This book provides insights into the experiences of leadership socialisation for school leaders in four sub-Saharan African countries. The chapters present case studies of school leaders in Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia and South Africa, before offering a contextually grounded framework for school leadership socialisation. In contrast to other studies which focus on experiences of newly appointed school principals, this book presents lived experiences of school leadership against a complex backdrop of social, political and economic trends in the postcolonial African context. Drawing on socialisation theory to re-imagine the school leadership preparation and development landscape, the authors go beyond experiences of role learning by new school principals. Moorosi and Grant ask critical questions about the contextual realities in which would-be school leaders develop leadership attributes, skills and knowledge, and dispositions that prepare them for, and socialise them into, leadership. Country case studies allow the authors to focus on lived experiences of school leaders, preserving the contextual uniqueness while allowing for comparative analysis, cross-cultural learning and discussion.
