College of Education: Texas Tech University (Lubbock, Texas)

PRINCIPAL PROFESSIONAL CERTIFICATION PROGRAM

The Educational Leadership (EDLD) Principal Professional Certification Program utilizes and applies knowledge and skill base material from the National Policy Board for Educational Administration (NPBEA) Principals for Our Changing Schools: Knowledge and Skill Base (1993) and the Texas State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) principal professional competencies (2000). These national and state knowledge and skill base guidelines and competencies provide the overall framework for the organization of the program's curriculum and the design, delivery, and evaluation of program instruction. The state (SBEC) nine competencies (divided across three leadership domains: school community leadership, instructional leadership, and administrative leadership) serve as the assessment framework for the professional certification examination for school principals in Texas.

A central focus of the Educational Leadership (EDLD) Principal Professional Certification Program throughout all program course work and field-based experiences is to model and instill in principal candidates an understanding and appreciation for the interconnectedness among professional knowledge, skills, and practice. The EDLD principal professional certification program curriculum is designed to enable principal candidates to develop the ability to reflectively integrate and apply professional knowledge and skill bases from multiple content areas to real-world problems of school leadership practice.