Showing papers in "School Leadership & Management in 2002"
TL;DR: A review of current work on school leadership can be found in this article, where the authors argue that more inclusive, differentiated, holistic and learning-centred accounts are needed for school leadership.
Abstract: This paper examines the notion of instructional leadership. The paper opens with a review of current work on school leadership, arguing that more inclusive, differentiated, holistic and learning-centred accounts are needed. Next the paper examines definitions of 'instructional leadership'. In the third section the discussion looks at the empirical evidence we have about such leadership, drawing upon work in the USA and England. The latter study was conducted into leadership in small primary schools. Parallels between the studies are drawn and links made with the definitions of instructional leadership. The concluding section highlights the importance of leaders being learners, the implications for leadership development and the importance of creating and sustaining certain organisational conditions which facilitate instructional leadership. The paper ends with the point that instructional leadership is becoming more significant with the growing emphasis on organisational learning.
527 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present the findings from a research study funded by the National College for School Leadership that explored effective leadership in a group of secondary schools in challenging circumstances, highlighting the key characteristics and features of the leadership approaches adopted, and argues that the heads in the study operated a shared or distributed model of leadership.
Abstract: There is a great deal of contemporary interest in schools in challenging circumstances. However, there are relatively few research studies that have focused exclusively upon effective leadership practices in such schools. This article outlines the findings from a research study funded by the National College for School Leadership that explored effective leadership in a group of secondary schools in challenging circumstances. The article highlights the key characteristics and features of the leadership approaches adopted, and argues that the heads in the study operated a shared or distributed model of leadership. The empirical evidence from teachers, senior managers, pupils and headteachers point towards a model of leadership that is fundamentally concerned with building positive relationships and empowering others to lead. The article concludes by suggesting that a fundamental re-conceptualisation of leadership is required that equates leadership with the many rather than the few and recognises the fundam...
262 citations
TL;DR: The authors reviewed the literature on what works in school improvement taken from a number of sources, from effective schools studies, from accounts by headteachers who have turned schools around and from general literature on school improvement of the last 30 years.
Abstract: The paper reviews the literature on 'what works' in school improvement taken from a number of sources--from effective schools studies, from accounts by headteachers who have turned schools around and from general literature on school improvement of the last 30 years. It is located within the paradigm of 'third wave' principles and practices that have now become axiomatic in the field, which the paper outlines as a commitment to capacity building in schools, to instructional effectiveness and to contextual specificity. It proceeds to outline in detail the practices that appear to be necessary, in terms of organisation, culture, leadership and ethos, to improve the levels of effectiveness of schools facing challenging circumstances. A number of particularly effective school improvement projects that materially influenced the review are outlined in detail also. (The paper is based upon a review of the literature commissioned by the Department of Education and Skills and distributed nationally to schools faci...
178 citations
TL;DR: Impact Project as discussed by the authors is a small-scale, short-term research project focusing on the development of a conceptual framework to help teachers to plan, track and assess the impact of their development work, which includes impact on their own and others' professional learning and organisational development as well as on pupils' learning.
Abstract: The article provides an account of the 'Impact Project': a small-scale, short-term research project, focusing on the development of a conceptual framework to help teachers to plan, track and assess the impact of their development work. This includes impact on their own and others' professional learning and organisational development as well as on pupils' learning. The article begins with a rationale for teacher-led development work, centring on the concept of teacher agency as key to school improvement. This is followed by an account of the developing methodology of the research, in which interviews with teachers leading development work are used to test a conceptualisation of impact. The outcome of the first stage of the project is presented in the form of the conceptual framework that has been refined through the research. This is now being used as the basis for materials and instruments to support the planning and evaluation of teacher-led development work.
98 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a large volume of literature on transformational leadership and its role on school operations in diverse domains is surveyed and the authors attempt to identify its contribution to organisational learning.
Abstract: The present study attempts to address three specific problems First, amidst a large volume of literature on transformational leadership and its role on school operations in diverse domains, it hopes to identify its contribution to organisational learning Second, as the intricate relationships that exist among leadership, structure and culture of the school are widely documented in the current literature, there is a need to determine the precise contribution transformational leadership makes to the collective search for adaptation strategies Third, there is also a need to know whether the overt roles of transformational leadership in the context of organisational change is universal or culturally specific Findings from schools in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Western Australia and Central Canada provided interesting generalised as well as specific patterns of leadership behaviours that shed light on the last question raised
78 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors investigated teachers' views of the Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) as a mechanism for improving secondary schools in challenging contexts, and found that teachers perceive the inspection process as ineffective and ineffective.
