This study uses data from the Initiative for Systemic Program Improvement through Research in Educational Leadership ( INSPIRE) Preparation Program Features Survey to respond to national critiques of university-based principal preparation programs. The findings provide insight into the program content and relevancy, personnel, and content delivery of 97 principal preparation programs affiliated with the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA). We found that UCEA institutions align their curriculum and assessment designs to national standards, actively engage in formalized partnerships with districts, engage their candidates in a variety of assessment practices for formative and summative purposes, and work to offer coursework that bridges classroom assignments to field-based experiences.

Purpose Informed by learning transfer theory, the purpose of this paper is to validate the instrument measuring educational leadership preparation program (LPP) quality attributes and graduates’ leadership learning and to assess the direct and indirect relationships among them, as reported by program graduates. Design/methodology/approach This study uses data collected from the 2016 INSPIRE-G Survey, which gathers information from LPP graduates in the USA on their perceptions of program quality and leadership learning. Structural equation modeling was used to determine which program quality factors directly and indirectly influence graduate leadership learning. Findings The results suggest significant relationships between the assessed LPP attributes and leadership learning. Faculty quality and program rigor and relevance (PRR) had the strongest association with leadership learning, although the relationship between faculty quality and learning was fully mediated by PRR. Internship experiences and peer relationships were also important predictors of leadership learning. Studying with a cohort had a small but positive relationship with graduates’ leadership learning, although the relationship was fully mediated by perceived peer relationships. Originality/value This study further validates the INSPIRE-G Survey and affirms the imperative role of leadership preparation as a predictor to graduate reported learning outcomes and learning transfer. Moreover, this study illustrates the importance of leadership preparation by demonstrating positive relationships between program quality features and reported leadership learning outcomes. Finally, the INSPIRE-G instrument demonstrates its utility as a reliable measure of program quality, which opens the door to large-scale and longitudinal studies of the transfer of learning from leader preparation to practice.

Research indicates that preparation programs featuring partnerships between universities and districts have a greater impact on career advancement of graduates than more conventional university-based programs. The University of Denver's (DU) Ritchie Program for School Leaders has been identified as a "model" of universitydistrict collaboration. This partnership program between DU and Denver Public Schools to develop transformative and courageous leaders launched a partnership ethos that defines the Educational Leadership and Policy Studies (ELPS) department. Since that time, ELPS partnerships have expanded and evolved. In this article, we share the complex and dynamic nature of ELPS' partnership ethos.

An educational leadership preparation program for the 21st Century not only makes use of innovations in teaching and learning, but pushes the educational experience forward through the effective use of advanced technologies. This idea frames the delivery methodology for a blended online principal preparation program. The blended online program was designed upon the foundation of an existing innovative classroom-based principal preparation program. The technology enhanced program relied on three instructional technologies: high-participation threaded online discussions through Blackboard, the use of digital portfolios for project management and evaluation, and the establishment of online communities of inquiry and supportive networks. Since the classroom-based and blended online principal preparation programs share a common evaluation framework and project design, this consistency offers a unique opportunity to explore the impact of the utilization of advanced technologies in the delivery of a professional preparation program. Initial findings reveal that program participants in the blended online program report similar outcomes as those in the classroom-based program. The power of the fieldbased inquiry projects and the implementation and impact of the technologically advanced delivery system are discussed along with implications for program development.An educational leadership preparation program for the 21 st Century not only makes use of innovations in teaching and learning, but also pushes the educational experience forward through the effective use of advanced technologies. This idea frames the delivery methodology for a blended online program (BOP) for principal preparation. The BOP was designed upon the foundation of an innovative classroombased partnership principal preparation program which featured collaborative partnerships with districts and field-based learning as the pedagogical model. The findings suggest that the power of the inquiry-based leadership preparation pedagogy transcends the delivery model of the program. The result is a sustainable leadership preparation framework that is not dependent on a singular mode of delivery.The innovative classroom-based principal preparation program (ICP) began in 2002 when a private university and an urban district worked together to create a fieldbased principal preparation program based on the district's existing needs and goals.

A university and a large urban district began collaborating in 2003 to intensify and customize the preparation of principals. District leadership viewed the principal as the keystone to improving academic achievement for all students. The university and district reciprocally collaborated on the design and implementation of this principal preparation program. From 2005, a case study research design consisting of document review, surveys, interviews, and observations has provided ongoing data for program development and district information. The experiences of the new leaders have informed both systems of their current organizational cultures and the barriers and levers for second-order change.