I examine three main issues, which are directly linked to school management developments in South Africa since 1994: school leadership and management; professionalisation of principalship through the South African Standard for School Leadership (SASSL); and leading and managing the learning school. In exploring these issues I draw mainly on a systematic and comprehensive literature review of school leadership, management, and governance, commissioned by the Matthew Goniwe School of Leadership and Governance (MGSLG). The aim of the desk research was to establish "what is known "and "what still needs to be known" about educational leadership, management, and governance in South Africa. I also draw upon the work of the Education Management Task Team (EMTT), commissioned by the Directorate of Education Management and Governance Development in the National Department of Education. Their work drew upon the South African Schools Act (SASA) and, specifically, the recommendations of the Ministerial Task Team on Educational Management. The EMTT brief was to develop a policy framework for school leadership and management development, training and implementation, and to devise a South African Standard for School Leadership which would inform professional educational leadership programmes, leading to a National Professional Qualification for Principalship (SANPQP). The SASSL would provide a clear role description for principals, set out what is required of principals, and identify key areas of principalship.