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The purpose of this paper is to ascertain, describe, and compare the components of existing leadership preparation programs in the USA and other countries; and to understand the policy‐based processes, challenges, and needs of support for program development for conceptualizing globally minded school leadership.

The purpose of this paper is to ascertain, describe, and compare the components of existing leadership preparation programs in the USA and other countries; and to understand the policy‐based processes, challenges, and needs of support for program development for conceptualizing globally minded school leadership.

Limited growth regarding globally minded school leader research and development can be accounted for. Furthermore the increasing internationalization of university programming to include expanded course offerings and greater opportunities of international exchanges that bring students face‐to‐face with perspectives different from those indigenous to their home cultures speaks directly to the need for a shift in leadership preparation to better address the impact of globalization and intercultural exchange on youth learning in schools.

An intercultural analysis of leadership preparation programs with a focus on globally minded leadership is a new endeavor. The findings can be used to inform the next generation of policy formation for twenty‐first century leadership preparation program development.

The purpose of this study is to review the landscape of empirical evidence on school leadership preparation and subsequent school-level effectiveness while conceptually exploring how societal transformations and educational changes shaped leadership development within the mainland of the People's Republic of China. Conceptually, this study is informed by Murphy and Vriesenga's (2006) comprehensive review of empirical work on leadership preparation, evaluative work on the pathway from preparation to school-level practice (cf, the UECA taskforce on evaluating the effectiveness of leadership preparation; Orr & Kottkamp, 2003; Orr & Orphanos, 2011) and empirical literature on school improvement. Data come from extensive reviews of English and Chinese language articles, conference papers, doctoral and master's theses, and other reports of research on the preparation of school leaders in Mainland China. Using a combination of inductive and deductive strategies, the lead author analyzed all selected sources using a three-pronged framework: who is being prepared for school leadership positions in China, by what design and delivery methods they are being prepared, and how well they are fulfilling leadership practices and expectations for which they are being prepared. The current analysis adds to the international knowledge base of the pathway between preparation and practice. It also highlights the importance of considering the cultural, social, and political context that shapes conceptions of leadership and the design and implementation of educational leadership preparation programs.

In this chapter we used a content analysis process (Sanzo, 2012) on select 2010 and 2013 funded grant projects that focus specifically on leadership preparation and development in small and mid-sized urban school districts. The purpose of this analysis was to better understand how School Leadership Program (SLP) grant projects approach leadership preparation and development in small to medium-sized districts. Specifically, we explored how and in what ways did these grant-funded partnerships propose to recruit, structure partnerships, and mentor/coach participants. We discovered that SLP projects in this analysis utilize innovative means of recruiting and selecting program participants in a variety of ways, do not utilize a “one-size-fits” all model in their approach to preparing and developing school leaders, and employ authentic partnerships utilize a variety of collaborative mechanisms.

This paper highlights the potential value of “return on investment” analysis for leadership development investment methods to better providing research informed decision regarding improving organisational outcomes.

Working with published research on leadership dimensions with greatest impact on student outcomes, return on leadership development formula, and empirical research on Australian university‐based educational leadership programmes, this paper demonstrates an illustrative example of estimating the return on leadership investment.

Using an illustrative example of Australian university‐based educational leadership programmes, this paper argues that methodologies for estimating the return on leadership development offers a powerful tool for making research informed decisions at the individual, organisational and systemic levels.

This paper provides the basis for substantial further work on the measures of impact of leadership preparation and development such as matters of duration of effect, instrumentations of quality, costing and causal models of effect.

The methodology demonstrated in this paper provides a basis for individuals, organisations and school systems to make decisions regarding the resourcing, or not, of school leadership preparation and development.

The methodology demonstrated in this paper provides a basis for individuals, organisations and school systems to make decisions regarding the resourcing, or not, of school leadership preparation and development.

The application of return on investment analysis has been rare in educational leadership preparation and development programmes and its value opens up information for rigorous debate on the resourcing, or not, of programmes by systems, government and individuals.

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.

In a global context characterised by a growing recognition of the role that educational leaders play in ensuring school effectiveness and the consequent need to design effective leadership preparation programmes, many educational leadership preparation providers around the world have borrowed international standards and frameworks in order to guide their programmes and assure their quality. This trend has been on the rise as a response to globalisation pressures and a growing interest in acquiring international recognition through accreditation agencies. However, this raises important questions about the potential repercussion of using foreign, mainly Western, frameworks to develop or assess national leadership preparation provision. Evidence from relevant literature indicates that these frameworks, when applied to local contexts, need to take contextual factors into account. In this chapter, we engage with existing literature in relation to leadership preparation, internationalisation and professional standards to reflect on our experience of using international standards to develop the Masters in Educational Administration programme offered by Sultan Qaboos University (SQU) in Oman. We hope to contribute to existing internationalisation literature by providing a different perspective on educational administration and leadership preparation from a non-Western tradition, thereby expanding the understanding of meaningful leadership preparation in general.

