0.4 Morrison, m., gosmire, d., & Van osdel, j. (july 2009).  (Page 11/9)

Introduction

There is widespread concern regarding the quality of American schools. This concern brings to the forefront public policies that led to an era of accountability and standards. (Enderlin-Lampe, 1997; Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Lindahl, 2007; Ylimaki, 2007). Several groups have come together for the purpose of developing professional standards to guide administrative practice. The development of professional standards for school administrators evolved into standards from the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) currently used in administrative preparation programs in the United States.

Research regarding the school principal role is replete with definitions about the significance, complexity, and overwhelming nature of the job (Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Gurr, Drysdale,&Mulford, 2006; Keefe&Amenta., 2005). Grubb and Flessa studied efforts to create different approaches to the principal position because “The job is just too big for one person, with all the different programs and all the needs of the students” (p.519). More recent literature advises principals to share instructional leadership with teachers to increase student performance outcomes (Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Mangin, 2007; Muijs&Harris, 2007; Tschannen-Moran, 2009). Teacher leadership requires deliberate planning and a set of shared values. “Growing teacher leaders needs to be an intentional act in our nation’s school systems”(Searby&Shaddis, 2008). The ELCC standards potentially provide a common set of understandings for principals and teacher leadership teams. This leads one to wonder about the value of administrative professional standards as perceived by teachers. Teachers did not have a strong presence in the development of the ELCC standards; however, they are integral to their successful implementation.