Overview

The School Leadership Institute (SLI) conducted a review of research on educational leadership development in 2024. The purpose of this review was to summarise key findings from recent research on the value of leadership development for school leaders.

The review found there is clear evidence that educational leadership is crucial for improving student outcomes and driving overall school success. High-performing education systems invest in leadership preparation and development as a key strategy to strengthen the practice of individual leaders and drive school and system improvement.

To support all students’ success, the research further suggests that leadership development should be systematic, systemic and ongoing, and that educational leaders at all stages of their career are provided access to formal, planned, and high-quality leadership learning opportunities. Through systematic embedding of contextually responsive, evidence-informed professional leadership learning frameworks and approaches across the system, such opportunities support leaders to effectively enact their current role and build their preparedness for future leadership roles.

The research also highlights that educational systems benefit from approaches that identify and prepare leaders for the demands of both informal and formal leadership. This ensures the system has a cohesive leadership pipeline and readiness to meet the current and future needs of diverse schools and communities.

Methodology

This paper is based on a literature review that reviews research undertaken in the field of school leadership development since the inception of the School Leadership Institute in 2018. Scholarly articles identified via Google Scholar using key search terms including "leadership development" and "school leaders" were considered for inclusion. Further refinement of criteria for analysis prioritised rigorous literature syntheses and metanalyses research published since 2020. Literature meeting the inclusion criteria, was thematically analysed in order to identify key findings on the impact of school leadership, value of leadership development for school leaders, and the key characteristics of effective educational leadership development.

The importance of leadership development

The research shows that leadership development directly impacts the quality of education and student outcomes.

The research literature reveals 3 key themes and 8 sub themes that underscore the importance of leadership development at every stage of a leader’s career. This development is essential for strengthening the effectiveness of leaders, schools and systems by:

• enabling educational leaders to become lifelong learners
• promoting student-centred leadership
• fostering system-led response to leadership development.

The report examines the way in which education systems can intentionally focus on developing leadership capabilities for all leaders in order to positively impact on student learning.

Next steps

This research paper will inform the development and delivery of current and future leadership development programs and resources offered by the SLI and across the Department of Education.