The School Leader Paradigm is a groundbreaking framework designed to empower school leaders for success. Developed by the National School Leader Collaborative and aligned to the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders (PSEL), it connects the personal growth of the leader (Becoming) with the essential work of building and sustaining culture, systems, and learning (Doing) within a learning organization.

Embedded within the School Leader Paradigm’s infinity loop is a continuous cycle of inquiry that guides leadership growth and organizational improvement. The Paradigm also recognizes that effective leadership is shaped by four interconnected contexts: the individual, school, community, and political environments in which leaders serve.

The School Leader Paradigm is the foundation for all IPA professional learning, resources, and leadership supports. Explore the framework to discover tools and learning opportunities aligned to each component of the School Leader Paradigm or browse resources by your stage of leadership (Aspiring, Launching, Elevating, and Mastering) through the School Leader Continuum.

Leadership is a continuous journey of growth, reflection, and action. Explore the School Leader Paradigm (through the tab above) and discover how it can strengthen your leadership and the success of your learning organization. 

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This School Leader Paradigm companion document, otherwise known as The Learning Resources, provides you with a comprehensive listing of learning resources available to help you grow as a learning leader leading your learning organization. Contained within these pages is one of the most thorough compilations of school leadership learning resources you will find anywhere. To help you connect these resources with the becoming and doing sides of the Paradigm, we have dissected the Paradigm into consumable chunks and paired those chunks with the learning resources most relevant to support your growth in those areas of the Paradigm.

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This School Leader Paradigm companion document, available to IPA Members, provides you with a comprehensive listing of the extensive research reviewed to identify the critical leadership dispositions and essential behaviors school leaders must possess and exhibit to be effective. Beyond what is shared in The School Leader Paradigm overview, this document provides an additional level of detail below the essential behaviors that offers concrete action steps school leaders can take to enhance their leadership. Furthermore, these pages contain one of the most thorough compilations of school leadership research you will find anywhere. When reading, hopefully you will not only see the foundation from which the Paradigm was built but also find a rich resource that can assist you with your own study of school leadership.

In order to help you connect the research with the various components of the Paradigm, we have dissected the Paradigm into consumable chunks and paired those chunks with their relevant research citations. You will find most of the citations connect with the “Becoming” and “Doing” sides of the Paradigm. As a bonus, we also included two charts showing the alignment of the Paradigm with the Professional Standards for Educational Leaders and the National Educational Leadership Preparation standards to demonstrate how the Paradigm is standards based and conforms to what the public expects from its school leaders.

IPA Members Only

This resource is only available for IPA members.

Are you already a member? Try logging in.

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