More Pathways, More Providers: Examining the Institutional Transformation of Administrator Preparation in California

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Wednesday 7:45 am
  In Roundtable Session: Leadership Preparation Access Equity: Inclusive Practices, Pathways, Technologies, and Evaluation

Abstract

This paper traces the recent history, including the expansion of new providers and credentialing pathways in California, and explores how institutional and policy shifts are reshaping school leader preparation. Additionally, it raises the need to consider what these changes mean for the future of administrator preparation including the equity, rigor, and oversight of programming and credentialing. This analysis examines California’s evolving preparation landscape, using state-level credentialing data to trace institutional trends and explore their implications, underscoring tensions between California’s push for performance-based preparation and its continued reliance on flexible entry routes, a dynamic that poses important policy considerations around coherence and support. Implications for research and practice related to policy impacts on programming, preparation and the principal pipeline are discussed.

Authors

• Rebecca Cheung, University of California - Berkeley

• Melissa Itzel Virrueta-Peters, University of California - Berkeley

• Michelle D. Young, University of California - Berkeley