This study explores the use of portfolios in preparing aspiring principals in Sweden. Forty postgraduate students used portfolios to document course content, reflections, and observations, assessed on themes like leadership, governance, and quality monitoring. Analysis showed strong foundational knowledge but limited development in reflection and practical application. Gender comparisons revealed minimal differences overall, though men reflected more on leadership, while women focused on resource management. The findings highlight portfolios' value as both assessment and reflective tools, suggesting a need to enhance curriculum elements that support deeper reflection and real-world application in leadership education.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to report the findings of a literature review on the extent and nature of school leadership preparation and development in Africa. Design/methodology/approach This paper draws mainly on an Africa-wide review of literature on school leadership preparation and development. The literature review began with a search of the authors’ university search engine, using the search terms school leadership preparation, school leadership development and principal leadership development, delimited to African countries. The search included articles in Web of Science or Scopus journals and three doctoral theses. Findings Fifty-five sources were initially identified from 20 African countries. The findings show that many articles and theses focused on advocacy, encouraging policymakers to develop plans for leadership preparation. Other sources described current development programmes, in terms of content and delivery and in respect of their links to principal recruitment and selection. In some contexts, there were no formal programmes and leadership learning was unplanned and incidental. A follow-up search located a further 35 outputs, from 17 countries, published from 2022 to 2025. Originality/value This paper is believed to be the first published source to provide a review of school leadership preparation and development across Africa.

This article reports research on the implementation of the Malaysia Education Blueprint, 2013-2025, drawing on 49 extended interviews with senior policy makers at federal, state and district levels, and school principals, informed by a systematic review of international and Malaysian literature. The findings show that the reforms are poorly understood by officials and school leaders, leading to partial and unenthusiastic enactment. The paper concludes that such ambitious reforms need to be acceptable, to ensure "ownership" of the reform agenda, and feasible, to avoid disenchantment by officials, school leaders and teachers.

The purpose of this article is to report the findings of a systematic review of school leadership and gender in Africa, and to identify gaps in the literature, to prompt and encourage further research. The literature search focused based on school leadership and gender, linked to all 54 African countries. The review focused on articles in non-predatory journals, plus university theses. The review provides a compelling picture of school leadership and gender in Africa, with three main findings. First, there is limited knowledge production on this important topic, with no sources identified in most African countries. Second, organisational, social and personal factors combine to inhibit women's accession to school leadership. Third, African women principals are shown to be more collegial and collaborative than men, with some evidence that they may be more effective school leaders. The article’s conclusion draws out three main implications. First, the findings indicate a strong need for ministries of education to review their recruitment and selection policies to address barriers to women's accession as school principals. Second, they show deeply embedded social attitudes that women should be focused on domestic and family responsibilities, rather than school leadership. This calls for community education programmes to address family and social attitudes. Third, while the article presents a significant picture of the extent and nature of women principals' leadership accession and enactment across the continent, further research is recommended to address knowledge gaps, especially in those African countries where there is no knowledge production on school leadership and gender.

The political, economic and social challenges in Zimbabwe are well documented. Public schools have been damaged by a shortage of resources, and by a brain drain of teachers. This has led many parents to seek private education for their children but the country's economic problems mean that they often cannot afford to pay the fees. This demanding context informed the authors' study of leadership in 12 private schools in Harare and the surrounding area. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted with 19 leaders in these schools. The findings show that most of the schools have experienced significant falls in student numbers, despite cutting fees. This creates a severe management challenge for principals, other leaders and school owners. There have been redundancies at several of the schools, which the leaders find stressful, while salary levels remain modest although still higher than those in the public sector. The infrastructure and facilities are generally good compared to those in the public sector but leaders lament that they cannot be enhanced in the current financial climate. Most of the schools have a distinctive Christian ethos, and a vision to provide the best possible education for their children, but the leaders' ambitious plans are thwarted by Zimbabwe's harsh economic realities.

Purpose - The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic government and integrated education.Design/methodology/approach - The authors conducted a systematic review of all published work since 2007 with a more selective review of sources before 2007.Findings - The findings show emerging evidence about the development of school leadership and management in South Africa but they also highlight on-going challenges, including poor learner outcomes, conflict with teacher unions, uneasy relationships between principals and school governing bodies, and leadership which remains focused on administration rather than teaching and learning.Research limitations/implications - The findings show that research on school leadership and management is developing but remains limited in terms of its scope and a reliance on small-scale unfunded projects.Practical/implications - The findings confirm the need for specialist leadership training for current and aspiring principals and for other senior and middle leaders.Social/implications - The findings show that South Africa remains a divided society with great differences in the quality of education available to learners, based on social class rather than race.Originality/value - The paper's value lies in the comprehensive and systematic review of research on school leadership.

The literature shows that leadership is the second most important factor influencing school and learner outcomes, including levels of literacy and numeracy, school leaving examination results, and progression to secondary and higher education. This article focuses on school leadership in West Africa, drawing on a systematic review of the academic and 'grey' literature, commissioned by UNESCO. The aim of the desk research was to ascertain the state of school leadership at all levels. The study shows that no West African countries provide specific preparation for school principals. It also shows that the predominant leadership style is managerial, with accountability to the hierarchy, within and beyond the school. The article concludes that specific development programmes should be provided for current and aspiring principals.

The career paths of teachers in most countries lead to talented practitioners progressively reducing their classroom work to take on leadership and management responsibilities culminating in headship. Some education systems seek to keep good teachers in classrooms by offering alternative promoted posts, often described as master teachers. This article presents evidence of the role of master teacher in two underpublished Asia-Pacific contexts: Malaysia and the Philippines. Drawing on interviews with master teachers, and their principals and colleagues, the article provides a picture of the activities and role relationships of these senior practitioners. The findings show that the master teacher role largely succeeds in keeping talented and ambitious teachers in the classroom, but there is only limited evidence of a wider impact on colleagues, schools and the education system.

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a systematic review of the literature on school leadership and management in South Africa, linked to the 20th anniversary of democratic government and integrated education. Design/methodology/approach – The authors conducted a systematic review of all published work since 2007 with a more selective review of sources before 2007. Findings – The findings show emerging evidence about the development of school leadership and management in South Africa but they also highlight on-going challenges, including poor learner outcomes, conflict with teacher unions, uneasy relationships between principals and school governing bodies, and leadership which remains focused on administration rather than teaching and learning. Research limitations/implications – The findings show that research on school leadership and management is developing but remains limited in terms of its scope and a reliance on small-scale unfunded projects. Practical/implications – The findings confirm the need for specialist leadership training for current and aspiring principals and for other senior and middle leaders. Social/implications – The findings show that South Africa remains a divided society with great differences in the quality of education available to learners, based on social class rather than race. Originality/value – The paper’s value lies in the comprehensive and systematic review of research on school leadership.

The growth in the importance of school leadership has been accompanied by theory development, with new models emerging and established approaches being redefined and further developed. The purpose of this paper is to review current and recent writing on leadership models. The paper examines theoretical literature, to see how leadership is conceptualised, and empirical literature, to demonstrate whether and how the research evidence supports these concepts. The paper shows that leadership models are subject to fashion but often serve to reflect, and to inform, changes in school leadership practice.