Successful School Leadership identifies the characteristics, behaviours and practices of successful and effective school leaders through the adoption of a systemic view of the quality of school organizations. Edited by Petros Pashiardis and Olof Johansson, chapters explore the similarities and differences between successful and effective school leaders and across various socioeconomic contexts. Capitalizing on the experiences of the international contributor team, this book will inform the preparation and further development provided to school leaders in an era where ministries of education, universities and multinational organisations (such as the OECD) are increasingly interested in the leadership of our schools.

Systematic analyses of multi-perspective data provided from around the world and offers the readers a comprehensive picture of the key behaviours and practices central to successful and effective school leadership. An original contribution to the theoretical perspectives on the subject is derived through insights from empirical research, case studies, and bibliographical literature from the field.

Petros Pashiardis is Professor of Educational Leadership at the Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus. He has been the President of the Commonwealth Council for Educational Administration and Management (2004-2008) and a Fulbright Scholar during his doctoral studies in the USA.

Olof Johansson is Professor of Political Science and chair of the Centre for Principal Development at Umeå University, Sweden, and a member of the board of governors for the UCEA Centre for the Study of Leadership and Ethics, University of Virginia, USA.

Introduction: What is Successful and Effective School Leadership? (Petros Pashiardis, Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus, and Olof Johansson, Umea University, Sweden)

Part I: Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership

1. African Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Jan Heystek, North-West University, South Africa)
2. South Asian Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Tai Hoi Theodore Lee, and Allan David Walker, Institute of Education, Hong Kong, and Philip Hallinger, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand
3. Australian and Pacific Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Simon Clarke and Helen Wildy, The University of Western Australia)
4. North American Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Elizabeth Murakami and Wowek Sean Kearney, Texas A&M University – San Antonio, USA)
5. South American Perspectives- Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Candido Alberto Gomes, Brasília Catholic University, Brazil and Alexandre Ventura, University of Aveiro, Portugal, and Magali de Fátima Evangelista Machado, Catholic University of Brasilia, Brazil)
6. Caribbean Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Paul Miller, Brunel University, UK)
7. European Perspectives - Developing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Helene Arlestig, Umea University, Sweden)

Part II: Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership

8. African Perspectives- Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Raj Mestry, University of Johannesburg, South Africa)
9. South Asian Perspectives - Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Elson Szeto, Yan Ni Annie Cheng and Allan David Walker, Institute of Education, Hong Kong)
10. Australian and Pacific Perspectives - Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (David Gurr and Lawrie Drysdale, University of Melbourne, Australia)
11. North American Perspectives - Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Stephen Jacobson, University at Buffalo, USA)
12. Caribbean Perspectives - Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Disraeli Hutton, University of the West Indies, Mona, Jamaica)
13. European Perspectives - Practicing Successful and Effective School Leadership (Stefan Brauckmann, Alpen-Adria-University Klagenfurt, Austria and Petros Pashiardis, Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus)

Part III: The Impact of Successful and Effective School Leadership

14. Understanding the Impact of Successful and Effective School Leadership as Practiced (Petros Pashiardis, Open University of Cyprus, Cyprus and Georgia Pashiardi, Ministry of Education and Culture, Cyprus and Olof Johansson, Umea University, Sweden)