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Learners’ dispositional attributes form the foundations for their learning behaviour and therefore academic outcomes. This study aims to explore the dispositional attributes of postgraduate learners in coursework programs, and to understand the relationships between dispositional attributes and academic achievement at this level.

This study profiled the dispositions towards learning of 880 Master’s students in Australia, reported in an online survey. Statistical analysis was used to explore the possibility of underlying dispositional dimensions and latent clusters of participants within the cohort.

The profile of the cohort overall was as expected for an elite academic group, yet there was substantial variation between individuals. Cluster analysis identified three groups of students with meaningfully different dispositional profiles. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two underlying dispositional dimensions, representing epistemic and agentic attributes. Epistemic attributes were most closely related to academic achievement.

It is argued that students at Master’s level typically possess the agentic attributes necessary for effective self-regulation. At this level, therefore, epistemic attributes are more relevant for differentiating between higher and lower achieving students. The attainment of sophisticated epistemic attributes is in line with the stated goals of postgraduate education. This supports the explicit teaching of metacognitive and epistemic skills within postgraduate degrees.

This study contributes a detailed analysis of Master’s students’ dispositional profiles. Two underlying dispositional dimensions are identified, representing agentic and epistemic attributes. The importance of epistemic attributes for postgraduate academic achievement identifies an opportunity for targeted interventions to raise the quality of learning at this level.

The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the current provision for school leadership in Kenya, the extent to which they have an impact on student outcomes and the return on school leadership preparation and development investment.

The paper draws from educational leadership, management and administration courses delivered by universities and other institutions to aspiring and practising educational leaders in Kenya. It employs a method for evaluating return on leadership development investment first articulated by Eacott (2013).

While there is growth in provision, consistent with international trends, this provision is more recognised for its standardisation than points of distinction; there is minimal attention to identified dimensions of leadership leading to higher student outcomes which raises questions regarding the universality of school leadership preparation and development curriculum; and the high course costs of current provision is an inhibiting factor in assessing the return on investment in school leadership preparation and development.

The study was limited to publicly available documents from a limited sample of institutions. There is a need for more studies in the area.

Institutions seeking to offer school leadership development have grounds on which to make decision about what programs their school leaders should undertake in terms of cost and quality. The study provides institution offering school leadership development courses evidence on which to base future policy direction.

The findings provide a case for investing in school leadership development given the impact courses may have on student outcomes.

The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current provision on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya. It contributes to its understanding in Africa in terms of quality, performance impact and return on investment.

Counselor educators graduating from accredited doctoral programs complete training in counseling, supervision, teaching, research, scholarship, leadership, and advocacy. The purpose of this paper is to investigate the valued components of doctoral degree training in counselor education among new graduates.

Recent graduates in full-time counselor education positions were surveyed using the Delphi method to determine which aspects of their doctoral training best prepared them for their current positions.

The participants valued or desired training in teaching, research, supervision, and potential mentorship.

A serendipitous finding of the research was that mentorship, which was not a deliberate training feature, was highly valued by new counselor educators. Further research on which mentorship styles are best suited for counselor educator training is necessary. Continued training in teaching, research, and supervision is also necessary.

Some form of mentoring is desirable in counselor educator training programs to facilitate transition from year to year of doctoral study, as well as to assist transition from the role of student to faculty.

A desire to be mentored by faculty, specifically for students in counselor education doctoral programs, is revealed.