Professor Allan Walker
Joseph Lau Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership
Dean of Faculty of Education and Human Development
Director of The Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change
The Education University of Hong Kong
China

: adwalker@eduhk.hk

Professor Philip Hallinger
TSDF Chair Professor of Leadership
College of Management, Mahidol University
Thailand
Senior Research Fellow
Asia Pacific Centre for Leadership and Change
The Education University of Hong Kong
China

: hallinger@gmail.com

International perspectives on leader development: Definition and design
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213486027

Abstract

Over the last 20 years discussion about how to better prepare leaders for their role in increasingly complex schools has featured prominently in political and professional forums. Debate about the place, shape and intricacies of what constitutes meaningful development are common across geographic, systemic and cultural boundaries. These run within broader interest and investigation into what constitutes successful school leadership. It is now accepted that you can neither discuss successful leadership without reference to leader development, or leader development without reference to what we know about why and how leadership works best.

The constantly shrinking void between knowledge generated iteratively in different corners of the world has shown that many of the issues that continue to bedevil meaningful leadership development exhibit a certain commonality across very different settings. Equally, however, and at the same time, they reinforce the reality that where leaders work – their context – refracts these commonalities to the extent that by the time they reach functionality they are hard to recognize. It is therefore not only important to examine leadership and leadership development within different contexts, but to cast the net globally in order to understand the range of practices and what appears to make a difference.

The purpose of this special issue is to critically analyse the state of school leader development across a number of societies. As such, it aims to contribute to previous efforts to examine broad global trends in this domain (Brundrett and Crawford, 2012; Hallinger, 2003; Huber, 2004; Lumby et al., 2008); as well as in more geographically defined slices, such Europe (Muller and Schratz, 2008); Asia (Walker et al., 2008; Walker et al., 2007) and the USA (Young et al., 2009). Completed and in-train studies in the area range from investigations across societies (comparative), studies examining the intersection between policy and leader development, and research at the programme level.

International Patterns in Principal Preparation:
Commonalities and Variations in Pre-service Programmes
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485466

Abstract

This article illuminates major features of high-quality leadership programmes across different education systems. We do so by focusing on capturing commonalities and variations in high-quality pre-service programmes from five differing societies, all of which are high-performing education systems. To this end, we first delineate key profiles of each programme. Based on that, we discuss commonalities and variations in leadership programmes in terms of framework, content and operational features. Finally, we flesh out important implications for policy and practice.

Professor Philip Hallinger
Mahidol University & The Education University of Hong Kong
Thailand & China

Dr. Lu Jiafang
The Education University of Hong Kong
China

Preparing principals: What can we learn from MBA and MPA Programmes?
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485464

Abstract

The past two decades have witnessed increasing global acceptance of the important role that capable leadership plays in education reform and school improvement. Consequently, policymakers internationally have actively sought means of strengthening capacity for school-level leadership, with a particular focus on the design of more effective programmes of administrator preparation and development. In this article we examine trends in the design of graduate education programmes offered in the related domains of business management and publication administration. We analyse data extracted from on-line descriptions of three types of master’s degree programmes: master of business administration (MBA); master of public administration (MPA); and MBA programmes with a concentration in education (MBA-Ed). The study identifies patterns in the programme structure, curriculum content and learning methods employed in these graduate management programmes. The analysis yields features that could add potential value to university-based master of education degree programmes aimed at principal preparation.

Preparing headteachers in England: Professional certification, not academic learning
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485465

Abstract

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 development in England is dominated by the National College for School Leadership, which was opened in 2000, a product of New Labour's stress on ‘education, education, education'. The College offers a raft of provision for leaders at all levels, including the National Professional Qualification for Headship (NPQH), which was introduced in 1997. As the title implies, the NPQH is seen as a professional qualification and focuses more on what heads can ‘do' than what they know. The NPQH become mandatory for new heads in 2009 but reverted to optional status in 2012. This paper reviews the evidence on the impact of the NPQH and considers how it could be developed to blend leadership learning with leadership practice.

