Author Description

The meaning and potential of student leadership in schools has not been widely examined by practitioners or researchers. The relative scarcity of relevant literature reflects a general lack of effective student leadership models in schools, even though the theme is typically prominent in statements of mission and goals. Contributors to this volume suggest that broader integration of leadership training and opportunities into school programs will allow educators to tap into the rich networks of peer influence that exist among adolescents and to give reality to the goal of citizenship education. As a student educational goal, leadership development encompasses lessons from civics, communications, critical thinking, history, and a host of other disciplines; as an institutional value, student leadership reflects the practice of democratic principles that underlie American public education; and as an administrative structure, student leadership provides a dynamic, renewable resource for feedback and ideas about teaching, learning, and living in a school. With such positive attributes, it is no surprise that student leadership has become a commonplace in school philosophy statements, especially at the high schoo level. This is the fourth issue of the quarterly journal New Directions for School Leadership.