04/05/05 -- At a time when high-quality educational leadership is critically needed for the nation’s schools, the quality of most preparation programs for education leaders ranges from “inadequate to appalling,” according to a study released March 14 by the Education Schools Project.
Educating School Leaders, by Arthur Levine, president of Teachers College at Columbia University, says many university-based programs are engaged in a counterproductive “race to the bottom,” in which they compete for students by lowering admission standards, watering down coursework, and offering faster and less demanding degrees.
According to Levine, this downward trend is exacerbated by states and school districts that reward teachers for taking courses in administration whether or not the material is relevant to their work, and whether or not those courses are rigorous.
Further, he says, many universities treat leadership education programs as “cash cows,” using them to bring in revenue for other parts of the campus and denying them the resources they need to improve.
Among the key recommendations in the report are the elimination of the Ed.D. degree in educational administration, the introduction of a new master’s in educational administration, and limiting the doctor of philosophy degree (Ph.D.) in school leadership to the preparation of researchers.
The study documents the following shortcomings in leadership-education programs:
• An irrelevant curriculum. The typical course of study amounts to little more than a grab bag of survey classes -- such as Historical and Philosophical Foundations of Education, Educational Psychology, and Research Methods -- with little relevance to the job of school leader.
• Low admission and graduation standards. Education school faculty give students in leadership programs their lowest ranking on academic motivation and performance.
• Weak faculty. Just 6 percent of all education faculty have been principals, and only 2 percent have been superintendents.
• Inadequate clinical instruction. Although many aspiring administrators say they want opportunities to connect university study with practical experience in the schools, meaningful clinical instruction is rare.
• Inappropriate degrees. There are too many degrees and certificates in educational administration, and they mean different things in different places.
• Poor research. Educational administration is overwhelmingly engaged in non-empirical research, and it is disconnected from practice.
The report is available at www.edschools.org. .