Instructional leadership is widely recognized as important for school improvement and a significant tool for creating an effective teaching and learning environment. The British Council is committed to promoting and developing instructional leadership and is offering programmes to develop it in several African countries, including Tanzania. These…

In China, accreditation training programme has been a compulsory programme for all the aspiring and new principals, which is also a part of National Training Plan. Under such hierarchical system, leadership preparation in China is supported, implemented, evaluated, and also, constrained by different levels of administrative organisations and…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic government and integrated education. Design/Methodology/Approach: The authors conducted a systematic review of all published work since 2007 with a more selective…

The Education Reform Act 1988 increased the scope of headteachers' work and led to an emphasis on "management", often interpreted as the implementation of government policies, checked through the Ofsted inspection regime. Following the election of a Labour government in 1997, the discourse changed to "leadership". Leadership…

There are concerns about the supply of head teachers in many countries. In England, this problem arises from demographic changes and the perceived difficulty of the job. The National College responded to this problem by initiating a Succession Planning programme. This article reports the main findings from the external evaluation of the programme…

The significance of effective leadership and management for successful school and student outcomes is increasingly being recognised. This has led to consideration of the nature of preparation and development required to promote good leadership. There is now widespread acknowledgement of the need for specialised training for school principals. This…

Succession planning has become increasingly important because of the shortage of headship applicants in England, and in many other countries. Leadership development is a central part of any succession planning strategy. This article compares the findings from two longitudinal studies, in England and South Africa, where the governments are seeking…

There is increasing recognition that effective leadership and management are vital if schools are to be successful in providing good learning opportunities for students, and emerging evidence that high quality leadership makes a significant difference to school improvement and learning outcomes. However, in many countries, including South Africa,…

There is great interest in educational leadership in the early part of the twenty-first century. This is because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to school and student outcomes. In many parts of the world, including both developed and developing countries, there is increasing recognition that…

This paper reports some of the findings from an evaluation of the New Visions programme, piloted by the National College for School Leadership in 2002-2003. The programme is targeted at school leaders in their first three years of headship and has a strong emphasis on experiential learning. The evaluation evidence is deployed against an earlier…

Summarizes selected findings of a major national research project on mentoring and teacher education in England and Wales. Considers mentoring's nature and purpose and examines mentor/new headteacher matches. Discusses mentoring's benefits, limitations, and conceptual models. Mentoring provides invaluable support for new principals but lacks rigor…

Purpose: This paper aims to examine the challenges facing new principals in Africa. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent research and literature, the paper analyses the experience of principals and proposes an induction model for principalship in Africa. Findings: School principals in Africa face a daunting challenge. They often work in…

New heads taking up their appointments in English schools in recent years have had supportive programmes to help them, both prior to headship and on taking up the role. This study examines the experience of heads new to their role in primary and secondary schools over the period 2002-2004. All were participants in the National College for School…

This paper examines the impact of one leadership development programme, drawing on a model developed by Leithwood and Levin (2004) for the Department of Education and Skills. The New Visions programme, offered by the National College for School Leadership, is aimed at new headteachers and adopts a process rich approach to leadership development.…

The Teacher Training Agency's National Professional Qualification for Headship is a (nearly mandatory) initiative leading to a threshold qualification for headship. This article examines NPQH, contrasting it with recent school management provision history in England and Wales and with international practice. With modifications, NPQH may contribute…