Preparing Principals for a Changing World provides a hands-on resource for creating and implementing effective policies and programs for developing expert school leaders. Written by acclaimed author and educator Linda Darling-Hammond and experts Debra Meyerson, Michelle LaPointe, and Margaret Terry Orr, this important book examines the characteristics of successful educational leadership programs and offers concrete recommendations to improve programs nationwide. In a study funded by the Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond and the team examined eight exemplary principal development programs, as well as state policies and principals' experiences across the country. Using the data from the study, they reveal how successful programs are structured, the skills and knowledge participants gain, and what they are able to do in practice as school leaders as a result. What do these exemplary programs have in common? Aggressive recruitment; close ties with schools in the community; on-the-ground training under the wing of expert principals, and a strong emphasis on the cutting-edge theories of instructional and transformational leadership. In addition to highlighting the programs' similarities, the study also explains the differences among the programs and sheds light on the effectiveness of approaches and models from different states and contexts?East, West, North, and South; urban and rural; pre-service and in-service. The authors analyze program outcomes for principals and their schools, including illustrative case studies and educators' voices on the influence of programs' strategies for recruitment, internships, mentoring, and coursework. The ideas and suggestions outlined in Preparing Principals for a Changing World are presented with the goal of increasing the number of highly qualified, thoughtful, and innovative educational leaders.

With dwindling funds and resources, tougher state and federal standards, and fatigue from more regulations and testing, many school administrators are giving up _or 'crashing' and leaving their posts. This book examines the process of preparing, encouraging, and retaining quality leaders at the school and district levels. Beginning with a chapter outlining six steps of critical organizational supports, subsequent chapters address factors in preparing administrator candidates effectively; improving novice teacher retention through principal support and mentoring; utilizing more fully mid-career teachers who come to schools having worked outside of education; the role of isolation in new principals' sense of efficacy; research findings about assistant superintendents about job satisfaction, efficacy, and ambitions for promotion; and finally, contemporary leadership challenges existing at the superintendent level. Concluding with thoughts about administrator accountability, the various chapters offer contemporary views on the preparation, utilization, and retention of school administrators throughout the life cycle. The chapters provide needed insight into what should and must be done to grow the best leaders for US schools.

The purpose of this book is to examine the tensions, gaps, and intersections between the practices of leadership in educational systems, school leadership preparation programs, and the often different worlds of academia and k12 schools. Voices from both academia and k12 schools are used to illustrate the tensions that cluster around capacity, politics, and the everyday practice of inspiring, engaging, and preparing school leaders. Advance Praise for Leadership: Learning, Teaching, and Practice This is a book about experience. This is a book that draws from the knowledge—both personal and professional-- that professors and practitioners shared on their journeys through academia and the day-to-day of K-12 administration. The book is framed around the trinity of teaching, learning, and practice. It is a book that “examines the tensions, gaps, and intersections between the practices of leadership within educational systems and school leadership preparation programs.” The reader will be challenged to consider one’s own approach to leadership in education by examining each author’s perspective on leading for learning in America’s schools. ~ Professor James E. Berry, Executive Director, National Council of Professors of Educational Administration This book provides a great balance of scholarly work focused on leadership and shaped by the actual experiences of practicing administrators. It is absolutely outstanding literature for leaders. The book provides concepts and experiences that will help veteran administrators and will serve as a great resource for instructors in leadership development programs. It strikes at the heart of teaching and learning and will ultimately have a positive influence on children. ~ Lyle E. Evans, Ed.D Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Administrative Services, Chesterfield County Public Schools, Commonwealth of Virginia The challenges faced by school leaders today are daunting. In Leadership: Learning, Teaching and Practice, experts from across the nation bridge the gap between theory and practice. This book explores those tensions, calling us to examine our ideal view of school leadership and compare it to the reality of the current school systems in which we work. It furthers this discourse by examining the role leadership preparation programs play in preparing school administrators with the knowledge and skills necessary to be effective while retaining their humanity. An easy read that will transform how leaders think about leadership! Jessica Kemler, Principal, Babylon Elementary School Long Island, New York

The quality and success of schools depend upon school leadership. Increasingly, in many countries worldwide, this belief has led to designing and implementing appropriate training and development programs for educational leaders. In an international comparative research project, current school leader training and development programs in fifteen countries across Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America are analyzed, compared, and discussed. Preparing School Leaders for the 21st Century provides insights and constructive ideas, for those planning and carrying out school leadership development in different countries and those conducting research in this field. * Part one in the book reflects on roles, tasks, competences, and conceptions of school leadership, exploring the changing context in which school leaders find themselves, focusing on the new demands on the school leaders and suitable leadership theories. * Part two provides a comparative discussion of the various leadership development models, identifying similarities and differences, based on a set of criteria selected and going beyond a mere juxtaposition. In describing common issues and challenges, it also looks for common solutions, and considers what the different countries might be able to learn from each other, and successfully transfer. * Part three identifies current international trends deduced from these programs. Nineteen recommendations for designing future programs are outlined, and instructive examples of best and promising practice are given. * Part four comprises well structured country reports, which provide information about the education system and school system of those countries, about recent changes and their impact on school leadership, about the overall school leader training and development approach.

Navigating the Ubiquitous, Misunderstood, and Evolving Role of the Educational Leadership Program Coordinator in Higher Education is an edited volume of chapters focused on the role of the program coordinator (PC) in educational leadership. The book is a recent addition to the book series: Dimensions of Leadership and Institutional Success: Exploring Connections and Partnerships, edited by Ellen H. Reames. Noelle A. Paufler and Ellen H. Reames (editors) created this book to examine various aspects of the PC role because it has been largely ignored in the educational leadership preparation literature. The book examines various aspects of the PC role to include responsibilities, navigating the politics and policies of higher education and educational agencies, internal and external problems and barriers related to the role, and recommendations and possibilities for enhancing the PC role. The book is divided into 3 sections: Section 1 centers on the roles of the PC and also includes a model that can be used to structure PC responsibilities within programs. Section 2 focuses the readers’ attention to present misunderstanding of the PC as a quasiadministrative role which appears to be gaining in clarity through present research. Section 3 gives a glimpse to future trends which includes the growing use of clinical faculty as PCs. The primary audience is higher education faculty and administrators. The term program coordinator spans across all disciplines and is used in most higher education institutions across the United States. Higher education institutions are also interested in sustaining partnerships within the university and the communities beyond. This book can assist with nuances of partnership development for any higher education field of study. The audience also includes faculty in higher educational leadership program development and school/university partnership development and enhancement across public and private enterprises who are educating future leaders. Other interested groups are university and school-based professionals who are seeking to improve relationships, partnerships, and collaborations between educational leadership preparation programs and K-12 districts and related agencies. The book would also be of value to those who conduct research in the areas of partnership creation and implementation and to those who conduct research which improves educational leadership preparation and development. The role of the PC in educational leadership is critical to the success of higher education leadership preparation programs and is often very different than PCs in other higher education disciplines.