Defining Preparation and Professional Development for the Future

TLDR

The article reviews past principal and superintendent preparation and proposes future development strategies for these leaders. The authors find that traditional university-based programs cannot fully deliver essential skills and knowledge, and recommend redesigning preparation to address beliefs, practice problems, institutional coordination, research findings, large-scale improvement lessons, and stronger collaboration between higher education, professional organizations, and districts.

Abstract

This article provides an overview of principal and superintendent preparation in the past and offers suggestions for the future development of such leaders. Implications for principal and superintendent preparation are that many essential skills and much important knowledge cannot be delivered by a traditional university-based program. Although the authors continue to support the preparation of principals and superintendents in university-based programs for these harsh and demanding times, they recommend that the programs (a) attend to belief, attitude, and philosophy; (b) deal with problems in practice; and (c) foster institutional arrangements to allow for coordination of efforts with schools. Preparation must be redesigned to reflect the findings of research on the advancement of professional practice. Preparation programs must be reorganized to reflect what we have learned from large-scale school improvement efforts. There must be closer association between higher education, the professional organizations, and districts themselves to provide preparation outside conventional classroom settings.