Purpose: Through description and consideration of 12 models developed as part of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP), a new model of successful school leadership is developed. Design/methodology/approach: The paper is necessarily descriptive in nature. For the first time, 12 ISSPP models are described together, and…

This article describes research on system and school leadership from three perspectives. At the system level, leadership was evident at the senior levels of the central and regional systems, with principal network leaders having potential to exercise occasional leadership. Principals tended not to operate as system leaders because they had limited…

Purpose: Through discussion of research about the leadership of two schools, this paper explores the complexity of school leadership and how various contextual elements interact with the work of principals in schools that are attempting to create inclusive, rich, worthwhile and unique schools. A systems thinking leadership and context model is…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore the characteristics and practices of principals in four successful Singapore primary schools. Design/Methodology/Approach: Multiple perspective case studies were used which included semi-structured interviews with the principal, teaching and non-teaching staff, students, parents and school board…

As part of the International Successful School Leadership Project, an updated model of successful school leadership based on Australian case studies is described. This model attempts to capture the relationship between the characteristics of the school leader (who they are), the interventions they initiate (what they do), and the way they respond…

Purpose: This paper seeks to demonstrate how the principal was instrumental in turning around an underperforming school by using a leadership style that modelled appropriate behaviour, and which was consultative, conciliatory, inspirational and empathetic, through having a clearly articulated whole-child-focused educational philosophy, by building…

This article provides an Australian perspective on successful school leadership that focuses on case studies in two states (Tasmania and Victoria). Case studies for each state were developed independently and are reported separately. Two models of successful school leadership are outlined and compared, with the models, showing a remarkable degree…