Problem-Based Leadership Development: Preparing Educational Leaders for Changing Times

This article presents a scenario for the future of school leadership and the role of problem-based leadership development. This scenario fosters several assumptions concerning the capacities that will be needed by future school leaders: a) ability to adapt to a rapidly changing environment, b) attitudes and skills in life-long learning, c) more varied leadership roles, d) higher levels of collaboration with professionals and parents. We define and describe problem-based leadership development and compare it with traditional forms of instruction. We do not advocate PBL as a replacement for administrative preparation; rather, we offer the rationale for using PBL as a complementary approach to leadership development.