School Leadership Study: Developing Successful Principals

Author: Davis, S., Darling-Hammond, L., LaPointe, M., Meyerson, D.
Publisher: Stanford University, Stanford Educational Leadership Institute
Publication Date: 2005
Full text available online at: http://seli.stanford.edu/research/documents/SELI_sls_research_review.pdf

Abstract (written by WestEd)

This three-year study sets out to learn explicitly about the specific features and program attributes that influence leaders' beliefs and behaviors in ways that improve student learning. It will conduct eight in-depth case study analyses of highly developed pre- and in-service program models in five states (CA, NY, CT, KY, MS), and will track the graduates into the schools they lead. The study will address three primary research topics: qualities of exemplary programs, contexts of exemplary programs (including organization, politics, and finances), and impacts of exemplary programs. The literature review, addressed in this report, produced four key findings that have been confirmed by consensus, but not research:

1. Essential Elements of Good Leadership — Successful leaders influence student achievement by both supporting and developing effective teachers and implementing effective organizational processes; school leader licensing and preparation requirements have reflected this consensus with a common set of knowledge, skills, and dispositions.
2. Features of Effective Programs — They are research-based, have curricular coherence, provide experience in authentic contexts, use cohort groups and mentors, emphasize problem-based learning, and enable collaboration between the program and area schools.
   
3. Multiple Pathways to Leadership Development — Most preparation programs are university-based, district-initiative, third-party run (non-profits and statewide leadership academies), or partnerships between groups, while a great variation of in-service programs exists.
   
4. Policy Reform and Finances — Effective policy aligns budget and state processes with leadership priorities, develops a pool of potential school leaders, and promotes more rigorous licensing and credentialing; additional research is needed to understand how successful leadership programs and policies are implemented, governed, and financed.

The literature review closes with four key questions that the study will use to collect the data to investigate the above consensus views.

Note: The First Ring Leadership Academy has applied many of the findings from this literature review.