This third book in International Research on School Leadership, focuses on the changing nature of instructional leadership in the 21st century. Our goal is to examine instructional leadership from multiple educational and international perspectives. Unlike many leadership books that focus on conceptualizations and personal narratives, the seven chapters provide empirical evidence of how instructional leadership is evolving in the 21st century. From the effective schools research of the 1980s to today’s relentless calls for improved student performance, attention has focused on the instructional leadership roles and responsibilities of school principals, headteachers, and educational system leaders. The emphasis on student performance has gone global as evidenced by highly-publicized international studies, such as the Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), comparing student achievement in different countries.

These developments have had substantial effects on school leaders, especially building-level principals and headteachers. Rather than being the only ones overseeing school improvement aimed at increasing student learning, many school administrators are distributing leadership responsibilities to other administrators and teachers on their campuses. To fully understand instructional leadership in the 21st century, the book examines three important dimensions of instructional leadership: (1) the current context for turning around low-performing schools, increasing teacher effectiveness, and providing equitable outcomes for all students, (2) international perspectives of instructional leadership development, particularly the value of teacher coaching and leadership development for aspiring and practicing school leaders in a developing country, and (3) the obstacles instructional leaders confront as they deal with fiscal constraints, political pressure, diverse student populations, and high-stakes standards-based reforms.

This is a critical examination of the people who teach and produce research and scholarship in our institutions of higher education. The insights revealed through probing interviews with individual professors who have made careers in the halls of academia help readers understand the politics, power struggles and perils, both large and small, which shape the modern university. Given the important role these institutions play in our society, such an examination is not only helpful, but essential. This book is a helpful primer for faculty looking to build a career and those interested in understanding how professors are tasked in their profession.

The purpose of this book is to examine the tensions, gaps, and intersections between the practices of leadership in educational systems, school leadership preparation programs, and the often different worlds of academia and k12 schools. Voices from both academia and k12 schools are used to illustrate the tensions that cluster around capacity, politics, and the everyday practice of inspiring, engaging, and preparing school leaders.

This third book in International Research on School Leadership, focuses on the changing nature of instructional leadership in the 21st century. Our goal is to examine instructional leadership from multiple educational and international perspectives. Unlike many leadership books that focus on conceptualizations and personal narratives, the seven chapters provide empirical evidence of how instructional leadership is evolving in the 21st century. From the effective schools research of the 1980s to today’s relentless calls for improved student performance, attention has focused on the instructional leadership roles and responsibilities of school principals, headteachers, and educational system leaders. The emphasis on student performance has gone global as evidenced by highly-publicized international studies, such as the Trends in International Math and Science Studies (TIMSS) and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), comparing student achievement in different countries.

These developments have had substantial effects on school leaders, especially building-level principals and headteachers. Rather than being the only ones overseeing school improvement aimed at increasing student learning, many school administrators are distributing leadership responsibilities to other administrators and teachers on their campuses. To fully understand instructional leadership in the 21st century, the book examines three important dimensions of instructional leadership: (1) the current context for turning around low-performing schools, increasing teacher effectiveness, and providing equitable outcomes for all students, (2) international perspectives of instructional leadership development, particularly the value of teacher coaching and leadership development for aspiring and practicing school leaders in a developing country, and (3) the obstacles instructional leaders confront as they deal with fiscal constraints, political pressure, diverse student populations, and high-stakes standards-based reforms.

This is a critical examination of the people who teach and produce research and scholarship in our institutions of higher education. The insights revealed through probing interviews with individual professors who have made careers in the halls of academia help readers understand the politics, power struggles and perils, both large and small, which shape the modern university. Given the important role these institutions play in our society, such an examination is not only helpful, but essential. This book is a helpful primer for faculty looking to build a career and those interested in understanding how professors are tasked in their profession.

The purpose of this book is to examine the tensions, gaps, and intersections between the practices of leadership in educational systems, school leadership preparation programs, and the often different worlds of academia and k12 schools. Voices from both academia and k12 schools are used to illustrate the tensions that cluster around capacity, politics, and the everyday practice of inspiring, engaging, and preparing school leaders.