The Development of Leadership Capability in a Self-Managing Schools System: The New Zealand Experience and Challenges

Developing a leadership for learning capability throughout a system where schools exercise considerable autonomy challenges policymakers to work with principals and researchers to develop coherent approaches. This chapter outlines the shift in New Zealand from a focus on the principal as the school chief executive, to a current focus on the principal’s pivotal role in leadership of the ways teachers work together to improve student learning. Instrumental in this shift has been the development of a leadership framework that is owned by principals as well as policymakers, underpinned by a best evidence synthesis of the relationship of school leadership and student outcomes. This work has also led to a powerful new tool for schools to use in reviewing their school leadership, as well as informing policymakers about the overall school leadership capability in New Zealand. These developments hold considerable promise, so long as the policy emphasis on capability and joint work can be maintained, and supported rather than undermined by changes in school accountability.