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The purpose of this paper is to identify and analyze the professional norms surrounding school development, with a special emphasis on school principals’ pedagogical leadership.

A norm perspective is used to identify possible links between legal norms, professional norms, and actions. The findings are based on answers given by 974 school principals in a web-based questionnaire. The design of the study and the findings are structured around three questions used to identify professional norms: what tasks principals prioritize as pedagogical leaders, where the external expectations on principals are derived from, and with whom school principals communicate regarding issues related to their pedagogical leadership.

The most evident professional norms identified in this study are that principals should: be present and close to the teaching and learning processes; involve teachers in quality development; enhance the development of formative assessments; engage in teacher development; develop the internal organization of the school to promote learning.

The norm perspective and the findings of this study could be used by principals, principal trainers, and researchers to reflect on pedagogical leadership in different contexts. A challenge for principals is to become aware of the professional norms that guide them, and to close the gap between their “desirable” norms and their actions. Action alternatives and professional norms become visible through discussions emanating from questions about what leaders do, how they do so and why they do what they do, which is a way to strengthen both the profession and the individual principals.

School leadership is found important for school development and student learning. Consequently, the interest in professional leadership education for principals has increased. In Sweden, professional leadership education for novice principals was made mandatory in 2010. Moreover, enhanced focus on leadership for teaching and learning in terms of ‘pedagogical leadership’ is highly topical. This study aims to deepen our knowledge of novice principals’ experiences of pedagogical leadership practices and relate these to their paths toward principalship. The study follows a qualitative and situated design and adopts a practice-based approach. Observations were conducted in the educational and workplace practices of novice principals in Sweden and interviews were conducted with principals and teachers. Using a conceptual framework of Wenger (1998), the analyses show that principals experience challenges concerning pedagogical leadership if their competence and experience are not aligned with practice and context. This mismatch seems to impair their pedagogical leadership practice. In addition, a lack of leadership experience obstructs their learning in the professional leadership education for principals.

The main task of every school is to contribute to student learning and achievement. In the twenty-first century, national and international evaluations and comparisons have focussed on measurable student and school results. Not only teachers but also principals are held accountable for school results, which increase expectations of principals to work to enhance student learning and improve outcomes. In Sweden, a principal's work with a given school's core mission is labeled as pedagogical leadership, a concept that includes diverse activities related to national goals and school results. Aspects of pedagogical leadership include principals’ classroom observations and communication about teaching and learning issues. The purpose of this paper is to describe a model of pedagogical leadership as a base for principals’ experience with the aim to develop their understanding of pedagogical leadership.

The paper builds on data from three groups of principals who participated in a course to learn more about pedagogical leadership.

The participating principals performed their pedagogical leadership in different manners and with varying quality. During the course, there was a shift in what activities and duties the principals prioritized. The findings highlight the importance of democratic leadership and the improvement of teacher capacity and student outcomes.

The paper gives practical examples on how principals can improve their understanding of pedagogical leadership.

There are few articles on how pedagogical leadership is understood and practiced. The paper provides a model for pedagogical leadership and empirical data that shows that the concept deserves to be viewed as a qualitative concept that need interpretation.

Roles and responsibilities of higher education academics (educators) have dramatically changed since COVID-19 outbreak. Considering this, the present study applies servant leadership and social cognitive theories to test three determinants of pedagogical resilience, i.e. servant leadership, professional self-efficacy and workplace thriving. The study also tests moderation of professional self-efficacy between servant leadership and pedagogical resilience.

Applying snowball sampling, time-lagged data were collected on T1 and T2 through survey questionnaire from 205 employees of six higher education institutes (HEIs) in Sindh, Pakistan. For data analysis, the study employed structural equation modeling using SmartPLS.

Results indicate that servant leadership and professional self-efficacy predict pedagogical resilience of educators. Moreover, professional self-efficacy moderates the relationship between servant leadership and pedagogical resilience.

