ABSTRACT
Over the last half of the 20th century, a good deal of attention was devoted to the topic of preparing leaders for schools. In the last quarter century, in particular, the volume of that work has increased substantially. Yet, somewhat surprisingly, only a small proportion of the scholarship on school leader preparation has been empirical in nature, limiting the fi eld’s ability to use research to inform understanding and subsequent improvement initiatives in preparation. Recently, recognition of this research gap and the need to jumpstart empirical studies of leadership development has been spotlighted more boldly. As we will see throughout this volume, a number of forces are responsible for this change.
