Inquiry-Based Service Learning in a University-Based Educational Leadership Program: Service Leadership and Internship in a Principal Fellows Program

Abstract

To lead effectively, educational leaders need to be both inquisitive about problems of practice and skilled in devising and implementing collaborative plans of action focused on redressing such problems. In response to changes in licensure regulations and criticisms – notably from within the field – that university-based programs have historically graduated ineffective educational leaders who fail to implement mandated reforms, programs have changed to include (a) a focus on the context in which graduates of the program will most likely lead (the local school communities) and (b) the immersion of program participants in a process of inquiry into problems of practice. Internships provide the setting for both these inclusions. Referencing the concept of “elbow learning,” this chapter discusses how the inquiry-based and service learning ideals integrate in Service Leadership Projects (SLPs) conducted during the internship requirement of a university-based educational leadership program in a Mid-Atlantic state in the United States. SLPs are well-designed to enhance the agency of prospective educational leaders, while delivering both tangible and intangible benefits to both the university and the school in which the internship is conducted. SLPs dovetail with a long-standing, state-financed program that supports the development of leaders for public schools.

Citation

Reardon, R.M. (2014), "Inquiry-Based Service Learning in a University-Based Educational Leadership Program: Service Leadership and Internship in a Principal Fellows Program", Inquiry-based Learning for Faculty and Institutional Development: A Conceptual and Practical Resource for Educators (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 1), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 339-356. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120140000001017