Developing School Leaders for Diverse Learners through Online Service Learning
Abstract
School leaders in today’s society must be prepared to create and lead schools that are appropriate for diverse learners. A particular problem in school leadership development is that many of the principal candidates do not come from diverse backgrounds themselves and need to examine the culture and life experiences of those who are different from themselves. One way for principal candidates to gain this experience is through service learning. Historically, service learning has been place-based where a group of students serve a particular group together. A majority of principal preparation programs today have an online or hybrid format. The challenge lies then in designing appropriate service learning experiences for principal candidates who are receiving their preparation coursework through online learning programs. This study examines the design and candidate perceptions of a service learning project for online principal candidates.