This study has a few limitations. The study was conducted in HEIs of Pakistan, which are non-profit organizations. Given this, generalizability of findings in profit-making organizations is suggested with caution. Cross-cultural and cross-regional generalizability may also be challenging.

Training, coaching and role modeling may improve efficacy of educators, which is vital to pedagogical resilience. Furthermore, servant leadership attributes (i.e. emotional support and empathy) may also enhance resilience. Rolling-out tailored training programs for boosting professional efficacy of existing faculty could be helpful in building pedagogical resilience. Fostering a culture of teamwork through adopting collaborative and state of the art educational technologies could also enhance self-efficacy, which is vital to resilience. This could be done when vice chancellors, rectors, HODs, etc., adopt servant leadership attributes to play their role by navigating a paradigm shift from traditional teaching platforms and physical meetings to digital educational tools.

Post-pandemic educational management necessitates resilient workforce to handle any uncertain situation. Given this, the authors apply servant leadership and social cognitive theory and introduce a novel construct of “pedagogical resilience”. This paper offers unique theoretical contributions and suggests universities/HEIs to adopt servant leadership model and foster professional self-efficacy of educators for boosting their pedagogical resilience in times of uncertainty. Pedagogically resilient educators may be well equipped to adopt venerable pedagogical competencies, and could contribute significantly to the quality of higher education.

The underlying assumption of this chapter is that the pedagogical leadership of school principals is a cornerstone for preservice and practicing teachers’ professional education in schools. The theory–practice divide in teachers’ performance (Koutselini & Persianis, 2000) can be overcome by changing the school ethos and culture from loose associations of students and teachers to communities of learning, a shift which cannot be achieved unless school principals value this effort and support teachers’ leadership in the learning communities of schools. The in-service training program RELEASE, which was funded by the European Committee (Project ID: EACEA-521386: Toward achieving Self-REgulated LEArning as a core in teachers’ In-SErvice training in Cyprus) is presented as an effective project for developing teachers’ leadership, as well as a rewarding experience for student teachers during their School Experience Program or Practicum. The program lasted one school year and aimed to enhance both the school principals’ pedagogic role in supporting participating teachers’ (preservice and in-service teachers’) professional development and leadership for changing teaching routines and enhancing students’ performance. This project productively shaped the life and work of schools, forming a foundation for powerful preservice pedagogies that will follow.

This study examines the social organizational structure of one early childhood education (ECE) center in Finland and the relationship between this structure and the roles and the responsibilities of the members of the organization.

The research is a qualitative case study with ethnographic features. Its variables for content analysis are based on Henry Mintzberg's theory of organizational design.

The study's results show that the organizational structure of the ECE center follows the organizational configuration of a Professional bureaucracy and that the multiprofessional teams follow the configuration of a Simple structure. The structures for centralization and decentralization are suitable for a professional bureaucracy, but the roles of the members of the organization and the processes for shared decision-making lack clarification. The shortage of qualified ECE teachers disrupts the function of the organization and the work of ECE leaders.

The educational background of subjects may have affected the findings.

The study uses Henry Mintzberg's organizational structure theory to evaluate how and why power is distributed and activities are coordinated at the ECE center. The results also show what parts of the organization pose challenges that most commonly disrupt the organization's operations. With these findings, it is possible to expand the understanding of roles and responsibilities in the currently reforming ECE environment and what ECE centers need to function effectively. The study is part of a larger research project and will be continued to examine the leadership culture of the ECE center.

The purpose of this paper is to report a scoping review of reviews which investigated HLDP evaluations to determine: how the conceptualisation of leadership development programmes (HLDPs), and despite growing calls for robust evaluations of their pedagogic design, delivery and effectiveness, there are concerns regarding the quality of data associated with their evaluation. This scoping review of reviews investigated the reporting of HLDP evaluations to determine: how the conceptualisation of leadership underpinning HLDPs influence their evaluation; how the pedagogical approaches within HLDPs influence their evaluation; and the evaluation designs and measures used to assess HLDPs.

