Educational leadership and management: theory, policy, and practice

There is great interest in educationa l leadership in the early part of the 21st cen tury because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to school and student outcomes. There is also increasing recognition that schools require effective leaders and managers if they are to provide the best possib le education f or their learners . Schools need trained and committed teachers but they, in turn, need the leadership of highly effective principa ls and su pport f rom other sen ior an d m iddle managers. While the need for eff ective leaders is widely ack nowledged, there is much less certainty about which leadership behaviours are most likely to produce favourable outcomes. I examine the theoretical und erpinn ings for the fie ld of educationa l leadersh ip and management, assess different leadership mode ls, and discuss the evidence of their relative effectiveness in developing successfu l schools.