Abstract: This article reports the preliminary findings from an ongoing study investigating teachers' views of The Office for Standards in Education (Ofsted) as a mechanism for improving secondary schools in challenging contexts. A case study approach in ten recently inspected secondary schools was utilised to address three research questions. First, how do teachers perceive the inspection process? Second, to what extent does Ofsted inspection generate changes in teaching and non-teaching practice in schools in challenging circumstances? And third, does Ofsted inspection identify similar priorities for change to those identified internally by schools in challenging circumstances? Data were collected through semi-structured interviews, survey and examination of documentary evidence. Findings to date highlight a number of common themes that illuminate the complex nature of the relationship between Ofsted inspection and the change process in these schools.
71 citations
TL;DR: Balanced Scorecard as discussed by the authors is a performance management tool for teachers in the UK that is based on the concept of balanced scorecard, which was developed in the early 1990s.
Abstract: 'Performance management', in various guises, and usually in very incomplete forms, has been used in schools in many countries for some considerable time. Recently, partly as a consequence of government policy, more formalised versions of these have been attempted in the UK. Many of these policy initiatives have been met with criticism and resistance--often on the grounds that they poorly reflect the rich complexity of teachers' work. Where performance-related pay has been used as a key element of performance management, one of the major causes of complaint has been that this device distorts the assessment of 'contribution' by focusing attention on too narrow an agenda. It was, in part, to overcome these kinds of reservations about early forms of performance management (and, crucially, performance measurement) in other sectors that the concept of the 'Balanced Scorecard' was developed in the early 1990s. Since that time this tool has been sustained and refined. It is in the course of being extensively appl...
66 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the subjective meanings attached to educational marketing by school teachers and the ways they construct and interpret teachers' "idealised" and "actual" involvement and contribution to school marketing were examined.
Abstract: At the end of a decade of enhanced marketisation in schools, this article considers the subjective meanings attached to educational marketing by school teachers and the ways they construct and interpret teachers' 'idealised' and 'actual' involvement and contribution to school marketing. Through semi-structured interviews with 12 secondary school teachers from the south of England, the study revealed teachers' perceptions of and attitudes towards competition, marketing and education, their awareness of the marketing activities of their schools, the teachers' role in marketing the school and the perceived impact of the market upon teachers' well being. The results show that there is no coherent, organised view of education marketing among teachers in the study but rather that there are a number of inchoate voices amongst teachers concerning their role in school marketing. Broadly, two voices are revealed that reflect a cognitive dissonance which may exist among school teachers in the era of marketisation. T...
62 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors provide information about Key Stage 3 grouping practices in secondary comprehensive schools and the impact of these practices on pupils' attainment and future prospects and in relation to classroom practice.
Abstract: Ability grouping, especially setting, is currently seen as a means of raising attainment. Research to date indicates that there may be difficulties in accurately and fairly placing pupils in ability groups and in enabling movement between groups. The aim of this article is to provide information about Key Stage 3 grouping practices in secondary comprehensive schools. The schools were selected to represent a range of grouping, from entirely mixed ability to setting in all curriculum subjects. Curriculum managers and heads of department in 45 schools provided information about factors taken into account when allocating pupils to groups and about pressures and constraints on movement between groups. The analysis shows that many factors impinge on grouping and constrain the possibility of movement. The findings are discussed in relation to the effect on pupils' attainment and future prospects and in relation to classroom practice. Recommendations are made for schools implementing setting.
59 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the professional development activities in school districts in relationship to overall district health, and found that healthy and unhealthy districts differ in their approaches to professional development, and the relationship between district health and professional development.
Abstract: Professional development is a requirement of every reform effort. Most states in the USA mandate a certain number of days in the school calendar to be allocated for professional development. Other nations often fund professional development for teachers to accompany an initiative to improve student performance. Although assumptions about why and how professional development should be conducted are shared, empirical evidence is relatively slim. Recent research generally focuses on the role of professional development in school reform. This study investigates the characteristics of involvement in professional development at the level of the district-the umbrella organisation for a geographic collection of schools. As part of a larger study, this research examines the professional development activities in school districts in relationship to overall district health. How do healthy and unhealthy districts differ in their approaches to professional development? What is the relationship between district health ...
