Educational Leadership Learning Exchange (ELLE): A Partnership for School Principals between South China Normal University and Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College.

The belief in common elements in contemporary international educational policy (Ball, 1998) has brought growing cross-cultural interest in sharing leadership theories and successful models of effective schools. The challenge, however, is to understand the complexity of cross-cultural translation of these theories and applications (Astiz et al., 2002; Chu, 2003) and more importantly, the necessary transformation that must take place in a local context (Hallinger, 2000). ELLE is an innovative program of international exchange for school principals that explores possible solutions to sustainable and meaningful cross-cultural adaptation.

Originating in 2005 on the campus of Vanderbilt University’s Peabody College of Education and Human Development, ELLE was created to enhance the existing Principal’s Leadership Academy of Nashville (PLAN), a highly-selective principal training program for Nashville-area school leaders. The catalyst for incorporating an international dimension to PLAN came at the suggestion of a visiting scholar from South China Normal University, Professor Hong Wang, who expressed a desire to participate in the program due to the lack of principal training in her school district in Guangzhou. She approached Peabody College about creating a principal exchange program and the idea for ELLE was formed. ELLE’s mission is to provide a culturally authentic educational experience that increases knowledge and understanding, expands creative dialog and builds bridges to synergistically expand collaboration. After two years of discussions and planning, Peabody College and South China Normal University signed a memorandum of understanding to inaugurate the ELLE program. Funding for the program is provided by university in-kind contributions and the local public education systems.

The innovation of ELLE lies in its design. While most other international exchanges are established as a generic hunt and search experience in which participants are provided little, if any, operating framework, the ELLE experience is different. ELLE was designed to offer an experience that frames learning-centered leadership under six specific domains, which are drawn from the Vanderbilt Assessment of Leadership in Education standards (Goldring et al., 2009):

• High standards for student learning
  
• Rigorous curriculum
  
• Quality instruction/pedagogy
  
• Culture of learning and professional behavior
  
• Connection to external communities
  
• Performance accountability
  

These standards have been adopted by both districts as a tool to evaluate school leaders using cross-cultural validation research and principal assessment instrumentation (Cravens, 2008). In order to ensure the highest quality of training and benefit for participants, a rigorous and coherent learning agenda is created to guide all lectures, cultural experiences, interactions, school visits and conversations to fit into the framework of the six domains.

The ELLE program design asks participants to look for evidence of how goals under each domain are being met at the schools they visit. In each case the participants must identify the intent of the activity and understand the reason why a particular approach was taken. Afterwards, participants evaluate the observed methods against their own to find transferable elements that can be adapted to improve their own work. These discussions set the foundation for the serious exchange and knowledge-sharing between the American and Chinese school principals.

ELLE has provided a much needed format through which principals across cultures can discuss common issues and challenges. There is much to be learned from each other and it is through these structured international exchanges that we can construct meaning and find transfer in those lessons. As stated by a returning participant, “ELLE is a wonderful platform for sharing ideas across the globe with the ultimate goal being able to give students worldwide the best possible education."