Leadership-focused coaching: A research-based approach for supporting aspiring leaders

Educational leadership professors prepare aspiring leaders by providing uplifting opportunities to connect theory and practice. This paper proposes a research-based model called leadership-focused coaching, an approach to support graduate students in developing and honing instructional leadership skills and responsibilities (Gray, 2016). This paper addresses the shift in principal preparation programs from theory-to-practice to a knowledge-to-practice approach over the last 20 years (Browne-Ferrigno, 2007; Browne-Ferrigno & Muth, 2004; Cunningham, 2007; Cunningham & Sherman, 2008; Daresh, 2004). While there are numerous models for coaching teachers, we offer this model for aspiring and new instructional leaders of schools.Journal ArticleFinal article publishedThis manuscript has been peer-reviewed, accepted, and endorsed by the International Council of Professors of Educational Leadership (ICPEL) as a significant contribution to the scholarship and practice of school administration and K-12 education