Purpose: The purpose of this article is to report a study of the strategies members of principal selection panels use to select the best candidate for a principal position. Design/methodology/approach: The study draws on both qualitative and quantitative data. The quantitative analysis drawn on data collected from school supervisors and school…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of different dimensions of instructional leadership on student learning in Hong Kong secondary schools, whose broader institutional contexts are critically characterized by high accountability policy environments. Design/methodology/approach: This study utilizes standardized test scores…

Purpose: The paper aims to describe the application of theoretical principles derived from a study of self-organisation and complex systems theory and their application to school-based capacity building to support planned change. Design/methodology/approach: The paper employs a case example in a Hong Kong School to illustrate the application of…

Purpose: This article aims to instigate a focused dialogue of social justice in Hong Kong schools and of the responsibilities this holds for school leaders. Design/methodology/approach: The authors draw on economic, psychological, and sociological research to illustrate how the unequal allocation of resources and school status hierarchies affects…

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to explore what developing moral literacy for leaders in intercultural schools will mean. Design/methodology/approach: Relevant literature on moral literacy, leadership, intercultural schools and social learning is brought together and integrated to develop an understanding of the intricacies of leading for…

Purpose: This article aims to set the scene for this Special Issue on beginning principals and to inform one's understanding of how new principals manage their work lives to make a difference in their schools. Design/methodology/approach: Based on recent literature on beginning principals, the paper draws together and analyses issues encompassing…

Purpose: This paper aims to contribute to one's understanding of how beginning principals in Hong Kong exercise leadership by exploring the concurrent influence of their inner worlds and the external contexts on their leadership within a reforming environment. Design/methodology/approach: Based on a study of the work lives of beginning principals…

Advocates a stronger comparative emphasis in the study of educational administration and management while acknowledging comparative educational administration's weak knowledge base. Clarifies the potential import of a comparative, cross-cultural perspective embracing five societal/cultural dimensions: individualism versus collectivism, power…

Outlines three 1990s reforms in Hong Kong affecting curriculum and management: the School Management Initiative, the target-oriented curriculum, and an education commission report on quality education. Reviews reforms' effects and discusses the need to reorient the current school-based management system and recognize Hong Kong's societal culture.…

School leaders face tensions at global, macropolitical, policy, and school levels resulting from simultaneous and contradictory influences toward sameness and difference. Government and school leaders can deal with these tensions by challenging the sameness that typifies school operations and valuing and learning from differences among school…

Describes and analyzes an effort to introduce problem-based learning (PBL) into a Chinese cultural setting--an educational administration course at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Discusses tensions between Eastern students' perceptions of teachers as "wise persons" and a Western discovery-learning philosophy, ameliorative strategies,…

The Disadvantaged Schools Program (DSP) has been an important and integral part of education for many Australian students for over a decade. After reviewing eight school effectiveness variables, this paper argues that adding a new emphasis on academic success and cognitive skills will enhance the DSP program. Includes 3 tables and 20 references.…