How Successful Schools Are More than Effective

This research-driven examination of school leadership success presents compelling international case studies from 12 countries that challenge conventional thinking about what makes schools truly effective. Drawing from the International Successful School Principalship Project, the book moves beyond simplistic leadership models to explore how educational institutions thrive within complex ecological systems, offering educators and policymakers a more nuanced understanding of school improvement that transcends standardized metrics and one-size-fits-all approaches.

What distinguishes this work is its critical engagement with contemporary educational debates, particularly its challenge to both traditional leadership frameworks and critical theorists' assumptions about educator compliance with neoliberal policies. The book provides administrators and educational leaders with practical insights grounded in real-world success stories while advancing a more sophisticated theoretical understanding of how schools achieve meaningful, sustainable improvement. For anyone invested in educational transformation, this research offers a refreshingly complex perspective on what truly drives school success beyond test scores and compliance metrics.