Preparing Principals for a Changing World provides a hands-on resource
for creating and implementing effective policies and programs for
developing expert school leaders. Written by acclaimed author and
educator Linda Darling-Hammond and experts Debra Meyerson, Michelle
LaPointe, and Margaret Terry Orr, this important book examines the
characteristics of successful educational leadership programs and offers
concrete recommendations to improve programs nationwide.
In a study funded by the Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond and the
team examined eight exemplary principal development programs, as well as
state policies and principals' experiences across the country. Using the
data from the study, they reveal how successful programs are structured,
the skills and knowledge participants gain, and what they are able to do
in practice as school leaders as a result.
What do these exemplary programs have in common? Aggressive
recruitment; close ties with schools in the community; on-the-ground
training under the wing of expert principals, and a strong emphasis on
the cutting-edge theories of instructional and transformational
leadership.
In addition to highlighting the programs' similarities, the study also
explains the differences among the programs and sheds light on the
effectiveness of approaches and models from different states and
contexts?East, West, North, and South; urban and rural; pre-service and
in-service. The authors analyze program outcomes for principals and
their schools, including illustrative case studies and educators' voices
on the influence of programs' strategies for recruitment, internships,
mentoring, and coursework.
The ideas and suggestions outlined in Preparing Principals for a
Changing World are presented with the goal of increasing the number of
highly qualified, thoughtful, and innovative educational leaders.
