Amidst ongoing calls for teaching improvement, there has been growing interest in the work of middle leaders in leading school-based curriculum and professional development. Research and policy initiatives have acknowledged that these leaders in schools are well placed to successfully drive educational change that leads to improved educational…

In this article, we examine the tension between external educational accountability demands and other [political] forces of interest and possible ways to ensure that schools can still succeed in performing their daily duties and achieving educational goals. We draw from interviews undertaken with school principals in South Africa. Our analysis…

The policy context for schools in England places great emphasis on leadership and autonomy as drivers of educational improvement. The purpose of this article is to explore how we can better understand, in this context, the challenges of leadership and autonomy and the conditions of leadership development that support or hinder the practice of…

Distributed leadership is one of the most influential and well-discussed ideas to emerge in the field of educational leadership. Prompted by the foundational and seminal work of Spillane et al. (2001) the idea of shared or 'stretched' leadership that incorporates both formal and informal leaders, has been of interest to researchers, policy-makers…

Limited but increasing research has noted that middle leaders (MLs) play a crucial role in structuring a supportive working environment to help entrepreneurial teachers transform educational innovation into practice. This study aims to increase understanding of the extent to which MLs with different levels of experience influence teacher…

One of the biggest challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic was to integrate ICT (Information and Communication Technology) into remote teaching. As managers, school leaders play a principal role in deciding how to overcome this challenge. This study aims to identify how school leaders support ICT integration at schools. To do so, the authors…

The Welsh education system is engaging in a wide-ranging series of reforms and, as part of these reforms, is moving towards an accountability system that aims to work collaboratively with teachers and school leaders in a self-improving system. The aspiration is to move away from accountability structures that are built around high-stakes…

Increasingly, policymakers, school and school system leaders are turning to Professional Learning Networks (PLNs) as a means to achieve bottom-up educational improvement at scale (Brown and Poortman, 2018). Likening the leadership challenges of establishing PLNs to conquering a labyrinth, this paper draws on extant literature to explore one key…

In Australia, policy makers demand school leaders focus on raising student achievement levels when planning and implementing a school improvement (SI) plan. This paper explores the SI process for two Australian primary schools deemed to be underperforming and underwent a priority school support review (PSSR). In this study, 2 principals and…

This paper describes findings related to the effectiveness of secondary school middle leaders as a contributor to within-school variation in academic results for students at department level in urban high schools. The 'high-stakes' academic assessment results for students in 10 urban high schools in New Zealand in English, mathematics and science…

This article outlines the findings from a contemporary review of the evidence base on system leaders and system leadership. This article provides analysis, commentary, and insights about system leaders and system leadership based on a review of the current evidence. The review also includes insights from country experts and offers country-specific…

There is an increased focus on schools and school systems to develop teaching teams to improve school teaching and learning practices. As such, effectual school leadership has become synonymous with creating the conditions for teachers to work collaboratively to improve school teaching and learning. Middle leaders, teachers who are formally…

School improvement reforms aimed at achieving improved student learning remain high on the agenda for leaders across the globe. The purpose of this paper is to understand the leadership attributes that enable school leaders to bring about positive change. This qualitative study is based on interviews with school leaders (school principals and…

The work of principals has become increasingly challenging and complex, as they are expected to lead school improvement, manage a host of competing demands, and attend to the needs of diverse stakeholders. However, the emotions related to principals' work, particularly in relation to educational reform, has been understudied in recent years. This…

Responsible leadership (RL) has gained increasing attention in recent years as organisations face growing pressure to address social and environmental challenges. RL involves leading with a sense of purpose and responsibility towards stakeholders, society, and the environment beyond the interests of shareholders and profit maximisation. This…