Lessons Learned: The Evaluation of a University–District Professional Development Program for Rural School Administrators

• In Event: 66.080 - Roundtable Session 26
  In Roundtable Session: 66.080-1 - Enhancing Leadership Capacity Through Professional Development

Abstract

Principals require ongoing professional development to meet the increasing demands on their schools. While early-career principals typically receive some mentoring support, there are generally fewer mentoring opportunities available for mid-career principals, particularly in rural districts. In this paper, we used Guskey’s (2000) model for evaluating professional development to assess a two-year, cross-district pilot program for mid-career principals and their mentors in nine rural school districts. Our analysis showed that central to participants’ satisfaction and learning increasing throughout the program was a flexible delivery model that allowed for collaborative interaction and high levels of trust to develop among all stakeholders. The results have important implications for mid-career principal leadership development in rural schools and the formation of university-district partnerships.

(Section 5a)

Authors

• Hans W. Klar, Clemson University

• Frederick Chaim Buskey, Clemson University

• Matthew R. Della Sala, Purdue University

• Jane Clark Lindle, Clemson University

• Robert Charles Knoeppel, Clemson University

• Kenyae Lynette Reese, Clemson University

• Michael Campbell

• Russ Marion, Clemson University

• Phillip Michael Wilder, Clemson University

• Roberto Flores, Clemson University