Tony Bush

A Preparation for School Leadership: International Perspectives

The English National College for School Leadership organized a programme of study visits to several international leadership centres in 2001. This article reports the findings of these visits and relates them to recent research on school leadership preparation. This shows a widespread commitment to training and preparation for headship but considerable diversity in the nature of such provision. There are many courses for aspiring, beginning and experienced principals but few examples of a coherent programme for all three stages. Preparation for leadership teams and middle managers is very limited. Learning modes include on-line provison, mentoring, coaching and internship as well as courses. The article recommends the establishment of an international network of leadership centres.

New principals in Africa: preparation, induction and practice

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 poorly equipped buildings with inadequately trained staff. There is rarely any formal leadership training and principals are appointed on the basis of their teaching record rather than their leadership potential. Induction and support are usually limited.Originality/value – The paper provides an overview of the limited literature and research on new principals in Africa and develops a grounded conceptualisation of their role.

Leadership development and school improvement: contemporary issues in leadership development

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 schools require effective leaders and managers if they are to provide the best possible education for their students and learners. More governments are realising that their main assets are their people and that remaining, or becoming, competitive depends increasingly on the development of a highly skilled workforce. This requires trained and committed teachers but they, in turn, need the leadership of highly effective principals with the support of other senior and middle managers.

Crisis or Crossroads? The Discipline of Educational Management in the Late 1990s

Educational management is a relatively new academic discipline but it has grown strongly in the United Kingdom and in most other English-speaking countries. The widespread shift to selfmanagement has served to enhance the importance of effective leadership within educational institutions and the parallel need for theory and research to establish what constitutes good practice. Rapid and multiple policy change constitutes a challenging context for educational management but also points to the need for a review of the discipline. This article examines the opportunities and challenges for educational management at the end of the 20th century and concludes that the discipline has to develop a new sense of direction to meet the needs of educational institutions and practitioners in the new millennium.

Professional Development for Heads: The Role of Mentoring.

Mentoring is an important mode of professional development in many countries. It involves an experienced colleague supporting the development of a new principal. Reports the findings of one aspect of a major national research project on mentoring and teacher education in England and Wales. Considers the nature and purpose of mentoring and examines the “match” between mentor and the new headteacher. Reports on the benefits of mentoring for new principals, mentors and the educational system, and discusses certain limitations of this approach to professional development. Presents several conceptual models of the mentor relationship and reports that the dominant normative conception is that of peer support. Concludes that mentoring is valuable in supporting principals as they adapt to their new role but it may lack the rigour to be a really effective mode of professional development.

The National Professional Qualification for Headship: The key to effective school leadership?

Preparation for school leadership and management has become one of the major educational issues of the late 1990s. The Teacher Training Agencys National Professional Qualification for Headship is arguably the most important initiative because it leads to a threshold qualification for headship which is intended to become mandatory. This paper will examine NPQH and contrast it with both the recent history of school management provision in England and Wales and with international practice. The paper concludes that NPQH is likely to make an important contribution to the preparation of the next generation of school leaders but requires modification to address certain weaknesses.

Leadership and Culture in Chinese Education

Abstract This article discusses the evolution of Chinese culture in the Peoples Republic of China through recognizing a number of different stages and their respective influence on education and school leadership. Among the recognized stages are traditional culture, socialist culture, enterprise culture and patriarchal culture. To some extent these stages have developed sequentially, although all are claimed to be of relevance today. Traditional culture is reflected in continued respect for authority, collectivism and harmony in schools. Socialist culture has, in many ways, reinforced aspects of traditional culture while, at the same time, further politicizing the principals role, and enterprise culture has served to integrate market values into the education system. The influence of patriarchal culture continues to determine the role of men and women in schools, and particularly in school leadership. The article concludes by briefly discussing both the cumulative and enduring influence of the hybrid Chinese culture on education.

Distributed leadership in action: leading high-performing leadership teams in English schools

Heroic models of leadership based on the role of the principal have been supplemented by an emerging recognition of the value of ‘distributed leadership’. The work of effective senior leadership teams (SLTs) is an important manifestation of distributed leadership, but there has been only limited research addressing the relationship between this model and leadership teams in education. This article reports the findings of research conducted for the English National College, on high-performing SLTs. The research adopted a case study approach with nine English schools (four secondary, three primary and two special). The schools were defined as ‘high performing’ because they received ‘outstanding’ Ofsted grades overall, and for leadership and management, in inspections conducted in 2008–2009. The research shows that high-performing leadership teams are characterised by internal coherence and unity, a clear focus on high standards, two-way communication with internal and external stakeholders and a commitment to distributed leadership.

School leadership models: what do we know?

The growth in the importance of school leadership has been accompanied by theory development, with new models emerging and established approaches being redefined and further developed. The purpose of this paper is to review current and recent writing on leadership models. The paper examines theoretical literature, to see how leadership is conceptualised, and empirical literature, to demonstrate whether and how the research evidence supports these concepts. The paper shows that leadership models are subject to fashion but often serve to reflect, and to inform, changes in school leadership practice.

Models of self‐governance in schools: Australia and the United Kingdom

The final decade of the twentieth century saw a major shift to self‐governance for schools in many countries, including the UK and Australia. This trend is underpinned by the assumption that greater autonomy will lead to improved educational outcomes. The impact of self‐management on principals and schools is now well documented but much less attention has been given to the implications for governance, a significant omission as the process of decentralisation transfers responsibilities to governing bodies rather than school principals. Reviews the main issues of governance and illustrates them from the research in England and Wales and in Australia. It joins the debate about the appropriate balance between governance and management for governing bodies and examines the lay/professional interface in school governance. It assesses governors’ role as representatives of school interest groups and concludes by setting out a research agenda for governance in self‐managing schools.