The Intersection of Learning and Work: An Examination of an Administrative License Program

• In Event: 63.084 - MTCC Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: 63.084-3 - Learning and Evaluating Principal Leadership

Abstract

Although public school administrators in Oregon are required to hold an active administrator license (AL), the state’s educator licensing agency provides no specific guidelines for this certification. Rather, institutions offering ALs set their own coursework, assessments, and competencies for this professional training intended to advance practitioner-oriented learning about how to engage in the effective organization and management of schools and school systems. This mixed methods study examines the intersection of learning and work in an Oregon AL program. Themes uncovered include the sense that coursework is largely disconnected from the reality of the workplace and that students are primarily motivated by professional advancement rather than intellectual growth. We end by offering implications to increase the intersection of learning and work.

Authors

• Joanna R. Smith, University of Oregon

• Lorna Porter, University of Oregon

• Brenda Marceline Yahraes, Linn Benton Lincoln ESD