Building leadership capacity

Building leadership capacity in a school increases the opportunities for improving learning outcomes for all students.

Overcoming Obstacles to Leadership

by Susan Moore Johnstone and Morgaen L. Donaldson

This article by Susan Moore Johnstone and Morgaen L. Donaldson speaks directly to the experience of many lead teachers. It deals with the complex issues facing aspiring leaders and looks at the issues of setting up professional learning communities and the importance of creating positive supportive teaching environments.
Download a copy of the article, and consider reflective questions to guide your reading of it.

Leadership Matters: listening to First-time Principals

by Marg Lees

Marg Lees is Leadership and Management adviser from a UC Plus in Christchurch, who has worked with aspiring principals on the UC Plus Aspiring Principals programme. This article records her follow-up with seven first-time primary principals who undertook the programme.

Small School Challenges: learning lessons from small school headteachers

by Amanda Tuck

Aspiring school leaders often contemplate their first movement into principalship via a small school. Amanda Tuck engaged in a significant research project interviewing leaders of small school to find out their concerns, advantages, and the issues they face.

Beyond the Lost Sandshoe

by Australian Professional Development Council

This page gives an overview, suggestions for use, and links to a collection of 20 articles from the Australian Professional Development Council giving a snapshot of issues and concerns around school leadership in Australia. They explore areas such as accountability, equity, articulating and accessing professional standards, and principal support.

Building leadership capacity: helping leaders learn

by John West-Burnham

This National College for School Leadership (NCSL) thinkpiece from John West-Burnham presents an argument supporting the notion of distributed leadership in schools. A key idea in the argument is that organisations that are focused on the learning of children should have structures that reflect learning relationships.

Enhancing Internal Capacity: Leadership for Learning

by Louise Stoll

In this article Louise Stoll argues that a vital clue to understanding why some schools are able to promote and enhance learning is the level of their internal capacity.

Formation of Capable, Influential, and Authentic Leaders for Times of Uncertainty

by Patrick Duignan

In this address, Patrick Duignan looks at the moral, ethical, and spiritual side of leadership. It includes case studies showing the realities principals face in making difficult decisions, and practical guidance for thinking through ethical issues that may arise.

Too Busy to Learn? An Introduction to Collaborative Leadership Learning

by Multiple

This is an introductory handbook of interactive materials for collaborative learning among head teachers, principals and advisors. Building on an NCSL pilot programme to develop leadership learning groups, it offers questions, processes and materials to support new collaborative groups as they form, or established groups as they review the focus and purpose of their work together.

Leadership: Paradoxes of Leadership in an Age of Accountability

by John MacBeath

This article looks at differences between the corporate and education worlds, the role of the leader, and the impact of accountability issues on schools and the illusion created as a result of practices adopted in reporting performance.

One Good Turn...

by Angela Spencer

This article describes a Partners in Leadership programme in the United Kingdom, where school leaders are paired with senior business mentors.

Principal Professional Development: A Fine Balance

by Neil Dempster

In this article, Neil Dempster argues that principal professional development opportunities need to achieve a 'fine balance' between people- and systems-focused activities if they are to be really effective. He recommends a comprehensive approach to principal professional learning that incorporates four perspectives.

Principal Professional Learning as Part of the School Development Process

by David Stewart

Here David Stewart discusses the point that being a principal is a 'complex, educative, intellectual activity', and demonstrates the critical link between the professional learning of the principal and the school improvement process.

Professional Development for Principals: Seven Core Beliefs

by Paula Evans and Nancy Mohr

This article suggests that teaching principals how to lead schools by giving them "predigested 'in-basket' training" rarely leads to new thinking about leadership, teaching, or learning. They describe a year-long professional development programme which they run for principals at the Annenberg Institute in the United States.

The Ethical Development of School Principals

by Neil Dempster

In this conference paper, Neil Dempster suggests there is a relationship between the contemporary political climate of school leadership and an increase in ethical dilemmas faced by principals. This link also takes you to a number of other papers that focus on ethics and leadership.

What Leaders Read 1: Key Texts from the Business World

by Jonathan Abra, Martin Hunter, Robert Smith and Steve Kempster (Ed.)

This page provides a link to a National College of School Leadership (NCSL) report which summarises a range of contemporary literature dedicated to the study of leadership and leadership development beyond school.

What Leaders Read 2: Key Texts from Education and Beyond

by Mel West, Mel Ainscow, and Helen Notman

This page provides a link to a National College for School Leadership (NCSL) report that summarises a review of recent literature covering the development of leadership practice in schools.

What Ought I to Do, All Things Considered? An Approach to the Exploration of Ethical Problems by Teachers

by Alan Hall

This paper is an introduction to exploring ethical issues and problems within the educational context. It includes a brief theoretical framework regarding the importance of taking an ethical approach to solving difficult issues and two compelling case studies from New Zealand schools as examples.

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