116 PREPARATION OF SCHOOL LEADERS
values foundation for the standards (p. 25). Although this values foundation continues to exist
in the 2008 ISLLC standards, it is now implicit rather than explicit, with all references to
dispositions deleted.
INTERPRETATION OF THE INTERVIEW RESPONSES
The responses of the participants fell into three primary themes: the importance of
dispositions in their principal preparation programs, the teaching of dispositions in those
programs, and the assessment of their students’ dispositions, including the use of those
assessments for decision making. The richness of their responses lies in the variations that
were evidenced within each theme. Because of the page limitations of this Yearbook,
responses are summarized rather than presented in the rich text format usually associated with
the reporting of qualitative research findings.
THE IMPORTANCE OF DISPOSITIONS IN PRINCIPAL PREPARATION
PROGRAMS
Almost all of the respondents indicated that they considered dispositions to be a key
element of principal preparation, in general, and of the specific program in which they served.
However, as these respondents all volunteered to participate in the interviews, they may have
had a positive bias toward dispositions and therefore may not be representative of the larger
population of faculty in principal preparation programs. Most of the respondents indicated
that many of their colleagues did not give as much emphasis to dispositions as they did.
In almost all cases, the respondents referred specifically to the dispositions identified in
the ISLLC standards and indicated strong familiarity with those dispositions. Most explained
that each course syllabus linked the content and performance expectations of the course with
specific dispositions (as well as with knowledge and skills). However, the ISLLC standards
were not the only ones cited by respondents; in fact, one respondent referred to the ISLLC
standards as “minimums, not maximums.” She then reported that her program is built on the
ISLLC standards, the 21 characteristics of effective leaders identified by Mid-continent
Research for Education and Learning (McREL), the Critical Success Factors identified by the
Southern Regional Education Board (SREB), state administrator standards, and the state’s
code of ethics for school administrators. One respondent, from a religiously-affiliated
university that prepares both public and private school administrators, explained that in
addition to the ISLLC standards, his program’s curriculum is based on the dispositions
inherent in Greenleaf’s (1977) servant leadership model, as well as on Biblical dispositions.
Another respondent cited the work of Combs (e.g., Combs, 1988; Combs, Blume, Newman,
& Wass, 1974; Combs, Miser, & Whitaker, 1999) as the dispositional foundation of his
program, in conjunction with the ISLLC standards. The respondent cited four primary
dispositions as essential to the principal preparation program: A positive self-image, based on
the individual’s ability to identify with diverse groups of people and diverse points of view
(good assessment skills and high emotional intelligence); high positive expectations for
teachers and students; a focus on the larger view, on the human element, on learning, growth
and development; and a people focus, recognizing that people learn through cognitive,
emotional ways.
One respondent discussed ethics as a dispositional element at the heart of the preparation
program. She recognized that ethics are difficult to define and may have some contextual or
situational variations. However, her program’s goal is to develop student dispositions in favor