Journal of Educational Administration: Volume 44 Issue 4

Beginning principals: balancing at the top of the greasy pole

Allan Walker, Haiyan Qian

This article aims to set the scene for this Special Issue on beginning principals and to inform one's understanding of how new principals manage their work lives to make a…

Complexity and the beginning principal in the United States: perspectives on socialization

Gary M. Crow

This paper aims to contribute to the literature and practice on beginning principal socialization by identifying the features of post‐industrial work that create a more complex…

Sitting in the “hot seat”: new headteachers in the UK

Dick Weindling, Clive Dimmock

This article aims to identify the main challenges faced by headteachers after taking up their first headship in the UK. It also compares how these challenges have changed over…

Canadian perspectives on beginning principals: their role in building capacity for learning communities

Larry Sackney, Keith Walker

This paper sets out to posit that the new economy places a new set of demands on schools and those who lead. Mindfulness, intentional engagement of people and adaptive confidence…

New principals in Africa: preparation, induction and practice

Tony Bush, George K.T. Oduro

This paper aims to examine the challenges facing new principals in Africa.

Asking the hard questions: being a beginning principal in Australia

Terry Quong

The paper aims to provide insights into the work of beginning principals in their first year through the experiences of one beginning principal during his first year in post.

Inner worlds and outer limits: the formation of beginning school principals in Hong Kong

Robin Man‐biu Cheung, Allan Walker

Purpose – This paper aims to contribute to one's understanding of how beginning principals in Hong Kong exercise leadership by exploring the concurrent influence of their inner…

Moving towards, into and through principalship: developing a framework for researching the career trajectories of school leaders

Howard Stevenson

The paper seeks to develop a conceptual framework capable of informing future research into beginning principalship in diverse cultural contexts.

Understanding School Leadership

Graham Ranger