Leadership preparation is essential in developing critical skills of effective school leaders. Educational leadership preparation programs vary greatly in terms of program features, it is important to identify which specific elements are likely associated with program quality. Using multiple years of Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement…

This study examines students' perceptions of an Educational Leadership Doctoral Program's redesign, based on a multi-criteria framework that informed the program's core values and beliefs to prepare students to: (a) lead learning organizations; (b) engage ethically with the community; (c) advocate for diversity, equity, and inclusion; and (d)…

What makes a leadership preparation program exemplary? All three exemplary programs featured in this special issue evidence strong learning orientations and more sustained improvement work in their pursuit of exemplary preparation. I therefore examine exemplary preparation from a process perspective that emphasizes continuous improvement. To help…

This article is a summary of a report prepared for the University Council for Educational Administration Program Improvement Project for the Wallace Foundation. This explores the research base for educational leadership preparation programs, specifically examining literature on program features. The review covers context, candidates, faculty,…

In 2004, the New Jersey Department of Education issued a mandate to the 17 leadership preparation program providers to revise their leadership preparation programs after completing a critical friends review. This case study explores the challenges, programmatic, and political experiences of one preparation program as state support dwindled.…

In 2013, the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA) in its inaugural "Exemplary Educational Leadership Preparation" (EELP) program competition recognized University of Illinois at Chicago's (UIC) Doctorate in Urban Education Leadership as one of two EELP programs in the United States. This article provides information…

The Auburn University Educational Leadership Team and its K-12 practitioner and community partners collaboratively developed a comprehensive, on-going evaluation plan to assess a newly implemented field-based graduate program. The purpose of the present manuscript was to describe the evaluation guidelines and plans. The leadership team and…

Many states are mandating reforms in university-sponsored principal preparation programs, but faculty and school system personnel often have concerns about the prescriptive nature of state mandates related to these reforms. Auburn University served as one of four pilot principal preparation program redesigns in Alabama, a process that took over…