52 citations
TL;DR: In this paper, the key to teaching and learning online is discussed, e.g., e-moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online (EMLO).
Abstract: (2002). E-Moderating: The Key to Teaching and Learning Online. School Leadership & Management: Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 455-455.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors report the administration of Kouzes and Posner's (1995) Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) to 28 graduate students in educational administration at a university in the Southwest of the USA and 28 graduate student at a University in Mexico.
Abstract: This study reports the administration of Kouzes and Posner's (1995) Leadership Practices Inventory (LPI) to 28 graduate students in educational administration at a university in the Southwest of the USA and 28 graduate students at a university in Mexico. A rationale for the importance of cross-cultural study in educational administration is presented. The results of this study indicate that the US educators scored significantly higher than Mexican educators on all five of Kouzes and Posner's leadership practices. The rank order of the practices was quite different. The leadership practices appear to be quite firmly embedded in US culture but not Mexican culture. Questions are raised about whether the theory has universal application and how effective leadership may be defined differently across cultures.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors examined the role of the school-based induction tutor in managing the process of newly qualified teachers in the maintained sector, and argued that for the majority of schools the work of the induction tutor within the whole school context, including management by the headteacher, is the major factor in the success of the policy.
Abstract: Since September 1999, all Newly Qualified Teachers (NQTs) in England who wish to teach in the maintained sector have to complete an induction period. In the light of the introduction of this statutory policy, this article critically examines the key role of the school-based induction tutor in managing the process. It draws upon an analysis of the government's induction circulars (DfEE 1999, 2000; DfES 2001) and uses empirical data from a large, national DfES-funded project which evaluated the implementation of the policy. It is argued that, for the majority of schools the work of the induction tutor within the whole school context, including management by the headteacher, is the major factor in the success of the policy. Further, it is argued that there remain some tensions in the policy between the professional development and the assessment agenda.
TL;DR: In this paper, a large-scale reorganisation of schools is described, with a focus on the management of complex educational change: Large-Scale Reorganization of Schools.
Abstract: (2002). Managing Complex Educational Change: Large-Scale Reorganisation of Schools. School Leadership & Management: Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 457-458.
TL;DR: The authors explored the potency of teamwork as a vehicle for organisational learning and argued that defensiveness creates a tendency to bypass learning opportunities and that teams can learn the skills of productive dialogue to engage in effective communication and consequently in organizational learning.
Abstract: This article explores the potency of teamwork as a vehicle for organisational learning. The nature of teamwork presents possibilities for team learning to shape cultures that value and act on feedback to improve quality. However, a baseline survey of team incidence and practice in New Zealand schools highlights a tension between a high demand for accountability and a low emphasis on team review and development, the very conditions needed for team learning. Review of one large secondary school Senior Management Team revealed that whilst the team was generally performing well, there were gaps between expectations and actions in several skill areas critical to team learning. It is contended that defensiveness creates a tendency to bypass learning opportunities and that teams can learn the skills of productive dialogue to engage in effective communication and consequently in organisational learning. Leaders themselves should be challenged to learn and model productive dialogue in the context of team action. U...
TL;DR: In this article, a case study of a primary school subject to special measures, researched by the author over a three-year period, showed that the Conger and Kanungo (1998) concept of the charismatic leader can mask the fundamental issues in primary schools that face complex and challenging situational factors.
Abstract: This paper looks at a single-site case study, a primary school subject to Special Measures, researched by the author over a three-year period. Taking the Conger and Kanungo (1998) concept of the charismatic leader, it asks why either the person of the leader or the process of leadership can mask the fundamental issues in primary schools that face complex and challenging situational factors. It concludes that one of the reasons for the continued potency of the leadership myth is the followers' demand for it.
TL;DR: In this article, a research-based study of the experience of subject leaders (SLs) in Wales in improving the practice of members of their departments was carried out and the findings reveal that the SLs worked to create a culture of collaboration that both controlled the development of practice and contained the anxiety and emotions associated with teaching, organizing and practice improvement.