Professor Stephen Dinham
University of Melbourne, Melbourne
Australia

Dr. Patricia Collarbone
Creating Tomorrow Ltd.
Australia

Dr. Margery Evans
Mr. Anthony Mackay
Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership
Australia

The development, endorsement and adoption of a national standard for principals in Australia
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485462

Abstract

Principals play key roles in creating the conditions in which teachers can teach effectively and students can learn. Principals are increasingly being held accountable both for teacher quality and for student learning and development so that young people can become ‘successful learners, confident and creative individuals and active and informed citizens’. The Australian Institute for Teaching and School Leadership (AITSL) was established by the Australian Government in 2010 to provide national leadership for the Commonwealth, state and territory governments in promoting excellence in the profession of teaching and school leadership. Reporting to all state and territory ministers responsible for education, AITSL is charged with driving transformational change and creating new levels of teacher professionalism. In its first year the Institute developed a new National Professional Standard for Principals.1 This article outlines the origins and development of this standard. Development was a collaborative process including key stakeholders from across Australia with international expert input. Following national piloting of the standard, refinements to the standard were made and mechanisms to support the use of the standard have been put in place.

Change and continuity: A critical analysis of principal development policy in Mainland China (1989–2011)
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485463

Abstract

This article analyses the continuities and changes in principal development in mainland China over the past two decades by assessing the role of the state in shaping principal development over this period. The article outlines and analyses the 14 key policies that have shaped the practice of principal development. The main changes identified include formal recognition of the need for and potential of principal development to effect change in schools; growth in the number and background of training providers; and shifts in the stated purpose, content, curriculum and pedagogy of principal development programmes. The ‘continuities’ are the enduring power of the state in shaping the ideology that dominates principal development, such as framing it as both a national obligation and a right. We argue that the state has maintained a strong role in shaping principal development in mainland China over the last two decades, but at the same time, has (at least rhetorically) sought to promote increased school autonomy and build more effective schools. This indicates that principal development stands at an important juncture in China.

Professor Jason Huff
Program Data and Assessment at New Leaders
Australia

Ms. Courtney Preston
Vanderbilt University
USA

Professor Ellen Goldring
Vanderbilt University
USA

Implementation of a coaching program for school principals:
Evaluating coaches’ strategies and the results
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485467

Abstract

We present a multi-phase coaching model that was implemented to help principals improve their instructional leadership practices. We then discuss a rubric based on this coaching model that we used to evaluate coaches’ implementation of key model phases and to identify principals’ responses to the coaching. After presenting the leadership coaching model, we introduce the implementation rubrics, and then we present contrasting cases from our analyses that illustrate two principals’ varying responses to coaching. We discuss how their coaches differed in two key dimensions of implementation: dose and the quality of program delivery. We conclude with a discussion of how these findings can inform development of future educational leadership coaching programs and guide additional research to evaluate the impact of coaching.

Multiple learning approaches in the professional development of school leaders –
Theoretical perspectives and empirical findings on self-assessment and feedback
DOI: 10.1177/1741143213485469

Abstract

This article investigates the use of multiple learning approaches and different modes and types of learning in the (continuous) professional development (PD) of school leaders, particularly the use of self-assessment and feedback. First, formats and multiple approaches to professional learning are described. Second, a possible approach to self-assessment and feedback is explored including the ‘Competence Profile School Management (CPSM)’, which is one component of the modularized four-phase-PD program of three German states. Third, the quality and the impact of self-assessment and feedback is examined using quantitative as well as qualitative measures. The participants experience it as an enriching learning opportunity which promotes reflection and the motivation to gather more information about one’s own behavior in day-to-day practice, supports other learning opportunities and promotes the participants’ professional competencies in areas they identify as beneficial to improving their practice. Moreover, participants change the way they approach career planning after participating in this PD program. They seem to have developed a more differentiated subjective theory of leadership and identified different leadership career possibilities or career steps to principalship than they had before participating in the program. Overall, there are more participants willing to apply for different types of leadership position at schools and in the school system.