Responsibility and Accountability in Educational Leadership Keeping Democracy and Social Justice Central to Reform

U programs in educational leadership have been criticized for failing to prepare effective leaders for our nation’s schools. Many of these critics are demanding signifi cant changes to leadership preparation programs, however, amidst these strident calls for change there has been very little dialogue about or consensus on what we as members of a democratic society believe capable educational leaders ought to know and be able to do. There has been, without question, a persistent demand for holding both leaders and teachers accountable for increasing test scores in schools, particularly in schools serving impoverished children and youth. This concern for increasing test scores and holding educational leaders and teachers accountable for student achievement is central to government education policy and it is dramatically reshaping policies and practices in schools across the country, particularly, in schools serving impoverished children and youth. This concern for increasing educational achievement and demanding greater accountability is, also, forcing change in many educational leadership preparation programs. Professors all over the country are redesigning their curriculum to address the new instructional demands being placed on school leaders. However, as professors rethink what their preparation programs ought to look like in light of current directions in U.S. education policy, I think, as a fi eld, we need to balance this call for a greater emphasis on instructional leadership and accountability in leadership preparation with other vitally important goals, goals that, ultimately, shape the kind of schools and communities we wish to