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 examine instructional leadership (IL) in outstanding secondary schools within a centralised (Greece) and a partially decentralised (England) education context. Design/methodology/approach: Since the purpose of the study is exploratory, the researchers adopt a qualitative approach, employing a series of four…

This paper examines middle leadership of the heads of English, maths and science departments in four international secondary schools in Malaysia. It focuses on their roles, responsibilities, role relationships, instructional engagement and leadership involvement within the theoretical framework of instructional, distributed and teacher leadership.…

This paper examines the enactment of instructional leadership (IL) in high-performing secondary schools (HPSS), and the relationship between leadership and learning in raising student outcomes and encouraging teachers' professional learning in the highly centralised context of Greece. It reports part of a comparative research study focused on…

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…

This article reports on the findings from a study into high-performing leadership teams in English primary schools. The schools, in the sample, received "outstanding" Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) grades overall, and for leadership and management, in their most recent school inspection. The evidence suggests that developing…

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…

This paper examines the significance of leadership and management in enhancing classroom practice and improving learner outcomes in two provinces of South Africa. It is increasingly recognised, internationally and in South Africa, that managing teaching and learning is one of the most important activities for principals and other school leaders.…

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,…

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…

The provision for schools to waive local education authority control and become self-governing was the most radical element of Britain's 1988 Education Reform Act. A survey of five opted-out primary schools shows that larger schools succeed better at self-governance because of economies of scale; clustering smaller schools into groups with single…

Discusses the research underpinning the articles in this special issue of "Compare" that focus on how schools in the Shaanxi province in China are managed and explains that the researchers conducted case studies within the province. Provides background information on the management structures and finance in Chinese schools. (CMK)

Explores how secondary schools in China are managed using the results from case studies at three schools in the Shaanxi province while simultaneously comparing the findings to schools in Britain. Addresses the structure of the schools, the principal's role, the school's decision-making, and management techniques for the curriculum, finance, and…