The Principal Portfolio

`This book is particularly well timed as the Teacher Training Agency is moving towards the provision of training for serving headteachers.... For headteachers who would welcome guidance about the way a portfolio approach could help them develop professionally, this book can be thoroughly recommended' - School Leadership & Management

In recent years, principals have begun to recognize the merits of portfolios and to use portfolios for professional growth, evaluation, and career advancement. More recently, portfolios have been used to promote and document academic growth in administrator preparation programmes. Although portfolio use results in several positive outcomes, the major benefit for principals is that the self-assessment and reflection inherent in portfolio development promotes administrator growth, which leads to improved performance and, ultimately, to improved schools and learning.

In the first chapters, the authors describe the concept of the principal portfolio, explain why it is needed, and provide an overview of what should be included in the principal portfolio. Later chapters present the importance of reflection for professional growth, explain how to develop reflective practice, and show how to use the principal portfolio for evaluation. Finally, the authors specify how one should develop and use the principal portfolio for career advancement.