Leading is not the same as teaching, and middle leaders in schools require different capabilities to those of classroom teachers. This article explores the ways in which these capabilities are acquired by middle leaders in the independent sector during the early stages of their appointment as they progress through a transitional period. It draws…

"Leadership for Quality and Accountability in Education" addresses the interconnected issues of quality and accountability in the education system and provides a coherent framework within which these issues can be analysed. The authors outline the significance of promoting quality in all educational establishments and go on to discuss "why"…

This article reports on a study of 40 primary school leaders from ten very successful primary schools who were interviewed in order to find out the skills, processes and practices that are required for the leadership of successful curriculum innovation in primary schools. Findings suggest that school leaders need to create an "ethos for…

Recent years have seen a greatly enhanced focus on the learning needs of schools leaders. This paper examines the perceptions of such leaders about the best ways of enhancing leadership skills. Data were collected by semi-structured interviews with 34 headteacher respondents in 18 schools. Findings reveal that most respondents expressed a…

The chosen focus of this special issue is timely given the burgeoning international interest and investment in leadership development and school improvement. In many countries leadership and improvement have been closely linked and there is no doubt that this linkage has an international reach. Together, these articles review and extend some of…

Motivation is crucial to both individual and organisational performance and even a very able and well-trained member of staff will not perform effectively unless they are motivated to do so. Despite this fact, research into the motivation of teachers is limited both internationally and, more specifically, in relation to the English system of…

This article seeks to explore the influence of the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH) in England in supporting aspirant heads to make the transition to headship. It draws upon a sample of NPQH graduates confirming their perceived readiness for headship prior to the commencement of their NPQH programme. A questionnaire survey…

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership designed to explore the factors that assist in the leadership development of teachers at a number of stages of their career development. More specifically, the study sought to identify issues associated with leadership talent identification,…

The profile, status and funding of leadership development has risen dramatically both in the UK and internationally over the last decade. In England this has been denoted by the rise of national programmes of leadership development and the creation of the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). Although the original inception of such…

The development of educational leadership programs and qualifications has become an international phenomenon in recent years. This article is one of a series that springs out of a British Council sponsored conference held in the Czech Republic in 2003, organized jointly by the Educational Management Centre of the Faculty of Education at Charles…

This article reports on outcomes from a study funded by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) designed to explore leadership talent identification, development, succession and retention in contextually different primary and secondary schools in England. Focus groups and a questionnaire were used to secure perceptions of heads, middle…

Over the last three decades schools have been subject to increasing and more varied sets of regulatory frameworks. In order to maintain creativity teachers need a clear educational perspective from which they can mediate, prioritise and lead change and one that enables them to develop and act upon their beliefs about education. The extent to which…

The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) Programme, Leading from the Middle (LftM), was introduced in 2003 and was designed to help improve leadership at middle levels in schools and to impact on the effectiveness of teams of teachers in improving pupil progress. This article is a report on an evaluative study of how the program has…

The profile, status and funding of leadership development has risen dramatically both in the UK and internationally over the last decade. This article draws on a decade of study of leadership development programmes in order argue that school leadership training in England has received unprecedented levels of funding but that until very recently…

The development of educational leadership programmes and qualifications has become an international phenomenon in recent years. This article is one of a series that springs out of a British Council sponsored conference held in the Czech Republic in 2003, organized jointly by the Educational Management Centre of the Faculty of Education at Charles…