Book excerpt: Unpack the standards and build a plan for leading learning Professional Standards for Educational Leaders introduces the foundations of the recently revised professional educational leadership standards and provides an in-depth explanation and application of each one. Written by the primary architect of PSEL, educational leadership expert Joseph F. Murphy, this authoritative guide to understanding and applying the standards explores the new emphasis on: Leadership of learning, school culture, and diversity Values, ethics, and professional norms of educational leadership Teacher quality, instruction, and caring support Written for higher education faculty, professional development providers, and school and district leaders, the author truly brings the standards to life. This comprehensive manual will power the educational leadership profession through the challenges of the next decade and beyond. "Murphy offers an exploration of the kind of leadership that matters most for each and every student. Let us hope the thinking reflected in this book and the new PSEL standards redirects our attention to what it really means to lead in education." Michelle D. Young, UCEA Executive Director, Professor of Leadership University of Virginia "Joseph Murphy debunks myths about standards for educational leaders and skillfully unpacks the moral, foundational, and experiential basis for the revised professional standards to guide effective leadership of our nation’s schools. This book is a must read for those interested in leadership for learning and the academic success and wellbeing of students, because these standards will shape our field for the next quarter century as the ISLLC standards have done since 1996." Martha McCarthy, Presidential Professor Loyola Marymount University