74 PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERS
nurtured throughout formal leadership preparation, regardless of the program-delivery model
(e.g., closed-cohort or individual, often free-standing courses). Through the development and
maintenance of “generative” learning communities, learning-centered interactions can
produce new insights, new knowledge and skills, and new practices. Creating such generative
and self-sustaining learning communities can enhance opportunities for leadership knowledge
and skill transfer to ongoing and later leadership practice.
To support these assumptions, we begin with an overview of learning principles
developed by the American Psychological Association (APA) and then present a brief review
of adult learning theories. Next, we summarize findings from the National Research Council
(1999) about conditions that support learning transfer and thus support our contention that
creating generative learning communities during leadership preparation enhances
opportunities for learning transfer. We close with several recommendations for action by
leadership educators who seek to improve their programs and learning outcomes for students.
LEARNER-CENTERED PSYCHOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES
Cognitive theories of learning emphasize explicit teaching procedures, continuous
assessment and feedback, and guided practice (Glaser, 1984; Marzano & Pickering, 1991;
Shuell, 1986). Conversely, learner-centered practices, based on constructivist and intrinsic-
motivation theories, emphasize learner’s constructing knowledge, meaning, and
understanding based in their experiences and interactions with others (Bruner, 1960; Dewey,
1938; Gardner, 1991; McCombs, 1991). In this vein, the Learner-Centered Psychological
Principles (LCPs), developed by the APA Work Group of the Board of Educational Affairs
(1997), place the locus of control for learning with individual learners. Although external
factors also clearly influence learning, the LCPs are organized according to four broad factors
that influence learners and learning: (a) cognitive and metacognitive, (b) motivational and
affective, (c) developmental and social, and (d) individual differences. These principles are
best viewed holistically instead of singly, and they can be used with any group of learners.
Their effective use requires collaborative environments in which students and instructor learn
together while addressing problems of practice relevant to learning objectives. (For a
complete description of the LCPs, go to http://www.apa.org/ed/lcp2/lcp14.html..))
When LCPs are used in postsecondary education, individual characteristics of diverse adult
learners (e.g., beliefs, expertise, motivation) and course requirements (e.g., content,
assessment) can be addressed simultaneously. The required active, collaborative learning
environments thus should support freedom of self-expression and accommodation of
individuality. Adult students thereby become personally responsible for fitting their learning
to their particular needs (Thompson, Licklider, & Jungst, 2003). The APA learning principles
also describe responsibilities for both learner and educator, making them relevant for use in
any preparation program.
ADULT LEARNING THEORIES
Transformative learning requires adult learners to develop new frames of reference
encompassing “habits of mind and a point of view” (Mezirow, 1997, p. 5) that help them
become autonomous critical thinkers as they move from novices toward expertise.
Transformation occurs through (a) articulating one’s assumptions, (b) critically assessing
them through self-reflection and discourse with others, (c) revising assumptions to
accommodate new perspectives, and (d) behaving in ways congruent with the revised