Leadership effects on student achievement and sustained school success

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to examine the effects of leadership on student achievement and sustained school success, especially in challenging, high‐poverty schools. Design/methodology/approach The paper combines a review of the leadership literature with findings drawn from longitudinal studies of the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP). Findings Direction setting, developing people and redesigning the organization were practices common to successful principals in all contexts, including those in challenging, high‐poverty schools. How these practices manifested varied in relation to national context and tradition. Distributed teacher leadership and professional self‐renewal emerged as processes central to sustaining success, and, in at least one US case, a change in organizational governance was necessary to allow these processes to continue over time. Originality/value The paper adds to the literature on leadership effects on student achievement and sustaining school success, especially in challenging high‐poverty schools.