A LOOK BACK

“Training Subversives: The Ethics of Leadership Preparation”

By Frederick C. Buskey & Eric M. Pitts
November 2009

The authors of this article explain that traditional school leadership programs are adequate at helping leaders avoid doing harm, but there’s not much evidence that they prepare leaders to do good. In many cases, “doing good may indeed involve acts of sedition.” In their leadership preparation program, they ask students whether they’ve ever “subverted or sabotaged an order, directive, program, or policy” and discuss instances of when it might be appropriate to do so. Drawing on Martin Luther King Jr.’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail,” they guide aspiring leaders through a process for navigating ethical quandaries where some form of resistance might be required, and they share strategies for such resistance.

They acknowledge that “the path to teaching ethical resistance is littered with questions. What is the difference between a maverick and a brigand? How ethical is it to prepare leaders for the possibility of subverting the very organizations that will be employing them?” However, because schools are such complicated environments, they believe it’s important for aspiring leaders to grapple with these questions.

PDK members can read the full article by logging in to the member portal and searching the Publications Archive at https://members.pdkintl.org/kappan/publications-archive.

 

CONVERSATION PIECE

This issue examines what kinds of preparation school and district leaders need. Use these questions to reflect on the issue with your colleagues.

  • What skills do you think are most important for school and district leaders?
  • What preparation is required for leaders in your district? What should be required?
  • How can schools help teachers make the transition from classroom teacher to school or district leader?

PDK members have access to discussion guides related to specific articles in each issue of Kappan. Log in to the member portal and access the discussion guides at https://members.pdkintl.org/PDK_Member_Discussion_Questions.

 

RESEARCH CONNECTIONS

Developing effective principals

High-quality preparation and professional development improve how well principals do their job. They help to increase teacher retention and student achievement in the schools those principals serve. Unfortunately, differences in policies across states and districts result in uneven access to high-quality learning for principals.

A brief by the Learning Policy Institute looks at how state and district policies influence principals’ access to high-quality learning opportunities. It identifies a set of policy levers that states and districts can adopt to promote principal effectiveness. These include standards for leadership practices, preparation programs, licensure and investments in induction programs, leadership pipeline programs, and professional development.

Source: Learning Policy Institute. (2023, July). Developing effective principals: How policies can make a difference.

What do parents think about principals?

According to a report by the Rand Corporation based on in-depth interviews with parents from diverse backgrounds and regions across the United States, parents said principals support the academic success and well-being of their children by improving teaching and learning, building familiarity and rapport, and supporting diverse groups of learners.

Many parents don’t expect to interact a great deal with their child’s principal, but they want the principal to be a familiar figure who has a friendly relationship with students. Parents also hope their child’s principal will contact them directly if there is a concern. When their child does need support, how a principal engages with that child and their parents can substantially shape the trajectory of that child’s school experiences, parents reported.

Source: Rand Corporation. (2023, September). How can K-12 principals support student success and well-being? Interviews with parents to support equitable and culturally responsive leadership.

Principals’ professional development needs

An EdWeek Research Center 2021 survey of principals on their professional development (PD) needs and preferences revealed what they were seeking to learn about in the post-pandemic world.

According to the survey, 62% of principals said they wanted professional development in social-emotional learning and student well-being. Curriculum and instruction PD was sought by 55%, and 52% identified legal issues as a priority.

More principals in large districts (10,000 students or more) said they needed PD in technology (53%) compared to principals in districts with fewer than 2,500 students (28%).

Source: EdWeek Research Center. (2022, January). Principal professional development: Results of a national survey.

This article appears in the December 2023/January 2024 issue of Kappan, Vol. 105, No. 4, pp. 5-6.