Preparing Principals for a Changing World : Lessons from Effective School Leadership Programs

In a study funded by the Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond and the team examined eight exemplary principal development programs, as well as state policies and principals' experiences across the country. Using the data from the study, they reveal how successful programs are structured, the skills and knowledge participants gain, and what they are able to do in practice as school leaders as a result.

What do these exemplary programs have in common? Aggressive recruitment; close ties with schools in the community; on-the-ground training under the wing of expert principals, and a strong emphasis on the cutting-edge theories of instructional and transformational leadership.

In addition to highlighting the programs' similarities, the study also explains the differences among the programs and sheds light on the effectiveness of approaches and models from different states and contexts?East, West, North, and South; urban and rural; pre-service and in-service. The authors analyze program outcomes for principals and their schools, including illustrative case studies and educators' voices on the influence of programs' strategies for recruitment, internships, mentoring, and coursework.

The ideas and suggestions outlined in Preparing Principals for a Changing World are presented with the goal of increasing the number of highly qualified, thoughtful, and innovative educational leaders.

Linda Darling-Hammond is the Charles E. Ducommun Professor of Education at Stanford University, where she serves as co-director of the School Redesign Network and the Stanford Educational Leadership Institute. Among her more than 300 publications are the award-winning books, The Right to Learn, Powerful Learning, Powerful Teacher Education, Teaching as the Learning Profession, and Preparing Teachers for a Changing World.

Debra Meyerson is an associate professor at Stanford University’s School of Education and co-founder and director of Stanford’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society and its program on Private Initiatives and Public Education. She is the author of Tempered Radicals.

Michelle LaPointe has over fifteen years of experience evaluating programs for children and analyzing educational polices. While a research analyst at the U.S. Department of Education (ED), she co-authored the 2004 Report to Congress on the Implementation and Impact of the Comprehensive School Reform Program, and contributed to the 2001 Title I report High Standards for All Students.

Margaret Terry Orr is on the faculty of the Bank Street College of Education where she directs the Future School Leaders Academy and other partnership leadership preparation programs. She is co-author of Developing Effective Principals Through Collaborative Inquiry.