Daring to Link Principal Preparation Programs to Student Achievement in Schools

Abstract

This paper is anchored in the assumption that the preparation of school principals has, as one of several other factors and however indirectly, an impact on student achievement in schools. It suggests that the recently proposed outcome-based leadership standards constitute a useful tool with which to operationalize this assumption. The paper examines two well-known and respected leadership conceptual frameworks which are commonly used in leadership preparation programs, finds them to include the mention of student achievement only sporadically and recommends to incorporate into the preparation more conceptual work which relates leadership to student achievement. The paper introduces information about 60 pertinent studies including theoretical and field research work and argues for exposing trainees to such work. In an attempt to provide specific examples of teaching trainees to achieve leadership standards which are outcome-based, the paper reports on a preliminary study which found that the outcome-based culture standard and the outcome-based collaboration standard may be less emphasized in preparation programs than they probably should. The context standard is taught probably more than research justifies it. The paper as a whole constitutes input to the continuing debate about the knowledge base, which is to be introduced in preparation programs. It also offers an introduction to the further study of ways of maximizing the incorporation of scholarly work on the leadership-student achievement linkage into leadership preparation programs.