The purpose of this study was to identify how current K-12 district and school leaders who are alumni of an educational administration program describe how they acquired the essential skills and experiences needed to be effective in the leadership positions.

For this qualitative study, the authors interviewed program alumni of one university leadership preparation program regarding the experiences and training they identified as having prepared them with the necessary skills, knowledge, and attitudes to be successful in their positions, as well as which components of their administrative internship experiences, if any, they identified as having most prepared them for their positions.

School and district administrators indicated they acquired the knowledge, skills, and attitudes necessary to become successful leaders through specific preparation experiences and opportunities. Key experiences cited by alumni included gaining some leadership responsibilities while they were teachers and further opportunities to lead in the administrative internship; engaging in practical, hands-on assignments in their graduate degree program courses; learning from other administrators with unique areas of work responsibilities, as well as from other schools and districts; and receiving guidance from a dedicated mentor.

The findings from this study contribute to research in the area of administrator preparation by guiding preparation programs in prioritizing the types of training and practicum experiences that aspiring K-12 educational leaders receive as a component of their preparation programs.

The International Study of Principal Preparation (ISPP) informs principal preparation in relation to change in schools. The paper aims to discuss this issue.

The three-stage ISPP study utilized a mixed-methodological approach. Data were gathered in Kenya, South Africa, and Alberta, Canada utilizing a survey instrument that contained items that focussed on: problematic leadership responsibilities, prior leadership development experiences, and perceived adequacy of leadership preparation experiences.

Leadership preparation in Kenya and South Africa was relatively unstructured, compared to structured university-based leadership preparation in Alberta. The assumption in Kenya and South Africa was that classroom teaching was adequate preparation, while Alberta respondents perceived teaching and leadership as discrete knowledge sets. Content of preparation experiences in Kenya and South Africa was mainly about teaching and learning, while in Alberta it was more about instructional leadership. Kenyan principals felt prepared for the principalship. Alberta principals stated that they were ill prepared to deal with day-to-day responsibilities. Senior South African principals felt they were not prepared for school improvement while younger principals felt they were adequately prepared.

Findings suggest that providers utilize cross-cultural partnerships that incorporate technology-mediated dialogue and action research. Cross-cultural learning should be considered co-learning. Preparation should include partnerships between western institutions and informal groups of principals in settings such as Kenya and South Africa. The study informs policymakers, researchers, and school leaders.

The cross-cultural comparisons in this paper inform understandings of the principalship in relation to organizational change in schools.

The purpose of this legacy paper is to review leadership preparation over time in the United States and addresses challenges ahead. It is hoped that the US developments will be instructive to an international audience interested in strengthening the preparation of school leaders.

The paper synthesizes research and commentary on leadership preparation programs in the US as a basis for identifying five challenges ahead.

Meaningful change should be informed by the past but not bound by tradition. It is imperative to be open to different viewpoints, to take reasonable – and at times bold – risks, and to question deeply held values and assumptions. Broad recognition of the significant role school leaders play in facilitating student learning suggests that the political climate is right to effect meaningful reforms in leadership preparation in the US. Those involved in preparing school leaders are urged to address the challenges identified in this paper.

Encouraging work is underway, but many more people need to be involved in efforts to rigorously assess and improve leadership preparation.

We do not have all the answers but cannot be paralyzed by what we do not know. We are ethically responsible to act on what we do know, such as incorporating the compelling research on learning theory into the leadership preparation curriculum.

The traditional complacency in the educational leadership professoriate cannot continue if university preparation programs are to meet the needs of the next generation of school leaders. The time is short, and the stakes are high for all involved especially for PK-12 students.

The aim of this paper is to utilize successful leadership practices drawn from seven nations to improve leadership preparation.

This study used a case study approach to gain a contextualized understanding of successful leadership across seven nations. Data sources primarily featured interviews with principals, teachers, staff members, parents, and students. Cases were analyzed within and then across nations with regards to organizational learning (OL), instructional leadership (IL), and culturally responsive practices (CRP).

The cross‐national analysis of successful leaders indicated emerging policy trends, demographic changes, similarities and differences among leaders, and recommendations for leadership preparation.

This paper draws from successful practices in OL, IL and CRP in seven nations to make recommendations for improving leadership preparation.