Preparing Principals for a Changing World

Preparing Principals for a Changing World provides ahands-on resource for creating and implementing effective policiesand programs for developing expert school leaders. Written byacclaimed author and educator Linda Darling-Hammond and expertsDebra Meyerson, Michelle LaPointe, and Margaret Terry Orr, thisimportant book examines the characteristics of successfuleducational leadership programs and offers concrete recommendationsto improve programs nationwide. In a study funded by the Wallace Foundation, Darling-Hammond andthe team examined eight exemplary principal development programs,as well as state policies and principals' experiences across thecountry. Using the data from the study, they reveal how successfulprograms are structured, the skills and knowledge participantsgain, and what they are able to do in practice as school leaders asa 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 astrong emphasis on the cutting-edge theories of instructional andtransformational leadership. In addition to highlighting the programs' similarities, thestudy also explains the differences among the programs and shedslight on the effectiveness of approaches and models from differentstates and contexts?East, West, North, and South; urban and rural;pre-service and in-service. The authors analyze program outcomesfor principals and their schools, including illustrative casestudies and educators' voices on the influence of programs'strategies for recruitment, internships, mentoring, andcoursework. The ideas and suggestions outlined in Preparing Principalsfor a Changing World are presented with the goal of increasingthe number of highly qualified, thoughtful, and innovativeeducational leaders.