Some fifteen years ago, three professors from Scandinavia visited me to find out how to create a new, university-based principal development program at their university. If I had had a copy of Six Steps to Preparing Exemplary Principals and Superintendents by John R. Hoyle and Mario S. Torres, Jr., my task would have been much easier. Hoyle and Torres provide a focused and straightforward case to policy makers, practitioners, and university professors as they consider program standards, program delivery models, and program outcomes in the education of exemplary educational leaders. The text has two especially strong features. First, the authors anchor their analysis and recommendations in research. Second, the examples for program design and delivery currently exist in selected universities and are not hypothetical cases. Thus, those professionals wanting to enhance their current programs have vital exemplars from which they can learn.
Paul V. Bredeson, professor and chair, Department of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis, University of Wisconsin-Madison The most complete analysis of today's educational leadership programs. By balancing research, field observations, and the literature, Hoyle and Torres offer insight into every aspect of preparing exemplary principals and superintendents for our schools. A masterfully created must-read for every professor of educational administration in the country.
Theodore B. Creighton, professor of educational leadership and policy studies, Virginia Tech; former executive director of the National Council of Prof Hoyle and Torres (educational administration and future studies, Texas A&M U.) enumerate six steps to guide educational administration professors and program administrators in preparing principals and superintendents in master's and doctoral leadership education programs for their work in schools. Drawing from research and colleagues, they explain how to select the best graduate students, create pretests and post-assessments of student learning, and align programs with the 2008 Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium Education Policy Standards, research, and best practices, to ensure that all students acquire a strong knowledge base and score well on licensure exams. They also detail how to create and maintain student advisory committees and effective support staff, and survey students to gather feedback for program improvement.
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