Identifying what works and why
The general perception among politicians, policy makers and the public at large is that head teachers can make a difference to the progress their students make at school. After all it is often head teachers who pay the ultimate price when schools are deemed to be failing. Whether such a view of the key role of leadership in schools is justified by the evidence is something the authors of this study set out to establish.
The findings are the outcome of a rigorous re-analysis and synthesis of research which explored direct and indirect links between leadership and student outcomes by focusing on:
- research for which there was reliable statistical evidence for links between the actions of leaders and learner outcomes, and
- studies of interventions in teacher professional learning which had a positive impact on student learning and then identifying the role played by leadership in creating the conditions which enabled those outcomes.
A summary of this report can be downloaded by clicking here.