Is School Superintendent Preparation an Oxymoron?
Would-be school superintendents typically take courses on school district governance while still working as teachers seeking their first administrative position. If they are fortunate enough to rise to the superintendency, can these individuals effectively lead school districts when the educational landscape barely resembles the one that they studied years earlier? This question and others are considered in the article, “Is ‘Superintendent Preparation’ an Oxymoron? Analyzing Changes in Programs, Certification, and Control,” which calls for university-based preparation programs that promote the development of career-long or lifelong learning initiatives for superintendents. This kind of training would consist of university-based continuing education credits, similar to those common in medicine or law. The article, published in the journal Leadership and Policy in Schools, was co-written by Bruce S. Cooper, Ph.D., professor and vice chair in the division of educational leadership, admini
