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Education Sciences
Special Issues
Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development
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Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 January 2025 | Viewed by 6083

Special Issue Editors

Prof. Dr. Shelby Cosner

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Guest Editor
Dr. Morrill M. Hall Endowed Chair in Educational Administration, Department of Lifelong Learning, Administration and Policy, Mary Frances Early College of Education, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA
Interests: educational leadership preparation, development and coaching; prepare and develop educational leaders; design and testing (cluster randomized trial; randomized controlled trial) of leadership learning designs; leadership for school improvement; activist and equity-oriented school leadership; cultivate school leaders capacities for improving schools/students
Dr. Kathleen M. W. Cunningham

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Guest Editor
Department of Educational Leadership, Learning Design and Inquiry, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC 29208, USA
Interests: leadership preparation programs; improvement science; the intersection of science education with policy and leadership
Dr. Erin Anderson

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Studies; University of Denver, Denver, CO 80208, USA
Interests: school and district leadership practices; leadership preparation practice and policy; educator well-being, planning and implementing equity-focused continuous school improvement; and university-district partnerships for preparation and improvement

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

The last several decades have seen increased attention directed toward the exploration of effective educational leader preparation and development. Given that the development of school leaders is now recognized as “likely the most efficient way to affect student achievement” (Grissom et al., 2021, p. 40), there is an urgent need for more sustained and expansive studies to better inform the general preparation of program improvement and leader learning designs.

We are therefore excited to announce a forthcoming Special Issue of Educational Sciences that will take up this challenge. This Special Issue will focus on the preparation and development of educational leaders and will seek to address some of the key gaps in the existing knowledge base in the field by sharing work that

  • Thoroughly elaborates redesigned educational leader preparation/development program content, approaches, and learning experiences that have been demonstrated to have an impact on principal practice and/or schooling outcomes;
  • Considers the translation of leadership standards into program content, assessments, or learning experiences that have been demonstrated to have an impact on principals’ standards-aligned practices;
  • Examines features of preparation that have been associated with exemplary forms of preparation in order to understand how these features might vary across an assortment of exemplary preparation programs;
  • Examines processes of continuous program improvement and/or the use of data and data systems to inform ongoing improvement;
  • Rigorously tests educational leader learning designs, particularly multi-element learning designs, that tether leadership coaching/mentoring to more traditional forms of professional leader development;
  • Examines enhancements to educational leader preparation/development for equity-oriented aims;
  • Longitudinally examines the development of leader beliefs, attitudes, identities, and practices over time;
  • Examines leadership pipelines or aspects of such pipelines within the context of school districts and/or district/university partnerships.

Tentative Timeline:

December and January: The call for manuscripts and direct solicitation from a key group of principal preparation experts in the US and abroad.

February to early June: Work on manuscripts.

July: External reviews (the final selection of manuscripts for inclusion and a cycle of feedback for revision).

August: Final revisions to the manuscripts made by the authors.

September 1: Final revised manuscripts submitted.

Prof. Dr. Shelby Cosner
Dr. Kathleen M. W. Cunningham
Dr. Erin Anderson
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • leadership preparation
  • principal preparation
  • leader development
  • leadership coaching
  • leadership standards
  • continuous preparation
  • program improvement

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  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue polices can be found here.

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

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21 pages, 277 KiB  
Article
Dynamics in District–University Partnerships Focused on Leadership for Equity
by Daniella Molle, Emily Handsman, April Peters-Hawkins, Wehmah Jones, John Diamond, Emily Nott, Yeonsoo Choi, Mark White, Carl Greer, Jordan Mosby and Richard Halverson
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(11), 1221; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14111221 - 5 Nov 2024
Viewed by 977
Abstract
This paper discusses the development of district–university partnerships at the onset of a multi-year grant-funded initiative focused on leadership for equity. Using three illustrative partnership cases, we investigated district–university collaboration through the lens of mutualism, or the mutually beneficial nature of the [...] Read more.
This paper discusses the development of district–university partnerships at the onset of a multi-year grant-funded initiative focused on leadership for equity. Using three illustrative partnership cases, we investigated district–university collaboration through the lens of mutualism, or the mutually beneficial nature of the relationship. Our data analysis revealed the following dynamics as important for the development of mutualism: shared commitment, shared ownership, new collaborative structures, reciprocal benefits, and boundary spanners. We approached partnerships as learning processes, and used a typology of interorganizational learning to understand better how these dynamics sustained the partnerships. Our study contributes to the field’s knowledge of the development of formal partnerships in general as well as of partnerships explicitly focused on equity specifically. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development)
20 pages, 287 KiB  
Article
School Leader Preparation in the U.S. State of Virginia: Exploring the Relationship between Data Use in Standards and Program Delivery
by Coby V. Meyers, Lisa Abrams, Tonya R. Moon and Michelle Hock
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(10), 1081; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14101081 - 3 Oct 2024
Viewed by 851
Abstract
National school leadership standards are now de facto curriculum for preparation programs. Data use is embedded throughout standards to guide school improvement and classroom instruction. Yet, across a number of areas, pre-service principals do not appear ready to lead once in the field. [...] Read more.
National school leadership standards are now de facto curriculum for preparation programs. Data use is embedded throughout standards to guide school improvement and classroom instruction. Yet, across a number of areas, pre-service principals do not appear ready to lead once in the field. Principals are responsible for using various data to guide internal policies, school cultures, and capacity building, largely supporting teachers by establishing norms, expectations, and clear visions for data use in instructional decisions. In this study, we examined leadership preparation programs in one U.S. state to understand how data use is addressed in leader preparation. Our analysis of course description, syllabi, and program director interview data resulted in the following findings: (1) programs and courses seldom explicitly acknowledged data use as a topic; (2) when data use was acknowledged as a topic, it was infrequently tied to standards; (3) connections between data use and instructional change were limited; and (4) most programs relied on internships for leadership preparation programs to learn data use practices. There are opportunities for programs to make connections between standards, data use, and instructional improvement more explicit, as well as to clarify expectations for and increase oversight of field-based mentors. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development)

