In the face of recent articles describing a mass exodus of principals without suitable replacements, our investigation into the nature of professional development for school leaders has implications for preparation and staff development programs. This article reviews findings from interviews with committed administrators and places them within the context of new research on principals as lifelong learners who publicly model intellectual curiosity.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
AckermanR., DonaldsonG., and Van Der BogertR. (1996). Making sense as a school leader.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
2.
BarthR. (1996). The principal learner: A work in progress.Cambridge, MA: The Internal Network of Principals’ Centers.
3.
BarthR. (1990). Improving schools from within: Teachers, parents and principals can make the difference.San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
4.
BlaseJ., and BlaseJ. (1994). Empowering teachers: What successful principals do.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
5.
BogdanR., and BiklenS. (1998). Qualitative research for education: An introduction to theory and methods.Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
6.
Boris-SchacterS. (1999). The principal and the superintendent: New relationships during an era of reform. New directions for school leadership, 10 (winter). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
7.
CrossP. (1981). Adults as learners.Washington: Jossey-Bass.
8.
DaleyB. (1999). Principal shortage looms for school districts. Boston Globe (June 22).
DareshJ.C., and PlaykoM. A. (1992). Perceived benefits of a preservice administrative mentoring program. Journal of Personnel Evaluation in Education (6), 15–22.
11.
DonaldsonG. (1997). On being a principal: The rewards and challenges of school leadership. New directions for school leadership, 5 (fall). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
12.
Educational Research Service (1998). Is there a shortage of qualified candidates for openings in the principalship: An exploratory study.Virginia: Educational Research Service.
13.
GlaserB., and StraussA. (1967). The discovery of grounded theory: Strategies for qualitative research.Chicago: Aldine.
HoerrT. R. (1997). Making time for collegiality. Education Week (23 April), 40–42.
16.
HoustonP. (1998). The ABCs of administrative shortages. Education Week (June), 44–45.
17.
JohnsonS. M. (1990). Teachers at work: Achieving success in our schools.New York: Basic Books.
18.
KellerB. (1998). Principals’ shoes are hard to fill, study finds. Education Week (18 March), 3.
19.
LambertL., WalkerD., ZimmermanD., CooperJ., LambertM., GardnerM., and Ford-SlackP. (1995). The constructivist leader.New York: Teachers College Press.
20.
LeithwoodK., BegleyP. T., and CousinsJ. B. (1994). Developing expert leadership for future schools.London: Falmer Press.
21.
LevineS. (1989). Promoting adult development in schools: The promise of professional development.Boston: Allyn and Bacon.
22.
LiebermanA. (1988). Building a professional culture in schools.New York: Teachers College Press.
23.
LiebermanA. (1995). Practices that support teacher development: Transforming conceptions of professional learning. Phi Delta Kappan, 591–596.
24.
LightfootS. L. (1983). The good high school: Portraits of character and culture.New York: Basic Books, Inc.
25.
LincolnY. S., and GubaE. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry.Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
26.
LipsitzJ. (1984). Successful schools for young adolescents.New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Books.
27.
LittleJ. W., and McLaughlinM. W. (1993). Teacher's work: Individuals, colleagues, and contexts.New York: Teachers College Press.
28.
LordB. (1994). Teacher's professional development: Critical colleagueship and the role of professional communities. In CobbN. (Ed.), The future of education: Perspectives on national standards in America (pp. 175–204). New York: College Entrance Examination Board.
29.
MarloeL. (1998). School principals in short supply. The Patriot Ledger (23 July), 1.
30.
MilesM., and HubermanM. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook.Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
31.
Massachusetts Board of Education (1995). Charting the course: The common chapters.Malden, MA: Massachusetts Department of Education.
32.
MurphyJ., and LouisK. S. (1994). Reshaping the principalship: Insights from transformational reform efforts.Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
33.
National Commission on Excellence in Education (1983). A nation at risk: The imperative for educational reform.Washington DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.
34.
NelsonB. (1997). Lenses on learning: How administrators’ ideas about mathematics, learning, and teaching influence their approaches to action in an era of reform.Newton, MA: Educational Development Center, Inc.
35.
OjaS. N. (1995). Adult development: Insights on staff development. In LiebermanA., and MillerL. (Eds.), Staff development for education in the 90s (pp. 37–60). New York: Teachers College Press.
36.
PfeifferS. (1997). As principals leave, successors are few. Boston Sunday Globe, West Weekly (29 June), 1.
37.
RosenholtzS. (1985). Effective schools: Interpreting the evidence. American Journal of Education, 93(3), 352–388.
38.
RutterM., MaughanB., MortimoreP., and OustonJ. (1979). Fifteen thousand hours: Secondary schools and their effects on children.Cambridge: Harvard University Press.