "e-Headship" has succeeded in promoting teaching and learning strategies to a higher degree. It is hoped that the use of such prototype will help the education institution in designing and developing better programmes that could benefit the participants at large. (Contains 4 tables and 5 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Rural Schools; Poverty; Elementary Secondary Education; Developmental Psychology; Leadership; Rural Education; State Universities; Educational Innovation; Administrator Education; School Districts; Educational Finance; Financial Support; Mentors; Educational Administration

Abstract:
This article describes an innovative approach, developed by North Carolina State University, to prepare leaders specifically for work in rural schools in high poverty districts. Operating with Race-to-the-Top funding, the Northeast Leadership Academy is a selective program with embedded practice and focused summer community internships. The program aims at spanning developmental psychology across K-12 grades. Models of turnarounds are chosen for their rural contexts, and executive coaching and mentoring aid in the transition to leadership positions. Perhaps most innovative is the aim that leaders of rural schools in poor districts need to be both community-focused and student-focused. The activities for NELA Fellows are designed to graduate turnaround leaders who are diagnosticians of student learning as well. (Contains 2 endnotes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Self Evaluation (Individuals); Internship Programs; Field Experience Programs; Program Effectiveness; Professional Development; Leadership; Educational Administration; Administrator Education; Pretests Posttests; Leadership Training; Learning Experience; Participant Satisfaction

Abstract:
Principal preparation programs are designed to ensure that candidates who successfully complete the programs are qualified and knowledgeable, and have had leadership experiences that prepare them to compete for leadership positions in today's schools (Hale S.z Moorma, 2003). Providing meaningful leader-ship experiences in non-internship programs can be a challenge. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of candidates' field experiences in leadership based on a locally developed pre and post self assessment. The instrument consisted of 54 items developed around the California Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (CPSEL). Results indicated significant differences in candidates' perceptions of their pre and post levels of experience as evidenced by mean score and matched case comparisons. The impact of entry level years of experience was examined. Implications and future program enhancements based on the results are included. (Contains 2 footnotes and 4 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Administrator Education; Web Sites; Electronic Publishing; School Administration; Social Networks; Internet; Social Capital; Leadership; Secondary School Students; Administrators; Web 2.0 Technologies; Case Studies; Educational Administration; Elementary School Students; Inquiry

Abstract:
Purpose: The purpose of this study is to advance the preparation of prospective school administrator students by extending the Web 2.0 application of blogging to discover students' strengths and successful leadership experiences. During the blogging process, students reflected on and responded to appreciative inquiry (AI) blog posts that encouraged reflective responses highlighting and identifying their inherent leadership strengths and successful leadership experiences. Design/methodology/approach: A qualitative case study model was used to explore the reflective blog contributions of prospective school administrators to discover patterns in the blogging data by grounding the study in an AI theoretical research perspective. A bounded case study delimited the scope of the study to participants who were: masters or doctoral students in a school administration preparation program at a large Midwestern United States research extensive university; and enrolled in four graduate administrative preparation classes taught using reflective blogging over three instructional quarters. Findings: The Web 2.0 application of appreciative inquiry blogging: confirmed personal strengths and successful leadership experiences; bolstered a supportive learning environment; confirmed the students' history of successful leadership experiences; and increased social capital among students. Social implications: Future research using AI in Web 2.0 applications can influence the positive preparation of school administrators by preparing them to lead schools in an evolving digital world. Researchers may examine how an AI blogging Web 2.0 application contributes to changing personal perceptions of contemporary deficit views of schooling to what is possible in light of stakeholders' strengths. Originality/value: The importance of integrating Web 2.0 applications into educational administrator preparation programs is critical in an age where elementary and secondary school students live in a Web 2.0 world and build social networks with peers throughout the globe. Moreover, the evolving global workplace demands fluency in Web 2.0 applications. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Administrator Education; Educational Administration; Program Validation; Program Effectiveness; Educational Change; Researchers; Instructional Leadership; Accountability; Principals; Stakeholders; Educational Trends; Trend Analysis; Efficiency; Educational Policy; Standards; Educational Improvement; Student Evaluation; Public Officials; Government School Relationship; Professional Development; Mentors; Certification; Beginning Teacher Induction; Academic Achievement

Abstract:
Background: Institutional theorists suggest environmental stakeholders in the "organizational field" have a symbiotic relationship with governing agencies, leading to institutional isomorphism. Hence state policy makers copy the work of their colleagues across states to create a sense of legitimacy, certainty, and professionalization rather than developing policy based on metrics of efficiency and/or effectiveness. It can stifle innovation. The purpose of this study was to investigate the trends in state policy for school-based education administrators as an indicator of institutional isomorphism. Research Design: A "cohesive leadership system" for school leaders that has been operationalized by researchers through a five-segment continuum of standards, preparation program approval, assessment and licensure, mentoring and induction, and ongoing professional development coupled with licensure renewal. Researchers in this study reviewed published state regulations in all 50 states with respect to each of these five segments. Findings: Key trends include universal standards-based preparation, continuous renewal, increasing assessment and accountability, a wider breadth of providers for administrator development, tiered licensure, and renewal linked to school improvement, as measured by student standardized assessments. The establishment of the continuum itself as well as the trends within each facet of the continuum reflect high degrees of field conformity (isomorphism) and diminishing policy space for alternative paradigms. Conclusions: This trend is likely to continue because of the tight coupling of the environmental field related to educational administration. The conclusions suggest methods for injecting change into state policy to ensure advances in the field rather than simply replication of the status quo. (Contains 5 tables.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Educational Administration; Administrator Education; School Organization; Organizational Theories; Theory Practice Relationship; Figurative Language; Physiology; Human Body; Systems Approach; Leadership; Institutional Mission; Group Structure; Decision Making; Power Structure; Organizational Culture

