This publication aligns with the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISSLC) Standard 1: "An education leader promotes the success of every student by facilitating the development, articulation, implementation and stewardship of a vision of learning that is shared and supported by all stakeholders."
Ncpea publications
This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. In addition to publication in the Connexions Content Commons, this module is published in the
NCPEA Handbook of Online Instruction and Programs in Education Leadership, ISBN 978-1-4507-7263-1.
Editors
- Janet Tareilo, Stephen F. Austin State University
- Brad Bizzell, Virginia Tech
Associate Editors
- Beverly Irby, Sam Houston State University
- Rosemary Papa, Northern Arizona University
- Thomas Valesky, Florida Gulf Coast University
- Theodore Creighton, Virginia Tech
Introduction
Graduate students seeking to be educational leaders in today’s high-demand society require more than lectures and textbooks to learn the requisite leadership skills. They must also have the opportunity to develop and test job skills in an on-the-job environment. Future leaders need the opportunity to grapple with the dilemmas principals face (Southern Regional Education Board [SREB], 2007). This is best accomplished in an internship under the guidance of a fully involved site mentor and a university mentor working in tandem with the graduate student.
There has been continuous interest among many leadership preparation program faculty to learn which preparation approaches more effectively prepare their candidates as principals and district leaders. The problem universities face as school leadership programs migrate to the online environment is how to construct a meaningful online internship – an internship that provides accountability, flexibility, and one that is based on accepted national and state standards.
Considerations in developing an online internship
The Stanford Educational Leadership Institute (Darling-Hammond, LaPointe, Meyerson,&Orr, 2007) found the following elements in exemplary leadership preparation programs:
- A comprehensive and coherent curriculum aligned with state and professional standards, in particular the ISSLC standards, which emphasize instructional leadership;
- A philosophy and curriculum emphasizing instructional leadership and school improvement;
- Active, student-centered instruction that integrates theory and practice and stimulates reflection. Instructional strategies include problem-based learning; action research; field-based projects; journal writing; and portfolios that feature substantial use of feedback and assessment by peers, faculty, and the candidates themselves;
- Faculty who are knowledgeable in their subject areas, including both university professors and practitioners experienced in school administration;
- Social and professional support in the form of a cohort structure and formalized mentoring and advising by expert principals;
- Vigorous, targeted recruitment and selection to seek out expert teachers with leadership potential; and
- Well-designed and supervised administrative internships that allow candidates to engage in leadership responsibilities for substantial periods of time under the tutelage of expert veterans. (p.6)
