0.1 1. performance is the new standard in the preparation of school  (Page 7/9)

Achilles and DuVall (1991) described the typical educational leadership program in the late twentieth century as focused on a limited knowledge base that emphasized just two areas. The first area was in the social sciences and included grounding in economics, geography, history, political science, psychology, social studies, and sociology. According to Achilles and Duvall, “This has led to a pseudo-scientific aura that surrounds course content, research methodology, and academic perspective” (p. 16). A knowledge base in educational administration, they suggested, should be framed around two distinct learning areas to have credibility and integrity. The social science area was basic to the profession and depended upon the “theoretical underpinnings that relates concepts and ideas, helps predict behaviors, and at least partially explains phenomena” (p. 16). The emphasis on obtaining knowledge within the social sciences was, as they pointed out, a necessary component of the educational administration curriculum. This area has been the primary focus of learning for the field over the last fifty years.

The second area, however, requires knowledge of self and performance. How well does the principal, superintendent, or other educational leader perform in the position? This is the area that had been neglected by the field as it embraced the rational scientific method. “The application of concepts requires the processing of real time feedback. It requires continuous adjustment, assessment of phenomena, and alteration of courses of action. Performance requires the practitioner to be ‘scholar on one’s feet’” (Achilles&Duvall, 1991, p. 16).

A shortcoming of the typical program in educational leadership at the end of the twentieth century was its focus on the pseudo-scientific rather than the practice of leadership. Students were expected to learn from a curriculum that emphasized theory over practice and measured success by the student’s ability to transfer knowledge through memorization of material from a lecture that described a prescribed practice.

Performance activities

A performance activity requires an active behavior by the student. Being an active participant is key to the learning performance. An active performance similar to the one described below offers insight into how structuring student behavior through a meaningful activity shapes student learning.

A Theory for Leading: Distributed Leadership

Activity #1: evaluating consensus decision-making

Each student will observe a district level team that is focused on an aspect of instructional improvement and complete a consensus protocol based upon team/committee performance. The consensus protocol will be used to observe individual leadership behavior in a group.

Reading: Before observing the team/committee for this assignment read:

• Spillane, J. P., Halverson, R. and Diamond, J. B. (2004). Towards a theory of leadership practice: a distributed perspective , Journal of Curriculum Studies, 36 (1) 3–34.
• Berry, J. E. (2005, Winter). Professional leadership accountability: Evaluating the work of educational teams, Education Leadership Review , 6 (1), 9-14.