How School Principals Sustain Success over Time International Perspectives

This work represents a publishing event in education research. Genuinely groundbreaking, it is the result of longitudinal research from five nations over five years. The authors set themselves an unprecedented task: to analyze how it is that successful school principals sustain positive outcomes over a significant period of time. To find out, they initiated the International Successful School Principal Project (ISSPP) assembling 30 multinational case histories and numerous comparative analyses. In doing so, they recorded fresh perspectives on the influence school principals can have on their schools, the quality of teaching in their classrooms, and student outcomes. Revisiting the subject schools in 2007, they found many principals still in place, having steered their organizations through various minefields of political, governance and educational reform.

As the most penetrating longitudinal investigation of the subject, this research has unearthed fascinating new insights into school leadership that add real substance to the sum of our knowledge. It incorporates data from educational systems in Australia, Denmark, Norway, Sweden, England and the USA. One key finding is that while all principals delegate a range of leadership tasks, successful ones distribute responsibility on a case-by-case basis founded on personal assessments of their staff as well as on organizational and policy contexts. The research also demonstrates that successful principals maintain close communication with their staff and the wider school environment, and that they are adaptive, maximizing the opportunities presented by new political contexts and expectations, yet without losing sight of their school’s core moral and ethical principles. The volume’s international thematic analysis has allowed comparative conclusions to be drawn on what the principals do to sustain and foster pedagogical and institutional success.

1. Introduction to the International Successful School Principalship Project; Lejf Moos, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Christopher Day, University of Nottingham, Olof Johansson, University of Umeå.- 2. Sustaining school and leadership success in two Australian schools; Lawrie Drysdale, Helen Goode, David Gurr, The University of Melbourne.- 3. Danish Successful School Leadership – Revisited; Lejf Moos and Klaus Kasper Kofod, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University.- 4. Sustainable improvement – the significance of ethos and leadership; Jorunn Møller, University of Oslo, Gunn Vedøy, University of Stavanger, Anne Marie Presthus, University of Agder, Guri Skedsmo, University of Oslo.- 5. Swedish Successful schools revisited; Jonas Höög, Olof Johansson, Anders Olofsson, University of Umeå.- 6. Building and Sustaining Successful Principalship In an English School; Christopher Day, University of Nottingham.- 7. Sustaining School Success: A Case for Governance Change; Stephen L. Jacobson, University of Buffalo, Lauri Johnson, University of Boston, Rose Ylimaki, University of Arizona.- SECTION 2: 8. Sustaining leadership through self-renewing communication; Lejf Moos, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University.- 9. Sustainable Improvement and Leadership in Challenging Schools; Rose Ylimaki, Arizona University, David Gurr and Lawrie Drysdale, The University of Melbourne.- 10. Sustaining improvements in student learning and achievement: the importance of resilience in leadership; Christopher Day, Nottingham University, Olof Johansson, Umeå University, and Jorunn Møller, University of Oslo.- 11. Preparation for Sustainable Leadership; David Gurr, Lawrie Drysdale, The University of Melbourne, Rose Ylimaki, The University of Arizona, StephenJacobson, The University of Buffalo.- 12. The Hurricane of Accountabilities?; Lejf Moos, Danish School of Education, University of Aarhus, Guri Skedsmo, University of Oslo, Jonas Höög, University of Umeå, Anders Olofsson, University of Umeå, Lauri Johnson, Boston College.- 13. New Insights: How successful school leadership is sustained; Lejf Moos, Danish School of Education, Aarhus University, Chris Day, University of Nottingham, Olof Johansson, Umeå University.- Author Biographies.- Index.