Abstract:
This conceptual paper suggests and elaborates on the use of physiological metaphors pertaining to the systems and parts of the body as an approach for fostering an understanding of organizational theories among students of educational administration. The importance of this pursuit is related to the recognition that the students often reject the value of theories, that theories can be used to acquire substantive organizational knowledge, and that a comprehension of organizations is needed to lead districts and schools in the quest for achievement of their goals. The value of such understandings is based upon the work of theorists (Deming, 1993, 2000; Senge, 2001, 2006), in which conceptual constructs have been offered to substantiate the claim that the success or failure of organizations (e.g., districts and schools) to achieve their goals is influenced significantly by the ways in which they are structured. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Administrator Education; Transformational Leadership; Leadership; Administrators; Accreditation (Institutions); Educational Administration; Pilot Projects; Research; Reliability; Validity; Vignettes; Researchers; Evaluation; Instructional Leadership

Abstract:
Although university-based school administrator preparation programs are required by accreditation agencies to assess the dispositions of candidates, valid and reliable methods for doing so remain scarce. "The School Leaders Disposition Inventory"[C] (SDLI) is proposed as an instrument that has promise for identifying leadership dispositions grounded in transformational leadership theory. In this research report, the authors explain the development of the SDLI and report on a pilot study. With the instrument's internal consistency established, the SDLI will assist school leader preparation program personnel in assessing the degree to which candidates for school administrator positions reflect dispositions aligned with transformational leadership theory. (Contains 1 table.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Cultural Awareness; Cultural Pluralism; Study Abroad; Instructional Leadership; Practicums; Internship Programs; Graduate Students; Outcomes of Education; Administrator Education; Educational Administration; Attitude Change; Student Attitudes; Mixed Methods Research; Foreign Countries

Abstract:
Developing globally minded citizens has become a national push and a stated priority for many higher education institutions in the United States. This article focuses on one university's efforts to develop globally minded school leaders who are accepting of and comfortable with diversity. The University of North Carolina Wilmington has created an international practicum for master's and doctoral-level students in the Educational Leadership Department. This study focuses on the outcomes of this international practicum. Data from this mixed methods study are presented on participants' shifts in attitudes about cultural diversity as measured by the Miville-Guzman Universality Diversity Scale survey and interviews. The article also provides suggestions about processes and experiences necessary to support and facilitate participants' shifts to embrace diversity and global perspectives. (Contains 2 tables and 3 figures.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Homosexuality; Phenomenology; Focus Groups; Social Attitudes; Social Behavior; Social Theories; Hermeneutics; Educational Administration; Administrators; Interviews; Fear; Social Bias; Administrator Education; Policy Formation; Anxiety; Emotional Response

Abstract:
Purpose: The article's purpose is to highlight a national qualitative study that generated a model for understanding how society's actions and attitudes affect and inform the lived experiences of lesbian/gay (LG) educational leaders. Research Methods/Approach: Three bodies of literature informed the methods of the study: queer legal theory, critical phenomenology, and poststructural hermeneutics. Seventeen volunteer participants identified as out or closeted LG educational leaders and replied via e-mail (to a safe contact) to a national invitation to participate. To provide anonymity, a virtual laboratory allowed participants to interact anonymously through the use of focus groups, interviews, written responses, and private/public messaging tools. Data analysis was conducted after themes or categories emerged and data was coded and categorized. Findings: The findings culminated in conclusions illustrated in the "Cycles of Fear" model. First, study participants moved from silence to voice and back again, with varying intensity. Second, participants move beyond oppression was extremely difficult. Third, participants conquered fear and oppression, thereby creating gains. Fourth, experiences of fear were integrated into participants' very being--their identity. Fifth, as leaders' strength/visibility increased, society's homophobic fears created increased intolerance and hostility. Finally, when a new fear cycle began, the leaders became stronger and more resilient. Implications for Research and Practice: The discussions, conclusions, and the model drawn from this study's findings are instructive for (a) LG educational leaders who have had very little support in their professional and personal lives, (b) leadership preparation programs/professors that/who in the past have ignored this populations' existence and oppression, (c) policy makers, and (d) further research--the model can serve as a data analysis tool for future studies, and the anonymous research design could be duplicated to lower the risk for LGBT participants. (Contains 1 table, 1 figure, and 9 notes.) Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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Descriptors:
Inclusion; Social Justice; Special Education; Administrator Education; Educational Administration; Educational Change; Instructional Leadership; Leadership Training; Schools of Education; Equal Education; Role; Standards; Curriculum; Administrator Role

Abstract:
Over the past two decades, colleges of education along with a number of national organizations and specialized professional associations have sought to improve educational administration programs through the incorporation of a broad policy framework designed to develop socially just leaders. Central to the growth of these new leaders is a commitment to acknowledge and embrace difference and to create educational spaces within which all children can learn. As the notion of social justice within education has been evolving, certain students, particularly those with disabilities, have been railing against persistent inequities within schools. Special education has emerged as one of the most litigious issues that school leaders must confront in their daily practice. Nevertheless, content related to special education and special education law has been a long neglected area within university-based administrator preparation programs and has been strangely absent in conversations relevant to the creation of administrator preparation programs that embrace a social justice model of leadership. Beginning with the current literature base of social justice and leadership preparation in special education and special education law, and using the recently revised Educational Leadership Constituents Council Advanced Programs in Educational Leadership Standards for building-level administrators for context, this article proposes an imperative to include curriculum content and leadership training that embraces and honors the inclusion of students in K-12 special education programs and enables building-level administrators to fulfill their role as socially just leaders. Note:The following two links are not-applicable for text-based browsers or screen-reading software. Show Hide Full Abstract

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