Fostering Learning and Sustained Improvement: The Influence of Principalship

Abstract

This article reports on selected findings from the project ‘Revisiting Successful Principals’. The authors revisited some of the schools which participated in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) five years ago. In this article they focus on how the principals are positioning themselves as leaders, and how they are involved in the construction of a public self, while responding to questions about fostering learning and sustained improvement. The study confirms that a principal may have a significant influence on a school's policy and in particular the preferred strategies. In addition, the study revealed that, despite the new expectations which are raised towards schools in society, there was also extensive continuity at the local school.