ABSTRACT
This chapter examines the influence of educational reform movements on leadership practice and discusses the re-acculturation of special education leadership. From the 1980s onward, competency-based education, outcomes-based education, standards-based accountability, and results-driven accountability have characterized education reform movements. Standards-based accountability became the coin of the era and gave rise to a renewed concern about the connection between teaching and learning. Although the centrality of learning, teaching, and school improvement is important, leaders must also be equipped with the behaviors, functions, and dispositions that contribute to professional identities and are necessary to transform and elevate all aspects of an organization. Boscardin et al., Crockett et al., and O'Brien identified leadership dimensions and evidence-based leadership practices supporting special education administration and leadership. The chapter concludes with a discussion of implications and considerations for future research on special education leadership practices.
