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Preparation programs for school leaders are shaped by the ELCC standards and are of critical value to professors teaching in these programs. Principals can only implement the standards in partnership with teachers. The purposes of the study were to examine the perceptions of the value and implementation of the ELCC standards. Respondents in seven districts, totaling 132 administrators and teachers, value ranked each ELCC standard and identified the implementation level. Data were analyzed using conjoint analysis, the Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis analysis. Results indicated that teachers and principals generally value the ELCC standards in the same order of importance and the standards are practiced by the school leader. Implications for educational administration programs include the need to: develop understanding of the benefits of shared leadership; emphasize shared values by teachers and administrators; and instruct administrators how to identify, develop, and utilize teacher leaders to improve schools.

This manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and sanctioned by the National Council of Professors of Educational Administration (NCPEA) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of education administration. In addition to being published in Volume 10, Number 2 of the NCPEA Educational Leadership Review (ELR), it is also archived in the International Journal of Educational Leadership Preparation (Supplemental Link). Authors are: Marcia Morrison, Doreen Gosmire, and Joanne Van Osdel; University of South Dakota.

Introduction

There is widespread concern regarding the quality of American schools. This concern brings to the forefront public policies that led to an era of accountability and standards. (Enderlin-Lampe, 1997; Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Lindahl, 2007; Ylimaki, 2007). Several groups have come together for the purpose of developing professional standards to guide administrative practice. The development of professional standards for school administrators evolved into standards from the Educational Leadership Constituent Council (ELCC) currently used in administrative preparation programs in the United States.

Research regarding the school principal role is replete with definitions about the significance, complexity, and overwhelming nature of the job (Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Gurr, Drysdale,&Mulford, 2006; Keefe&Amenta., 2005). Grubb and Flessa studied efforts to create different approaches to the principal position because “The job is just too big for one person, with all the different programs and all the needs of the students” (p.519). More recent literature advises principals to share instructional leadership with teachers to increase student performance outcomes (Grubb,&Flessa, 2006; Mangin, 2007; Muijs&Harris, 2007; Tschannen-Moran, 2009). Teacher leadership requires deliberate planning and a set of shared values. “Growing teacher leaders needs to be an intentional act in our nation’s school systems”(Searby&Shaddis, 2008). The ELCC standards potentially provide a common set of understandings for principals and teacher leadership teams. This leads one to wonder about the value of administrative professional standards as perceived by teachers. Teachers did not have a strong presence in the development of the ELCC standards; however, they are integral to their successful implementation.

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Source:  OpenStax, Ncpea education leadership review, volume 10, number 2; august 2009. OpenStax CNX. Feb 22, 2010 Download for free at http://cnx.org/content/col10710/1.2
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