3.3 Preparing, developing, and credentialing k-12 school leaders:  (Page 10/10)

Summary

Educational administration has struggled to find legitimacy and relevancy as a field for most of the last one hundred years. The problem was that relevancy was debated around the limits of a university-based pre-service curriculum. It was within the roles of teacher, principal, and superintendent that the skills, abilities, and knowledge, were acknowledged and practiced. That is, the profession long recognized a set of skills and competencies for educational leadership that integrated knowledge utilized in performing one’s role after graduating with a degree from the university.

During the latest reform movement the importance of highly trained and competent educational leaders became all too evident to the school districts seeking higher levels of student performance. School districts quickly recognized that training for improved student learning was a necessary requirement for educational leaders charged with making educational improvement. Appropriate training throughout one’s career is the missing component of educational administration that, in fact, complements the university-based pre-service program of preparation. The field of educational administration must recognize that educational leadership preparation spans a career.

The dynamic environment associated with leading an educational organization demands a lifetime of learning. More importantly, all educators must recognize this environment as a demanding venue that requires professional development over the course of a career. One can no longer expect a school administrator to know or understand all of the complexity associated with leading an educational organization upon completion of a university-based preparation program in educational administration. Educational administration has become a profession of complexity that requires depth of study and continuous learning throughout one’s professional career.

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