While considerable evidence indicates that school leaders are able to make important contributions to the success of their students, much less is known about how such contributions are made. This book provides a comprehensive account of research aimed at filling this gap in our knowledge, along with guidelines about how school leaders might use this knowledge for their own school improvement work. Leadership practices known to be effective for improving student success are outlined in the first section of the book while the remaining sections identify four “paths” along which the influence of those practices “flow” to exercise an influence on student success. Each of the Rational, Emotional, Organizational and Family paths are populated by conditions or variables known to have relatively direct effects on student success and also open to influence by effective leadership practices. While the Four Path framework narrows the attention of school leaders to a still-considerable number conditions known to contribute to student success, it leaves school leaders the autonomy to select, for improvement efforts, the sub-set of conditions that make the most sense in their own local circumstances. The approach to leadership described in this book provides evidence-based guidance on what to lead and flexibility on how to lead for purposes of improving student learning.

Linking Leadership to Student Learning Linking Leadership to Student Learning clearly shows how school leadership improves student achievement. The book is based on an ambitious five-year study on educational leadership that was sponsored by The Wallace Foundation. The authors studied 43 districts, across 9 states and 180 elementary, middle, and secondary schools. In this book, Kenneth Leithwood, Karen Seashore Louis, and their colleagues report on what they found. They examined leadership at each organizational level in the school system—classroom, school, district, community, and state. Their comprehensive approach to investigating school leadership offers a balanced understanding of how the structures within which leaders operate shape what they do. The results within will have significant implications for future policy and practice. Praise for Linking Leadership to Student Learning "Kenneth Leithwood and Karen Seashore Louis offer a seminal new contribution to the leadership field. They provide a rich and authoritative evidence base that demonstrates clearly just why school leadership is so important and how it promotes successful student learning." —PAMELA SAMMONS, Ph.D., Professor of Education, Department of Education, University of Oxford, Oxford "This ambitious, groundbreaking, and thought provoking treatment of the link between school leadership and student learning is a testament to the outstanding work of these exemplary scholars. This is a 'must read' for academics and practitioners alike." —MARTHA McCARTHY, President's Professor, Loyola Marymount University, and Chancellor's Professor Emeritus, Indiana University "The question is no longer whether school and district leader's impact student learning, but rather how they do it. The authors provide a convincing answer, one that recognizes the crucial interaction between leader and locality." —DANIEL L. DUKE, Professor of Educational Leadership, University of Virginia

This Handbook is both an authoritative and comprehensive reference work for researchers, and a state-of-the-art compilation of new insights and guidance for practicing educational leaders. It provides essential information for those working in the fields of educational leadership and administration. Since the publication of the first International Handbook of Educational Leadership and Administration, in 1996, governments around the world have undertaken major activities in the realms of school leadership and school improvement. In addition, a growing body of research and writing has advanced the field in the past few years to such an extent that a second International Handbook was needed to capture new insights and developments. This second Handbook : -has a broadly international editorship; -brings together new material and fresh, global insights from 55 well-regarded scholars; -contains 34 chapters organized around six leadership themes; and -adds a great deal of new information to the first Handbook .

This popular text features a rigorous yet practical approach to the difficult dilemmas that so often arise in school administration. Using case studies to illustrate particular ethical issues, the authors cover such topics as: standards; assessment and evaluation; equal opportunity; multiculturalism; religious differences; due process; freedom of expression; personal liberty; and authority. Updated to address today's emphasis on meeting standards and raising test scores, the new Third Edition features new cases that discuss such current issues as zero tolerance policies and integrity in reporting data, and a revised chapter addressing the difficulty of focusing on standards while also dealing with competing demands, such as respecting the professional judgment of teachers, turning schools into learning communities, and engaging parents and members of the larger community in school life.

Strengthen programs of family and community engagement to promote equity and increase student success! When schools, families, and communities collaborate and share responsibility for students′ education, more students succeed in school. Based on 30 years of research and fieldwork, the fourth edition of the bestseller School, Family, and Community Partnerships: Your Handbook for Action, presents tools and guidelines to help develop more effective and more equitable programs of family and community engagement. Written by a team of well-known experts, it provides a theory and framework of six types of involvement for action; up-to-date research on school, family, and community collaboration; and new materials for professional development and on-going technical assistance. Readers also will find: Examples of best practices on the six types of involvement from preschools, and elementary, middle, and high schools Checklists, templates, and evaluations to plan goal-linked partnership programs and assess progress CD-ROM with slides and notes for two presentations: A new awareness session to orient colleagues on the major components of a research-based partnership program, and a full One-Day Team Training Workshop to prepare school teams to develop their partnership programs. As a foundational text, this handbook demonstrates a proven approach to implement and sustain inclusive, goal-linked programs of partnership. It shows how a good partnership program is an essential component of good school organization and school improvement for student success. This book will help every district and all schools strengthen and continually improve their programs of family and community engagement.

`Keith Grint′s persuasive essay on the art of leadership in Effective Educational Leadership is uncannily accurate′ - Tim Brighouse, Times Educational Supplement `its unique contribution is the exploration of links between leadership discourses and the themes that have emerged from the school effectiveness movements since the 1980s. Riley and MacBeath provide one of the most valuable contributions to the volume by arguing that there are no generic recipes for educational leadership but ingredients which need to be carefully selected with a knowledge of specific contexts and needs. I would use this book with graduate students and practitioners seeking to develop a perspective about contemporary educational leadership. Its greatest contribution is its exploration of the links between effective leadership and effective education. The book also provides optimism in that many of the authors have not capitulated to the reductionist visions of the past two decades. There is still hope that educational theorists and practitioners view the life world as the true source of educational inspiration′ - Journal of Educational Administration `Leadership is the theme of this decade. This series provides an enormously valuable overview of all the critical issues involved in designing leadership as the main strategy for educational reform.... A great and timely collection′- Michael Fullan, Dean, OISE/University of Toronto `This book makes an excellent contribution to the current debate on Educational Leadership. It blends theory with practice and as such provides an important resource for many aspects of leadership development programmes at a variety of levels. Its ability to draw upon international perspectives along with examples beyond conventional educational parameters enhances its quality. The book contains a well documented account of how leadership has been studied which will appeal both to the academic reader, and to the professional provider of CPD in leadership, offering a wealth of information that can be practically adopted and adapted for a range of courses′ - Stephen Merrill, Journal of Inservice Education Educational management and administration studies focus on leadership as a key determinant of effective educational institutions; and currently, much leadership preparation is characterized by a rational skills-focused approach. Placing current thinking in leadership studies in its organizational and historical context, this book explores its implications for leadership preparation, leadership theory in action and examines some of the dilemmas and tensions facing educational leaders in practice. It draws on literature and research from both the private and public sectors. It is deliberately international in its content and focus, and examines a range of practice both within and outside education. Each chapter has a short introduction by the editors setting it in context. This book is for providers and students in higher educational institutions; for postgraduate level courses in educational management; and for leadership development provision for Headteachers induction programmes, NPQH and LPSH. It is also suitable for short courses and for practitioners occupying or aspiring to leadership roles in schools, colleges and other educational organizations.