Educational Administration: Preparation for Addressing the Problems of Practice

• In Event: Roundtable Session 4
  In Roundtable Session: Unpacking the "Black Box" of Clinical Preparation of Educators: An Opportunity for Public Scholarship

Abstract

This paper focuses on the Educational Administration program which is part of the set of programs working toward continuing accreditation with the Council of Educator Preparation Programs (CAEP – formerly the National Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education - NCATE). Taken as a whole, the research initiative represents a pilot of the new conception of a Transformation Initiative Option (TI) which adds a layer of research and inquiry to the accreditation process. With a focus on candidates in the educational administration program, this part of the study examined how key assessments were used in clinical practice to support candidates and how candidates described the importance of clinical practice to their overall development as school leaders. This includes the development of research, knowledge, skills, and critical reflection as candidates grow into their roles as visionary leaders who understand the problems of practice influencing student outcomes. The specific research questions that informed the broad study included the following:
1. What design elements of clinical practice allow candidates to understand problems of practice in educational administration through adaptable, contextualized, and authentic strategies?
2. What measures assess candidates’ progress in understanding the problems of practice, including those that impact learning and student outcomes, during clinical practice?
As we considered the research influencing this study, it was clear that despite compelling evidence regarding the significance of leadership in educational reform, there are two major gaps in existing literature that warrant investigation. First, there is dearth of research that examines the knowledge, skills, and dispositions candidates gain in educational administration preparation programs and possible changes that occur in schools led by the graduates of these programs (Murphy & Vriesenga, 2004). Such paucity in scholarship creates the need for a new research agenda—one that examines the design elements of clinical practices and candidate assessment measures in an educational administration preparation program. This understanding will inform how preparation influences candidates’ abilities to shape the learning environment to improve learning.
The study included interviews and document analysis. Interview participants were selected from candidates in the Educational Adminstration Program enrolled in their final capstone internship course, preceding their comprhensive exam. Following existing norms in qualitative research design, 20 candidates were selected for the interviews.
Through the examination of assessments and interviews, as well as a rigorous process of qualitative analysis, two key themes emerged from the interviews and document analysis. First, candidates emphasized the importance of the site supervisor/mentor and intern relationship. School-based mentors were frequently cited as critical and essential to a high-quality clinical experience, even in smaller course projects. Students described feeling a lack of interaction with some mentors as a blockade to authentic feedback and experiences. Second, the mutual expectations for assessments in terms of requirements and evaluation were key to the impact of the assessments. In addition to these two themes, there was clear and immediate response by the educational administrator preparation program to understand more about the results of the document analysis and the feedback of students.

Authors

• Jennifer K. Clayton, The George Washington University

• Abebayehu Aemero Tekleselassie, The George Washington University

• Ashley Briggs

• Kimberly Ruth Jamison, The George Washington University