Ensuring effective university governance and leadership is more important than ever before given contemporary transformations of higher education functions, institutions and social roles. This paper reports contributions which seek to stimulate research in this field. Drawing from the formative case study of Australian universities, it discusses…

In this paper, we work with the philosophy of Hannah Arendt to explore ethics and leadership in further education (FE), focusing on how leaders define the ethical compromises implied by austerity. Using questionnaires, interviews and observations we developed 10 case studies. It is not our intention to elaborate upon ethical leadership as a…

This article is based on a case study conducted in the context of UK higher education change. The article argues that "change" is a construct created in discourses of change policy and change management, and resulting in reductivist change management discourses which may impede rather than facilitate effective change management in the…

A primary goal of many educational systems in different countries of the world is the offering of equal opportunities in education. My engagement with the literature that relates to inclusive education as well as the literature that relates to educational leadership leads to the conclusion that if we are interested in moving towards more inclusive…

The provision of customized black and minority ethnic (BME) leadership courses and programmes is one of the measures being employed to address the under-representation of teachers and school leaders from minority ethnic backgrounds. This strategy has always attracted controversy as opinions have been divided about its value and benefits. Yet there…

This article provides an update on our earlier paper on the introduction by the Kenyan government in 2003 of free primary education (FPE), and its impact on low-fee private schools. First, published papers that have used our contribution as a springboard for discussion are critically reviewed. The argument and supporting evidence that the poor are…

The purpose of this article is twofold as it aims to compliment the effort of identifying the personal qualities and professional competencies generic to effective school leaders and to contribute to the comparison of effective leadership in diverse cultural contexts. Five examples of successful school principals in rural primary schools in Cyprus…

This article examines the significance of materiality for management and leadership in education using resources provided by actor-network theory (ANT). Espousing the idea that human interactions are mediated by material objects and that these objects participate in the production of practices, ANT affords thinking management and leadership in a…

Few studies of school leadership succession document the processes of continuity and change, especially within situations where there has been a strong tradition of tenure of principal, within a "quality" school. This article examines how a new principal with a commitment towards notions of Learning Community Schools, "quality" teaching and…

Competency in moral Literacy, like any other literacy develops through careful and continual practice (Herman, 2007). In this qualitative study we explore the vice principalship and the development of administrative moral literacy. Using a northern Ontario Canada case study, we recount how three secondary school vice principals further their own…

This article looks at a school management tool that allows school managers and education district offices to review the performance of their schools and use the broad-based data to undertake orchestrated planning with districts planning delivery based on the needs of schools and in support of school improvement plans. The review process also…

The concept of culture as applied to schools is difficult to define and even harder to operationalize in research terms. This article focuses on sixth formers' perceptions on school culture and seeks to develop a model that will enable researchers to move away from the semantics of organizational culture and to explore more easily the concept of…

The article identifies key dimensions of effective leadership for change in historically disadvantaged, township and rural schools in South Africa. It is based on original case study research in 13 schools in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Although the sample included mainly township and rural primary and secondary schools it also included a smaller sample of…

This article reports on the action research (AR) approach adopted by one New Zealand (NZ) primary school to review and improve its appraisal system. Historically the staff had demonstrated considerable negativity towards appraisal. The classic reconnaissance, implementation and evaluation phases of AR were adopted by the case study school as a…

While we often write about adolescents as full of turmoil and angst, focusing on "student voice" instead highlights ways in which young people can learn democratic principles by sharing their opinions and working to improve school conditions for themselves and others. This article examines the connection between the types of student…