Abstract: This paper is an account of a research-based study of the experience of subject leaders (SLs) in Wales in improving the practice of members of their departments. Seventeen SLs from secondary schools in South Wales were interviewed in depth. The findings reveal that the SLs worked to create a culture of collaboration that both controlled the development of practice and contained the anxiety and emotions associated with teaching, organising and practice improvement. A significant issue was the SLs' attempts to improve the practice of those department members whose practice was unsatisfactory.
TL;DR: The Smart Story as mentioned in this paper describes the process whereby an urban primary school harnessed the collective energies of all staff (teachers and support staff) to bring about improvement, and considers the role of democratic leadership in re-conceptualising the school as a learning organisation.
Abstract: By focusing upon the 'lived experience' of nurturing a culture of democratic leadership within an urban primary school, the 'Smart Story' provides a narrative account of the development of a solutions-focused approach to school improvement. The paper describes the process whereby an urban school harnessed the collective energies of all staff (teachers and support staff) to bring about improvement, and considers the role of democratic leadership in re-conceptualising the school as a 'learning organisation'. The story is told in three chapters, 'Developing a Strategic View', 'Thinking Tactically' and 'Capacity Building'. In Chapter One, the development of a professional learning culture is considered and the concept of 'distributed leadership' addressed. Chapter Two, considers the process of team formation and in particular the process of establishing project-specific, creative, 'problem solving teams'. In Chapter Three, the encouragement of leadership capability and 'building capacity' for future learning ...
TL;DR: The authors traces the development of teacher appraisal from the late 1980s through to the Green Paper teachers: meeting the challenge of change (DfEE 1998) and reports on a research project in one urban LEA in the north of England.
Abstract: In the drive to establish performance management systems in schools the experiences of teacher appraisal in the 1990s remain in people's biographies but have been officially silenced in recent policy texts. This article traces the development of teacher appraisal from the late 1980s through to the Green Paper teachers: meeting the challenge of change (DfEE 1998) and reports on a research project in one urban LEA in the north of England. Evidence shows how the LEA sought to establish and sustain a developmental model of teacher appraisal in an increasingly hostile climate, and while experiences showed the need for improvements many gains had been made. Developmental appraisal largely failed because it was starved of resources and was increasingly out of tune with the performance management strategy that came to dominate education policy by the turn of the century. It is argued that by telling the story through contemporary histories of teacher's work on appraisal then the experiences of developmental appro...
TL;DR: In this article, what primary subject leaders are doing as a part of their role in schools, what their perceptions of the role are and how this relates to the TTA standards for subject leadership.
Abstract: This article considers what primary Subject Leaders are doing as a part of their role in schools, what their perceptions of the role are and how this relates to the TTA standards for Subject Leadership. The information presented is based on research conducted in 10 primary schools with 20 Subject Leaders. The argument is made that there is close agreement between Subject Leaders and Government agencies about the role a Subject Leader should perform. However, there is a need for greater clarity about what leadership means in this context and a need to support Subject Leaders' in their monitoring role.
TL;DR: In this paper, a case study of a small primary school is presented, where the school has instituted several democratic procedures that involve pupils and staff in leadership activities such as reviewing policies and appointing staff.
Abstract: This article is a report of a low cost case study in a small primary school. The school has instituted several democratic procedures that involve pupils and staff in leadership activities such as reviewing policies and appointing staff. The study sheds light on Hargreaves (2001) capital theory of school improvement, indicating that a dimension should be added. It then examines the theories implicit in HMI (2002b) and finds that they ignore a major consequence and benefit of the citizenship education observed in the study. Finally, it is argued that if the re-culturing envisaged by Furman and Starratt (2002) was extended to include structural changes that placed value on pupils' insights and knowledge, even greater improvements in education would be available.
TL;DR: In this article, the principles and practice of educational management are discussed, and the authors present an overview of the main principles and practices of education management in the field of school leadership and management.
Abstract: (2002). The Principles and Practice of Educational Management. School Leadership & Management: Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 456-457.
TL;DR: Suggestions are made for planning, support and the creation of a pool of potential heads to take advantage of opportunities for personal, professional and school development.
