What is it about?
The need to identify and suitably prepare teachers to undertake school leadership roles especially as principals is now well documented in the literature. Similarly documented is the general concern about the lack of suitable applicants willing to consider the role. This study raised the question of what might be learnt when a purposefully-selected cohort of 31 teachers drawn from executive, non-principal roles participated in a year-long, multi-phased leadership development program: The Flagship Program of the Association of Independent Schools of New South Wales, Australia (AIS). The design of the program was informed by internationally-acknowledged principles of good practice in leadership preparation. Evaluation of the program combined action learning methodologies working with participants with more formal evaluation of each of the program’s stages to investigate participant growth and program effectiveness. The action learning component undertaken with the direct involvement of all participants was able to pinpoint what the participants themselves saw as important and what was less so at this stage of their preparation for school leadership roles. In so doing, the study adds a valuable participant perspective to the overall literature on leadership preparation.
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Why is it important?
There are many components recognized as being important in leadership preparation. This paper highlights, from an in-depth analysis over time, those of particular importance to one cohort at this stage of their career trajectory from the classroom to the principal's office.
Perspectives
This paper documents a year-long study of the inaugural cohort of a new principal preparation program, known simply as 'The Flagship Program', premised on the belief that effective leadership is as much about the inner journey of knowing and managing oneself and one's values as about the outer journey of acquiring the necessary knowledge and skills. The study tracked each of the 30 participants as they grew in self-awareness and considered whether they were willing and ready to assume the role of school principal. The Flagship Program has been effective in preparing aspiring principals for the role, judged by participants' own assessments, by the numbers of graduates who have successfully transitioned into principal roles, and by those who have decided that principalship is not the right path for them.
Dr Leoni Degenhardt
Association of Independent Schools of NSW
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Journeys to school leadership, Educational Management Administration & Leadership, June 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/1741143214558574.
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