School principals play a key role in the creation and nurture of school conditions conducive to Professional Learning Communities (PLCs). In China, whereas the term PLC itself is an imported concept and rarely used by school practitioners, the precept of PLCs, collaborative teacher learning activities, are firmly embedded in teachers' daily work.…

This paper's commentary is guided by Gramsci's distinction between, on one hand, the pessimism of the intellect and, on the other, optimism of the will. Accordingly, we seek initially to convey some of the intractable challenges that tend to be encountered by school leaders in the contemporary education context. In doing so, we argue that these…

This study is part of the International Study of Principal Preparation project and reports on a Canadian Catholic Board's mentoring programme for novice school principals. This programme aims to produce effective managers and provide formal collegial support. A pragmatic, mixed-method approach involving interviews with participants along with an…

Leadership development programmes come in plenty internationally and a number of resources, time and money are being spent to this end. The benefits for schools, staff and pupils arising from professional development activities have been well researched into and elaborated on extensively internationally. Currently in Cyprus, leadership development…