246 CRITICAL THEORY AND LEADERSHIP PRACTICES
Jackson and Kelley (2002) outlined the best practices of exceptional and innovative pre-
service principal preparation programs. Three of the five practices that they highlighted were
focused on engaging aspiring leaders to integrate the connections between coursework and
school improvement, i.e., PBL, collaborative university-school district partnerships, and field
experiences distributed throughout the program of study. The use of PBL facilitated the
synthesis of a variety of skills such as problem identification, teamwork, administrative
acumen, project development, and problem solving. Partnerships between preparation
programs and external resources provided opportunities for guided practice enhancing the
fluency of developing skills. Field experiences enabled observation, participation, and
reflection of important issues related to identifying and addressing organizational issues.
However, such field experiences often attempt to apply what was learned in the classroom.
To facilitate intelligent practice the reverse has been recommended. Coursework should be
used to support learning that occurs in the field experiences (Leithwood & Hallinger, 1993).
Sound program design is not the only essential element in producing high quality leaders.
The dispositions and experiences of candidates play an important role. Most principal
preparation programs accept self-selected candidates using traditional academic indicators
such as undergraduate grade point averages (GPA) and Graduate Record Examination (GRE)
scores. Browne-Ferrigno and Shoho (2002) found some number of viable applicants did not
apply because they questioned their ability to lead. Personal invitations from the educator’s
superintendent signaled an expectation of readiness to capable, but reluctant applicants.
Additionally, firsthand knowledge and understanding of the school setting, students, teachers,
and administrators allowed leadership candidates to make sense of their learning, while
traditional academic indicators only predicted scholarship ability (Creighton & Shipman,
2002). Purposeful selection of candidates with a focus on leadership potential needs to be a
collaborative effort between university faculty and local school leaders (Milstein, 1992).
Crow and Glascock (1995) listed several strategies that are rarely used but powerful. Among
these strategies are: (1) nomination of candidates by the superintendent with an emphasis on
nominating capable women and minority members; (2) a rigorous application process
requiring nominees to reflect on career history, teaching and learning experiences, and vision
of leadership; and (3) a selection process conducted wherein the first processors are by school
leadership practitioners and school board members.
Researchers have noted that the Native American view of education is often in contrast to
contemporary public school practices producing a tension between individual perceptions and
learning expectations (Calsoyas, 2005). In a study of the learning patterns of post-secondary
American Indian students, Aragon (2004) found that American Indian students: described
their learning as a process of watching and thinking, were practical and orderly in their
orientation, earned success by thoroughness, and drew on analytic as well as global
information-processing approaches in learning.
By contextualizing the activities and instructional focus of I LEAD, the project
conformed to the standards of the Educational Leadership Consortium Council, research
findings on the best practices in principal preparation (Browne-Ferrigo, 2003; Jackson &
Kelley, 2002; Murphy, 2001), and aligned with research findings on the nature of American
Indian learning styles in post-secondary education settings (Aragon, 2004). Nevertheless,
although the applications of best practice methods were carefully planned, success must be
dependent upon implementation. This study focused on the issues of implementation as
perceived by the instructors, students, and practicing administrators at the schools where the
graduate students teach.