Democratic Leadership: The Changing Context of Administrative Preparation

Almost a decade ago, a national commission formally announced a time of crisis in American education. Since then, Americans have been engaged in a debate about the purpose and organization of tomorrow’s schools. While the early reform reports were silent on the preparation of school administrators, recent reports have focused on the failure to turn out well-prepared administrators. The National Commission on Excellence in Educational Administration (1987) and the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (1989) called for sweeping changes in the recruitment, preparation, regulation, and evaluation of school administrators. It was argued that raising standards for admission to educational administration programs, more courses, adding more rigor to existing courses, tighter certification requirements, competency-based licensing, and supervised school-site internships would address the concerns raised by practitioners and numerous other critics. Educational reforms directed toward raising the quality of our schools require administrators who are collaborative, dynamic, and innovative problem solvers; administrators who can guide the educational enterprise to higher achievement, provide individuals with aspirations and dreams, and critically inculturate the young into a political democracy.