0.7 Using a leadership practice field to develop aspiring principals

Introduction

University-based principal preparation programs have been criticized as failing to adequately prepare principals for their role as instructional leader [Davis, Darling-Hammond, LaPointe,&Meyerson, 2005; Levine, 2005; Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), 2006]. Levine criticized school leadership curricula as irrelevant, entrance and graduation standards as low, and faculty as weak. Dave Spence, president of the SREB, criticized university principal preparation programs as being unwilling to change at the pace necessary to improve (SREB, 2006). Davis et al. (2005) indicated there is little evidence that the types of experiences provided in principal preparation programs enable principals to be more effective. Each of these authors, and others, has offered recommendations for the improvement of preparation programs.

A common recommendation for improving preparation programs is to use field experiences to a greater extent (Davis et al., 2005; Huber, 2008; Institute for Educational Leadership, 2000; Levine, 2005; SREB, 2006). Creighton (2005) described a leadership practice field in which aspiring leaders can repeatedly practice in real, but risk-free environments, applying concepts studied in the preparation program. The leadership practice field is a promising strategy that provides aspiring principals with opportunities to explore a variety of approaches to real life problem solving, decision-making, and communication in the context of a safe educational environment.

Program and course design

Virginia Tech began their Program for the Preparation of School Principals and Supervisors in the fall of 1989 after an 18-month design period (Virginia Tech School of Education, 2010). From the outset, the program courses were designed to use performance based instructional strategies and included an internship that would span the 24 months of the program.