The Study
There are a variety of innovative programs that focus on preparing school administrators, and increasingly institutions are recruiting school leaders who represent a range of ethnic backgrounds. With these two issues in mind, Maenette K. P. Benham, assistant professor of educational administration at Michigan State University, and doctoral student Edward Shepard examined the usefulness of one instructional approach, the experientially-based leadership retreat, for five African-American school leaders. The stories presented in this paper attempt to link the participants' professional experiences to the leadership retreat and find out what they learned about themselves through the experience.

The Findings
The participants spent five days in an experientially-based program that stressed an action-oriented approach to learning in an outdoor setting and provided participants the opportunity to experience physical challenges, risks and hardships in order to develop self-discipline, teamwork and reflection. An assessment of all five stories reveals that although each individual had different experiences, there were compelling similarities. The three themes that cut through them included: (1) activities provided opportunities to overcome personal barriers; (2) activities fostered constructive relationships based on teamwork and shared power; and (3) activities initiated relationships grounded in trust and respect. During a period of six months after the retreat, the participants were interviewed to determine what lasting effects were derived from the experience. The interviews revealed evidence of improved communication with their peers, co-workers and students, as well as more productive working relationships based on trust and respect.

What It Means to You
Experiential instruction may benefit leaders in your school district, and possibly teachers and students. One participant of the retreat took his middle-school class on a similar excursion and found that the students became more cooperative and caring toward each other as a result. But participants in the leadership retreat also expressed concern that the experience lacked opportunities to discuss school leadership issues or follow-up instruction on using what they learned in their professional lives. Perhaps the greatest value of experiential retreat for educators is that it may motivate them to frame their work in more moral and ethical ways.

More Information
To read more about the details of this experience-based retreat, see Benham, M. K. P., and Shepard, E., "Experience-Based Leadership Training: Reflections of African-American School Leaders," Journal of School Leadership, May 1995, Vol. 5, pp. 272-307.

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