Abstract:

A historic shift is happening in the field of educational leadership due to policy changes in long standing standards for school leaders as well as accreditation standards for preparing these school leaders. The political and policy landscape for these changes is being driven by two organizations. The National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NCPEA) revised the Interstate School Leaders Licensure Consortium (ISLLC) Standards in December of 2015 and renamed them the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL). The Council for the Accreditation of Educator Preparation (CAEP) published the new CAEP Standards for Advanced Programs in August 2016. These changes involve substantial implications for educational leadership programs in Virginia and across the nation. The purpose of this study will be to explore the newly approved CAEP and PSEL standards to restructure learning outcomes, Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) competencies for Administration & Supervision endorsement, Southern Association of Colleges & Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) standards, and national accreditation pathway through CAEP for the Educational Leadership Programs in the School of Education at Regent University. Through the design of a school leadership and learning matrix (L&L Matrix), each of the four components (PSEL, VDOE, SACS, & CAEP) will be aligned and cross-referenced with each course in the Educational Leadership Masters, Specialist, and Doctoral programs in one continuously flowing “charted” document. The matrix as well as the process in designing the matrix will be the outcome as a model curriculum guide for the educational leadership preparation field.

Keywords:

Accreditation, Educational Leadership Preparation, ISLLC, PSEL, VDOE, SACS, CAEP.