Through combining a diversity perspective and intersectionality approach, this paper contributes to the conceptualization of inclusive leadership for addressing diversity in schools. Drawing on literature from business and management studies as well as that of educational management and leadership, the paper first theorizes inclusive school…

This paper explores instructional leadership practices in China. It has three interrelated purposes. The first purpose is to report data which contributes insights into how Chinese principals understand and enact instructional leadership. The second purpose is to examine how the societal context impacts the enactment of leadership and the third is…

Leadership is enacted through relationships. Relationships between leaders and followers entail building emotional connections. A successful leader facilitates and supports mutually beneficial relationships with teachers, students and other community members. They do this through displaying high levels of emotional competence, confidence and…

In this article we discuss how school leaders address challenges when implementing innovative international education curricula, namely International Baccalaureate (IB) programs. Specifically, we frame challenges in curriculum implementation of and transition between IB programs from a "disconnection" perspective. We have often noticed…

This article explores what leadership practices are associated with International Baccalaureate (IB) student achievement. Using a combined data set of Diploma Program (DP) exam scores and teachers' survey responses about school leadership from 29 schools in Southeast Asia, the article reports certain leadership practices (i.e., strategic…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to develop a preliminary model of instructional leadership in the Chinese educational context and explore the ways in which Chinese school principals locate their instructional-leadership practices in response to traditional expectations and the requirements of recent reforms. Design/methodology/approach:…

This article draws on data from cases of high-performing and improving schools in Hong Kong. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with principals, middle leaders, and senior teachers to identify key policies and steps taken for their enactment, and to solicit interpretations of the policies. Principals were found to actively select,…

Purpose: Worldwide interest in principal instructional leadership has led to global dissemination of related research findings despite their concentration in a limited set of western cultural contexts. An urgent challenge in educational leadership and management lies in expanding the range of national settings for investigations of instructional…

Builds a case for studying principals' dilemmas, discusses lack of studies in non-Western contexts, and briefly reviews Hong Kong schooling reforms. Describes how 15 Hong Kong principals managed various dilemmas and the managerial consequences. Although dilemmas may be generic across cultures, their formation and management seem culturally…

A study of 10 preservice teachers in Hong Kong regarding their beliefs about principals found a relationship between leadership/management style of principals they would like to be and mothers' behavior and a relationship between principals they would not like to be and fathers' interpersonal behavior. Results demonstrate the influence of personal…

This article aims to contribute to an understanding of principalship in Hong Kong through probing the formation and preservation of the deep leadership structures that shape its practice. Deep structures are formed partly through a dynamic relationship between constitution and culture which forms bounded "codes" of understanding, conduct…