Purpose: This study examines a university-based professional learning program, the University School Systems Program (USSP), designed to strengthen district- and school-level leadership for improvement. The program has a record of success in improving student outcomes in participating schools, yet little is known about how the program design may…

This guide aims to present district instructional leaders and staff with a core set of criteria for what high-quality professional development entails. What makes this particular document different and useful is the focus on practical issues of district-level implementation in multiple teaching and learning environments. This is a guide designed…

In the ESSA Leadership Learning Community (ELLC), education agency leaders, community organization leaders, and others have together taken on challenges facing schools and school leaders in their states. They have produced advice to state agencies on policy design and rollout, for example on official definitions of equity, on requirements for…

A leadership academy is a formal professional learning opportunity for current school leaders, focused on augmenting knowledge and skills, increasing specialization, and refreshing leadership practices. States interested in supporting leadership academies through federal or other funding sources can look to current models of leadership academies…

In this case study, we explore how principal candidates made sense of their internship by analyzing their weekly reflections during a school year. We found that candidates' views of leadership developed from viewing leadership solely through the lens of making decisions and providing direction, to recognizing that much of the work of a school…

As the number of dual language programs in the U.S. is on the rise, district and school administrators need to pay attention to race as they design and implement these programs to offer equitable access for all students. Utilizing a CRT and raciolinguistics framework, qualitative interview data revealed the ways that whiteness operated in school…

The performance of South Africa's educational system in national and international tests indicates that a large proportion of its public schools are underperforming. Ineffective leadership has been put forward as one reason. This paper analyses a leadership development programme, Partners for Possibility (PfP), which seeks to strengthen leadership…

The purpose of this qualitative content analysis was to explore the impact of the instructional coaching model that was conducted over three years during a job-embedded principal preparation residency program. This study revealed how instructional coaching relationships used culturally responsive leadership to improve teaching practices and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to describe the program structure and design considerations of a 25-day, full-time apprenticeship in a university-based principal preparation program. Design/Methodology/ Approach: The study used a qualitative case study design that drew upon interviews and focus groups with program participants as well as…

One of the key factors that contribute to effective management of schools is the professional development of principals. The role of the principal has become more complex with the dynamic and constant reforms in the educational environment. The present study focuses on the professional development of principals in New Zealand and Singapore. The…

How to best address the professional learning needs of those aspiring to leadership roles in schools is a crucial issue. Robust evaluation practices are needed to determine the quality of current provisions and to identify where improvements can be made. This paper considers the quality of professional learning programmes using a set of 10…

Recent state policies demand universities restructure principal preparation programs. Mandates, though unfunded, provide an opportunity for universities to engage representative stakeholders who benefit from context specific instruction. This article demonstrates how professors in one research university used collected programmatic information and…

Despite the key role that principals play in leading schoolwide change, districts' efforts to support principals are often limited, particularly in rural settings. In this article, we report the preliminary findings of a cross-district mentoring program for nine midcareer rural school principals. The collaboratively developed human resource…

As school districts integrate evidence-based prevention programs into their daily regime, they may struggle with implementing these programs with fidelity. This is a multi-method, multi-source, retrospective explanatory study of the implementation factors associated with program installation and partial implementation of an evidence-based violence…

This study used focus groups to create building blocks for the creation of a collaborative program consisting of a university and a school district for the preparation of principals. The focus groups of practitioners considered recommendations from researchers and applied it to the context of their experiences to develop the essentials of a…