ABSTRACT
It is now more than 20 years since leadership was identified as one of the key components of ‘good schools’ by HMI who stated that, without exception, the most important single factor in the success of these schools is the quality of the leadership of the headteacher (HMI, 1977: 36). Since that time the changes imposed upon the UK education system, and indeed most other ‘developed’ educational systems, have radically altered the role and responsibilities of the headteacher or principal. In particular, the devolution of responsibility for local management of schools in many systems has resulted in the headteacher or principal becoming a manager of systems and budgets as well as a leader of colleagues. Also, the increasingly competitive environment in which schools operate has placed a much greater emphasis upon both the managerial and the leadership qualities of headteachers. On the one hand, the skills of marketing, public relations, orchestrating boundary roles and coping with multiple accountabilities are at a premium; on the other, headteachers need to become increasingly strategic and creative and to have the leadership skills to raise standards and to improve the school’s outcomes. One of the major growth areas in education in recent years has been in the field of leadership training. While most of this could be criticised as being too narrowly focussed, competency-driven and de-contextualised, it has reinforced the centrality of the headteacher’s role in leading school development and improvement.