Review

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59 pages, 3397 KiB  
Review
Centering Equity within Principal Preparation and Development: An Integrative Review of the Literature
by Meagan S. Richard and Shelby Cosner
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(9), 944; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14090944 - 28 Aug 2024
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1379
Abstract
Throughout the globe, there is growing attention being paid to issues of equity and efforts to produce more equitable student learning outcomes in schools, and much of the scholarship internationally has begun to center school leaders as key drivers of more equitable conditions. [...] Read more.
Throughout the globe, there is growing attention being paid to issues of equity and efforts to produce more equitable student learning outcomes in schools, and much of the scholarship internationally has begun to center school leaders as key drivers of more equitable conditions. Indeed, in the United States, persistent inequities in education have highlighted the need for K-12 principals who can effectively support diverse students. Effective leader preparation and development, particularly with a focus on equity, is crucial, as it equips school leaders with the knowledge and skills to create inclusive and equitable learning environments. U.S.-based research highlights that high-quality, equity-centered preparation programs can significantly impact student outcomes, emphasizing the importance of integrating equity-focused training in leadership development. However, we know less about the design of high-quality preparation programs oriented around equity, and scholars have noted that current programs are often ill-equipped to prepare equity-centered leaders. Therefore, this study provides an integrative review of the U.S.-based equity-centered principal preparation literature to extract learnings from several types of publications, including descriptive and empirical studies, literature reviews, and conceptual essays. This study provides insights into four key elements of equity-centered principal preparation and development: program vision, curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment. This review consolidates insights from the existing literature into a single, accessible article, offering valuable learnings for program faculty, others who prepare school principals, and researchers focused on equity-centered preparation. Additionally, while centered on the U.S. context, this review is likely to be of value to leadership preparation and development programs in other national contexts, particularly those that have more recently begun to form. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development)
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Other

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19 pages, 1011 KiB  
Essay
Scaffolding Criticality: Iterations of Theory in Principal Preparation
by Jo Beth Jimerson and Ron D. Myers
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1298; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121298 - 26 Nov 2024
Viewed by 413
Abstract
Theory can be of immense value in practice and to practitioners, but is sometimes perceived as esoteric and inaccessible, or divorced from “real-world” knowledge and skills needed to enact school leadership. Policy and scholarship also call for the development of school leaders capable [...] Read more.
Theory can be of immense value in practice and to practitioners, but is sometimes perceived as esoteric and inaccessible, or divorced from “real-world” knowledge and skills needed to enact school leadership. Policy and scholarship also call for the development of school leaders capable of thinking in ways informed by a range of theories that help leaders consider issues from various perspectives. Developing principals capable of leading for the moment and in ways that improve PK–12 systems requires us to communicate about theory in a way that positions it as a window into and lens for practice and to make theory approachable for students. In this paper, drawing on scholarship and on our roles as principal preparation faculty and as former school principals, we outline a framework for thinking about and with theory in principal preparation and for embedding theory in learning in explicit ways. Together, the iterations of theory we discuss scaffold the ability of leaders to use theory to frame critical analyses, problem-solve, broaden awareness of educational and societal issues, and constructively critique K–12 education. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development)
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10 pages, 219 KiB  
Perspective
Toward an Intersectional Leadership Identity Development Approach
by Pedro J. De La Cruz Albizu
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1274; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121274 - 21 Nov 2024
Viewed by 457
Abstract
This paper introduces an intersectional leadership identity development framework to support both the leadership development of aspiring school leaders and the study of educational leadership. By combining aspects and insights from critical sensemaking, role identity, and intersectionality, this framework aims to expand the [...] Read more.
This paper introduces an intersectional leadership identity development framework to support both the leadership development of aspiring school leaders and the study of educational leadership. By combining aspects and insights from critical sensemaking, role identity, and intersectionality, this framework aims to expand the understanding of the flexible sensemaking of aspiring educational leaders, provide educational leadership preparation programs with necessary insights to better support the increasingly diverse cadre of aspiring leaders, and open new avenues of empirical research and practical application in the study of role identity and its influence on the preparation of successful school leaders. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Strengthening Educational Leadership Preparation and Development)
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Planned Papers

The below list represents only planned manuscripts. Some of these manuscripts have not been received by the Editorial Office yet. Papers submitted to MDPI journals are subject to peer-review.

Title: School Leader Preparation: Exploring the Relationship between Programs and Leader Data Use
Author: Meyers
Highlights: Programs do not appear to prioritize data use despite standards and regulations. Faculty appear to have limited expertise, seldom making data use a central focus of programming or classes. There is widespread reliance on mentors and internships to show students how to facilitate data use despite little knowledge about mentors’ own data knowledge and facilitation capacities.

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