Leadership Effectiveness in International School Contexts: A Synthetic Mapping of Emergent Literature
Abstract
Further research is necessary in the emerging field of international school leadership. To illuminate how is effective international school leadership conceived in the emergent academic literature, a synthetic mapping was conducted. Six key elements were identified and were used to select and analyze a set of twenty-two key articles from the current literature. Elements were extracted from each article and then compared to produce the synthetic mapping. Despite the wide range of types of international schools and geographical contexts, there are several key challenges and features of leadership effectiveness found in the literature, including the following: the effects of turn-over; perception, power and influences; cultural intelligence; how leadership effectiveness is presented; use of frameworks; a common language around learning; the principal’s role; and profit vs. education. These findings provide school leaders and researchers with a current synopsis of leadership effectiveness in international schools.