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Abstract

The article will report on the process and outcomes of shadowing encounters with urban principals. The authors provided extensive on-site professional development for 58 school principals with the support of the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation's Program for Student Achievement between 1991 and 1994. The authors developed a Shadowing Encounter Instrument and procedures to facilitate assiduous reflection among urban principals. The shadowing instrument provides urban principals with opportunities to think critically and reflectively about their practice. The data gleaned from the shadowing encounter are disaggregated so that the principal can readily see routine daily behaviors across three specific domains: instructional leadership, school management, and student social behaviors. The instrument also assesses the predominant leadership style of the respective principals. The article will conclude with policy recommendations directed to urban school districts and agencies concerned with the task of facilitating critical reflection among urban school leaders.

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The Emerging Reflective Urban Principal

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