NCUST Researchers work on expert noticing published in JESPAR

1. Lynne G. Perez
   1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA, lperez@projects.sdsu.edu

1. Cynthia L. Uline
   1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

1. Joseph F. Johnson Jr.
   1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

1. Cheryl James-Ward
   1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

1. Margaret R. Basom
   1. San Diego State University, San Diego, CA, USA

Abstract

This study follows leadership candidates through the first phase of a comprehensive effort to reform master’s-level principal preparation at a large, urban California university. The reforms placed an 18-month field experience at the center of candidates’ preparation. Researchers sought to capture the changes over time in candidates’ beliefs about school leadership, commitment to the work of school leadership, knowledge of leadership practices that support improved teaching and learning, and capacity to apply those practices. The results reveal marked changes in the majority of candidates’ understandings of school leadership. They came to see the work as complex, with all aspects interrelated. They developed deeper recognition of the leader’s role in fostering trust and relationships, encouraging collaboration, and building leadership capacity within schools. They conceptualized data as powerful evidence to stimulate urgency for change, and they articulated greater confidence as leaders and change agents. Finally, candidates demonstrated increased understanding of, and ability to enact, specific leadership practices aimed at improving learning results for students in their schools.

Click here to view online version of the article on EAQ website

Irvine Foundation Continuation High School Research Study

Researchers from NCUST and Stanford conducted site visits to 37 continuation high schools across 26 districts and 9 counties in northern, central, and southern California. In addition to interviewing students, teachers, and principals at the schools, researchers also spoke with district and county administrators of alternative education to better understand the larger context within which continuation high schools operate.

While study findings indicate great variation in practices across and within continuation high schools, they also offer practitioners and policymakers a clearer picture of the current state of continuation education in California.

Read the paper by Dr. Lynne Perez.

View a PDF presentation outlining the findings of this research (from our session at the 2008 American Educational Research Association’s annual meeting).