Designing a Standards-Based Master’s Program in Educational Leadership: Trends, Contexts, and Adaptations, 8(9)

Abstract

We present a dialogue about the current context for educational leadership preparation that draws upon worldwide thought and discussion. We examine some of the significant developments and a new conceptualization of educational leadership, and we link these developments to implications for preparation of school leaders for the future. These developments may be categorized as shifts in epistemology and values, concerns about the integration of theory with practice, the rise of the standards movement in education for leadership preparation, the contested role of the academy in addressing these issues, new ideas about program design, and specific features of the Alberta context that inform the orientation of an educational leadership program. Upon reflection of these trends and contexts, we conclude with a structure and content proposal for a Master of Education cohort focus group specializing in educational leadership at The University of Lethbridge, Alberta. Appendix A features a description of topics that each of our courses tackle; Appendix B includes some of the Internet sources we used to scan what others say about educational leadership programming.