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Partnerships have also been developed through The Center for Educational Leadership (CEL), in which the Leadership Academy, the preparation program for aspiring leaders, is located. Note: The university also offers a more traditional leadership preparation program for students from the surrounding 25 districts with which the university has partnered. This preparation program leads to principal licensure and an M.S. or Ed.S. degree. The Leadership Academy includes, but is not limited to (1) Partnering with a local school district to tap aspiring leaders; (2) Coursework (leading to a masters or education specialist degree) taught by university professors in partnership with practicing professionals from surrounding school districts; (3) Innovative scheduling which allows for an immersed, extended (4 days per week) full time internship experience; and (4) The Capstone Project which includes presentation of an electronic portfolio and an action research project to university faculty and members of the school system central office.

The pathway, leading to administrative licensure, is a full-time cohort program designed to provide a deep and intensive principal preparation experience. To enrich the coursework, faculty from colleges beyond the College of Education will teach one module per course. Faculty from business administration, communication, social work and others bring a new perspective to the traditional education-centric coursework. Moreover, ELPS faculty will be assisted by practitioner partners. A primary focus of the principal preparation program involves strong collaborative relationships with school-based personnel. A cornerstone of this collaboration is the integration of practitioners who will function as co-instructors with university-based professors.

The third groups of partners, the practitioner partners, are district level administrators or building level principals who hold an expertise in the major content area of the course. The school-based practitioner is considered an “expert” in the content of the course in which he/she co-teaches. Experiential knowledge is primarily considered when establishing someone as an “expert.” The practitioner works with the university professor in ongoing syllabus development and revision. This involves, among other activities, a careful review of the course syllabus focusing especially on content taught, assignments required, and evaluations of student performance. The practitioner functions in the role of a co-teacher, not a guest lecturer, in 3-4 classes during a given semester. The school-based practitioner works on the development of meaningful course assignments that are based in real-world school contexts.

Methodology

Study participants

Qualitative data were collected through interviews. Principal participants in the partnerships were asked to volunteer for interviews. Ten practitioner partners were identified and all agreed to be interviewed while three identified school district leaders agreed to be interviewed. Six superintendents, or their representatives, agreed to be interviewed and five university professors volunteered for participation. This resulted in a final sample size of 24 participants. Interviews took place both face-to-face and via telephone. All interdisciplinary partners contacted for an interview were unable to participate. A description of site participants is found in Table 1.

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Source:  OpenStax, Education leadership review, volume 12, number 1 (april 2011). OpenStax CNX. Mar 26, 2011 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col11285/1.2
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