Dr. Sherwood Thompson, assistant dean of the College of Education and associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at Eastern Kentucky University, recently spent two weeks in southern India, touring colleges and presenting at the “Conference on Educational Leadership and Practices in India.”

The conference was a joint meeting of scholars and educational policy makers who are involved in the school leadership preparation and practice in India, Europe, the United States, and Southeast Asia. The conference highlighted best practice models of educational leadership in general and special education areas, policy implementations of educational leadership preparation programs, leadership preparation in higher education administration, and content and delivery of technology in educational leadership preparation programs. It focused on the need to train, recruit and retain school leaders who will shape the schools of the future.

Thompson was invited to present “A Rubric for Teacher Leader Standards: Improving Enhancing Teacher Leaders Performance” before an audience of college administrators, faculty, graduate students and educational policy officials.

The international conference was held at the Sri Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya College of Education in Coimbatore, the first College of Education in India to be awarded the status of autonomy. Mahatma Gandhi, the Father of India, laid the foundation stone at the college in 1934.

During the last year, Thompson spent seven weeks traveling to more than 21 cities and towns in India, offering him the opportunity to lecture, present at international conferences and meet with educational scholars and policy makers worldwide.

PHOTO: Dr. Sherwood Thompson, assistant dean of the College of Education and associate professor of educational leadership and policy studies at EKU, receives a ceremonial shawl acknowledging his status as an international guest while presenting at a conference in Coimbatore, India.