Viewpoints
Leading to Reform:
Educational Leadership for the 21st Century
This booklet and accompanying audio journal series provide a general overview of the central issues related to the crisis in school leadership. Through these materials, parents, community members, policymakers, and other interested parties can gain a better understanding of the issues surrounding questions of leadership in our schools.
The Booklet: A Guide to Contents
- Introduction
The authors define what they mean by the term "school leadership." - Good Schools Need Good Leaders
The authors address the issue of why we should care about school leadership and summarize what we know about how good leaders influence schools and students. The authors identify four skills of an effective leader, based on a recent forum of the National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policymaking and Management: (1) instructional leadership; (2) management; (3) communication, collaboration, and community building; and (4) vision development, risk taking, and change management. - Is There a Shortage of Effective School Leaders?
In this third section, the authors look at the people who hold positions of school leadership and discuss concerns that, in the near future, there will be a shortage of well-qualified applicants for these leadership positions. They examine the obstacles and barriers potential school principals face. Among the leading deterrents are insufficient compensation, cumbersome and costly certification requirements, and burdensome job activities. - Changes in the Job Description
The authors discuss the job of the school leader, how it has changed in recent years, and how those changes potentially reduce the attractiveness of leadership positions. - Policy Options for the Future of School Leadership
The final section suggests ways in which policymakers might deal with the potential leadership crisis from a teacher preparation, leader recruitment, and job redefinition perspective. - Conclusion
- References
The Audiotapes
Leading to Results: Educational Leadership for the 21st Century
The two-part program explores what it takes and what it means to be an effective principal. The featured experts explain that leadership skills are needed not only to manage a school and coordinate a variety of activities, but also to support engaged learning and to encourage human creativity and interaction to flourish.
(Note: These audio files are not available online. They are available from the NCREL Catalog.)
Your hosts:
Ed Janus, executive producer,
Corporate Radio Network
Marianne Kroeger, director,
Office of Information and Outreach, NCREL
Featured experts include:
Tape One
This tape explores the "new principalship" and the difficulties some districts face in finding and training qualified principals. The tape features interviews with national experts and practitioners, including:
Darlene Merry, director of staff development, Montgomery County (Maryland) Public Schools
Michael Usdan, president, Institute for Educational Leadership
Nancy Protheroe, researcher, Education Research Service
Joseph Murphy, president of the Ohio Principals Academy and chair of the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium
Louis Martinez, community superintendent, Montgomery County Public Schools
Mary Elizabeth Lacy, consultant to principal-interns, Montgomery County Public Schools
Gayle Mollet, principal intern, Resnik Elementary School, Montgomery County Public Schools
David Kahn, high school history resource teacher, Montgomery County Public Schools
Tape Two
This tape continues exploring issues of quality and quantity. Featured guests include:
Howard Fuller, former superintendent, Milwaukee Public Schools, and current director of the Institute for the Transformation of Learning, Marquette University
Deborah McGriff, former superintendent, Detroit Public Schools, and current president of Edison Colleges
Deborah Meier, head of the Mission Hill School, Boston, and former head of the Central Park East School in Harlem
Mary Beth Blegen, former teacher in residence at the U.S. Department of Education
Roland Barth, Principals' Center, Harvard University
Gordon Calwelti, former superintendent, Tulsa Public Schools; executive director, ASCD; and senior researcher at the Education Research Service
Lamar Whitmore, principal of Flower Hill School, Montgomery County Public Schools
Ellie DeYoung, principal on special assignment, Elementary Administrative Training Program, Montgomery County Public Schools