The scoping review was conducted on reviews of HLDPs. Searches were performed on four databases and on the grey literature. Data were extracted and a narrative synthesis was developed.

Thirty-one papers were included in the scoping review of reviews. A great deal of heterogeneity in HLDPs was identified. Evaluations of HLDPs were affected by poor data quality, and there were limitations in the evidence about “what works”. Leadership was conceptualised in different ways across HLDPs, and consequently, there was a lack of consistency as to what is being evaluated and the methods used to assess HLDPs.

This review of reviews summarises the current evidence on the evaluation of HLDPs. Evaluations of HLDPs need to explicitly account for the complexity of health systems, how this complexity impacts on the development and articulation of leadership practice, and how the underlying conceptualisation of leadership and the associated theory of change articulate a set of assumptions about how HLDPs support leaders to affect change within complex systems.

The purpose of this paper is to explore the expectations of and possible tensions in school leadership regarding the implementation of the 2014 Danish school reform and, by extension, to address emerging perspectives linking school leadership, learning and well-being.

An analysis of central policy documents in the reform as well as research reports examining the role of leadership in the implementation of the reform offers insights into the new expectations of and tensions in school leadership. Drawing on theories of school leadership, the analysis highlights the various forms and aspects of school leadership that are at play in the reform.

The analysis identifies expectations regarding school leadership, ranging from aspects of strategic leadership that focus on management by objectives and results to aspects that are closer to teaching, such as curriculum and instructional leadership. It furthermore highlights barriers with regard to realizing policy intentions of strengthening instructional leadership, such as encroaching upon pedagogical and curriculum leadership, which have traditionally been the domain of teachers. Meanwhile, the kind of leadership that can be practiced through data-based management by objectives and results seems to have been perceived as a more viable approach in the implementation of the reform.

The papers' theoretical and empirical foundation is rooted in Danish and Scandinavian perspectives on schooling, and thus the generalizability of the findings may be limited to countries with similar perspectives or “packages of expectations” on linking school leadership, learning and well-being.

The paper provides an original contribution through its engagement with the tensions inherent in the specific “package of expectations” and new demands on school leadership in the 2014 school reform.

Early childhood education (ECE) centre directors have to meet various leadership demands at present, and this has become even more important in a time of extensive policy changes. There is little research on work-related stress from the perspective of ECE directors. The purpose of this study was therefore to enhance one’s knowledge of (a) what ECE centre directors perceive to be work-related stressors; (b) what causes stressful situations; and (c) how they cope with the identified stressors.

Eighty directors from three groups in part-time leadership education programmes participated between 2017 and 2020. Data was collected through class discussions and whiteboard notes, focus group interviews with 24 directors and student role-play scenarios that were acted out in class.

The findings illustrated three main categories of stressors: an overwhelming number of administrative tasks, leading others and lack of social support. Unexpected findings were a lack of knowledge about coping strategies and a need for more resources so that directors can focus on pedagogical leadership.

The study has been done in the Norwegian educational context with Norwegian ECE centre directors participating in a leadership programme. Several qualitative methods were used on three groups of centre directors. These limitations must be considered when generalizing.

The results can be used as guidance for supporting ECE centre directors, owners and policymakers in how to develop and sustain leadership and increase well-being and work satisfaction.

The current study is among the few ones focussing on perceived stressors among centre directors and the consequent coping in the early childhood setting.

Teachers are an adaptive group of professionals and in this chapter, we explore the ways that teachers can develop themselves as leaders, even in the absence of strong support or leadership. We explore the manner that these skill sets and strengths can be cultivated, providing lived examples of how the authors have developed themselves. The ways that teachers can follow in the footsteps of the authors is outlined in clearly defined steps. By drawing on previous literature, we provide seven strong claims of developing middle leadership knowledge and skill sets beyond your school. Much of this development and community development work that develops and sharpens leadership skills can be explored through online fora and social media tools. These tools allow skill development, professional learning, and exposure to a broad range of education stakeholders and groups; for future pathways in school leadership roles and leading beyond school gate.