Abstract: A questionnaire inquiry into the appointment of acting heads was carried out in 24 Scottish local authorities to explore their causes, purposes and management. Acting headships were surprisingly widespread (over 10% of primary and secondary schools) largely due to illness and secondment, promotion, retirement and resignation. Selection was largely automatic, duration variable (from three weeks to more than two years) and appointment and support policies infrequent. Appointment decisions emphasised school stability rather than development. Suggestions are made for planning, support and the creation of a pool of potential heads to take advantage of opportunities for personal, professional and school development.
TL;DR: In this paper, the focus is broadened to consider the wider remit of school improvement, and a series of articles devoted to exploring possible solutions are published. But the lack of interest demonstrated by school improvement researchers within the UK has led to the under-conceptualisation of the relationships between internal school factors and external factors responsible for creating and maintaining the most challenging of circumstances.
Abstract: In recent months the issue of low attainment in schools serving many of our disadvantaged communities has come to the fore in England. Researchers, policy makers, practitioners and the public are keen to nd a solution. This journal has responded to this growing interest through the publication of a series of articles devoted to exploring possible solutions. The previous issue considered the key element of successful leadership in these schools. Here the focus is broadened to consider the wider remit of school improvement. Historically, the school improvement paradigm has largely chosen to study schools from the perspective of the ‘well’ or effective institution working with the good to make them even better, rather than with ‘poor’ schools to make them ‘less poor’. As Teddlie and Reynolds (2000) note, unlike work in other applied disciplines such as medicine there has been a lack of attention paid to the ‘sick’ or ineffective school. With some notable exceptions (Reynolds, 1996; National Commission on Education, 1996; Stoll and Myers, 1998; Thrupp, 2001; Maden, 2001; Hopkins, 2001), the lack of interest demonstrated by school improvement researchers in this eld within the UK has been costly for two important reasons. First, it has led to the under-conceptualisation of the relationships between internal school factors and external factors responsible for creating and maintaining the most challenging of circumstances in a highly dynamic landscape. Second, we have only limited experience of what actually works in these schools. Therefore, the knowledge base pertaining to the improvement process in low attaining schools in England is limited. Recently, political interest in the areas of social inclusion and economic regeneration, combined with an intention to raise educational standards, has illuminated the margins of our educational system. This has resulted in central government giving a higher priority to the improvement of low attaining schools. The introduction of ‘ oor targets’ and high pro le research and development programmes funded by the Department for Education and Skills (DfES) and the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) are testimony to the government’s commitment to this. The school standards minister David Milliband has outlined the challenge:
TL;DR: In this article, the responses of four mixed comprehensive schools to the apparent "underachievement" of boys are discussed. And the potential of each approach for raising the achievement levels of boys and girls is evaluated.
Abstract: This article addresses the responses of four mixed comprehensive schools to the apparent 'under-achievement' of boys. The issue is briefly placed in context, both nationally and locally through a consideration of the improvement trajectory in each school. Approaches are classified into one of (i) organisational (ii) individual (iii) pedagogical and (iv) socio-cultural, and the potential of each approach for raising the achievement levels of boys and girls is evaluated. A concluding discussion considers the extent to which these approaches might contribute to authentic school improvement.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a strategic management for school development: Leading Your School's Improvement Strategy, which is based on the concept of Strategic Management for School Development (SMED).
Abstract: (2002). Strategic Management for School Development: Leading Your School's Improvement Strategy. School Leadership & Management: Vol. 22, No. 4, pp. 454-454.
TL;DR: In this paper, a critique of the concept of ownership central to contemporary theorising about professional development in education is presented. But the theory appeared to be paradoxical, and some explanations for the paradoxes, including the possibility that theorising has developed ahead of empirical data and that pragmatism has high salience for headteachers.
Abstract: This article offers a critique of the concept of ownership central to contemporary theorising about professional development in education. The theorising was tested against data from a national programme of professional development projects for 185 primary headteachers, in which a strong sense of ownership had been embedded. In four areas, i.e. the focus of the projects, funding priorities, capacity building and impact on pupils, the theory appeared to be paradoxical. The concluding discussion examines some explanations for the paradoxes, including the possibility that theorising has developed ahead of empirical data and that pragmatism has high salience for headteachers.
TL;DR: In this article, an analysis of EAZ policy as a means of extrapolating a number of key themes for future research and inquiry to be undertaken by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) as part of the 'Networked Learning Communities' programme.
