Kyla Wahlstrom, director of the Center for Applied Research and Educational Improvement (CAREI), and Jennifer York-Barr, professor in the Department of Organizational Leadership, Policy, and Development (OLPD), co-authored an article in the latest issue of the Journal of Staff Development that features the new Standards for Professional Learning recently released by Learning Forward (formerly NSDC), the international association of learning educators. Their article on the second standard, Leadership, describes how the roles of both principal and teacher leadership in schools are presented as being critical to enable effective change to occur.
Download article from the Journal of Staff Development.
Download article from University of Minnesota Libraries.
The seven new Standards for Professional Learning developed by Learning Forward draw from research in all areas of educational reform over the past 10 years. They are grounded in evidence-based practice, describing a set of expectations for effective professional learning that ensures equity and excellence in educator learning. They articulate the relationship between professional learning and student results, and are designed to set policies and shape practice in professional learning at both the pre-service and in-service levels. Read an overview of the standards.
The basis for the journal article is the empirical research study, Learning from Leadership, conducted by Wahlstrom and Karen Seashore (OLPD), and CAREI researchers Molly Gordon and Michael Michlin, as well as with colleagues from the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education at the University of Toronto. The study lasted six years and examined the link between leadership and learning across the United States. The research was funded by The Wallace Foundation and is the largest study of the link between leadership and learning ever conducted.
Linking the leadership findings to specific actions and policy decisions is the ultimate benefit of this kind of research. Earlier this year, Wahlstrom and Seashore provided an all-day in-service presentation to over 60 education leaders, discussing ways to apply the findings in their local districts.