Abstract: This article examines Education Action Zone (EAZ) policy as a basis for the development of an analytic framework for investigating contemporary forms of leadership and management within schools in urban and challenging contexts. The article largely focuses upon an analysis of EAZ policy as a means of extrapolating a number of key themes for future research and inquiry to be undertaken by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL) as part of the 'Networked Learning Communities' programme. Where appropriate, the analysis draws upon evidence provided by research and evaluation studies which have focused on the implementation of EAZ policy, including investigative work undertaken by the author in the external evaluation of an EAZ. [1] Three paired themes are explored within the discussion--'networking and experimentation', 'partnership and stakeholder involvement' and 'participation and innovation'. The article concludes by setting the key themes for further investigation within the context of the futu...
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors demonstrate why an understanding of complexity theory is essential for school leaders and demonstrate the benefits of such a theory in terms of coherence, consistency, comprehensiveness, simplicity, and generalisable potential and fecundity.
Abstract: This book demonstrates why an understanding of complexity theory is essential for school leaders. The author asserts somewhat strongly that unlike many management books this book draws on evidence and is rigorously based on a theory which means it has coherence, consistency, comprehensiveness, simplicity, is explanatory and has generalisable potential and fecundity. The first part presents an analysis of complexity theory and clarifies the relationships to chaos theory and open systems theory and therefore does make his case. Organisations are complex adaptive systems and the theoretical concepts of feedback, recursion, perturbance, auto-catalysis, connectedness and self-organisation, central to complexity theory and explored in depth, create higher levels of complexity from lower, with new properties appearing at each emergent level. For schools this might mean from command and control systems with fragmentation and teachers isolated, to flat management structures, internally and externally networked schools which operate in multiple teams with matrix structures, distributed leadership and person-centred institutions. Complex adaptive systems possess a capability for self-organisation which enables them to develop, extend, replace, adapt, reconstruct or change their internal structures so they can respond to, and influence, their environment. The school as organism responds to the environment by reconfiguring itself and metamorphosing in order to survive. The key areas from complexity theory, covered in separate chapters, for school leadership are the elements of the schools as self-organising learning systems, the school and the environment, emergence, positive fitness landscapes in schools, self-organised criticality, communication and information, relationships connectedness and networked structures, and new forms of leadership. These are all presented with considerable numbers of questions for each at the end of the first chapter. The second part, much the larger in the book explores all these in detail in full chapters about their application to schools. The leadership task in a self-organising, complex, emergent non-linear organisation is about moving the school from a ‘competitive, secretive, isolationist and procedures-driven mentality to a collaborative, interdependent, groupand teambased network, with devolved decision making and its accompanying responsibility and accountability’. The relationship between transformational leadership, and the different leadership styles and teams, groups and networks in self-organising schools is important. These are normally most effective if they are loose-tight organisations. The links to transformational, transcendental and servant leadership, quantum leadership and distributed leadership and the links to emotional intelligence are explored. Again the assertion is that the empirical research cited demonstrates overwhelmingly the principles in the conclusion. The chapter on supporting emergence focuses on schools developing their organisational learning. This explores leadership again, leadership of learning, and leading participants in organisational learning. It can be said that the application of complexity theory to the environments of schools and communication reinforces the model. The conclusion, implications and evaluation of the chapter on communication provides 12 bullet points to define communication, and 28 questions which school leaders can ask themselves when they are involved in communication. These draw together the centrality of communication in complexity theory. The last of these
TL;DR: The National College for School Leadership (NCSL) as mentioned in this paper was founded to support the practice of leadership and management in schools in urban and challenging contexts, with the major theme of "Leadership and Management in Schools".
Abstract: This Special Feature takes as its major theme the study of leadership and management in schools in urban and challenging contexts. The collection of three articles which follows has emerged from work undertaken by the National College for School Leadership (NCSL). Leadership, though conceptually elusive is, quite rightly, in fashion. Managed change, structures, hierarchies and accountabilities still have their place, but the new language is also about, capacity, creativity, teams, organisational redesign, collaboration, exibility, networks and transformation—and these are in the domain of leadership. First and foremost, then, the College (NCSL) is about educational leadership for school leaders and is committed to generating an applied research agenda that will arise from and support the practice of leadership in schools [1].