This book examines major issues in theory and research related to leader succession. It looks at the persistent problems confronted by people assigned to lead established social and professional groups like those found in schools. The author demonstrates how interaction between new leaders and established school organizations shape succession events (with illustrations drawn from educational administration) and provides a framework for understanding succession as a dynamic and interactive process.

Contributors to this volume examine structures and processes that school boards have in place directly relating to the process of principal or vice-principal succession. As well, they consider the effect that these structures and processes have upon staff and administrators themselves. These contributors investigate policies, procedures and practices that school boards employ in terms of leadership succession, and explore implications of these constructs for the sustainability of school improvement. This volume presents an overview of the process of principal or vice-principal succession, descriptions of school district practices surrounding this process and discussions regarding how succession procedures affect individuals and groups of individuals. This volume also highlights those board policies that incorporate practices used to develop models that support and allow administrators to succeed. It articulates how school leaders and staff members deal with change and improvement efforts in successive schools, as well as how board policies and practices support principals and vice-principals at any stage in the succession process. This volume is useful as a reference guide relating to transfer and rotation procedures in school systems across the nation.

This volume examines the procedures that school boards follow in selecting principals and their deputies, and analyzes how leadership change affects a school 's teaching and administration staff. It advocates a more inclusive approach to leadership succession.

The role of the school principal is vital to a school’s overall success, and the need to appoint and support excellent educational leaders is critical. School districts continually face principal succession, and the replacement of a principal relies on a selection and recruitment process in identifying a candidate who reflects the best fit, at the right time, for the school. This research investigated the experiences associated with the decision-making process by superintendents when looking to fill a principal vacancy and the experiences of newly appointed or reassigned principals who completed their first year. The intent was to identify common factors associated with the first year experience and structures in place to support principals during their transition. This qualitative study’s primary data collection was through in-depth interviews with participants. The research sample included a total of three superintendents, three Assistant Superintendents of Human Resources, and nine newly appointed or reassigned principals in urban, or suburban, Southern California public schools. This study intended to further our understanding of the experiences of newly appointed or reassigned principals during their transition year. Future research in this area might encourage superintendents to approach principal succession planning from a formative perspective inclusive of discussions about replacement plans during performance evaluations. A principal succession plan focused on the transition in leadership, and inclusive of both the predecessor and successor intentional interactions, creates the opportunity to engage in reflective dialogue that may have a positive impact on a school and increase the likelihood of successor success.

This book provides a unique map of the focus and directions of contemporary research on school leadership since 2000 in 24 countries. Each of these directions has its own particular cultural, educational and policy history. Taken together, the various chapters in the volume provide a rich and varied mosaic of what is currently known and what is yet to be discovered about the roles and practices of principals, and their contributions to the improvement of teaching and the learning and achievement of students. The particular foci and methodological emphases of the research reported illustrate the different phases in the development of educational policies and provision in each country. This collection is an important addition to existing international research that has shown beyond any reasonable doubt that the influence of school principals is second only to that of teachers in their capacity to impact students’ progress and achievement and to promote equity and social justice.

Many attempts to establish a succession plan fail. Why? They run up against insurmountable implementation challenges, or weak executive commitment and follow-through. Succession Planning That Works: The Critical Path of Leadership Development is a step-by-step guide to help HR professionals and senior leaders develop a succession plan that delivers a measurable return on investment. Based on in-depth interviews with senior executives from nearly 50 organizations, Succession Planning That Works reveals not only the most important components of effective succession planning, but also the most effective order in which to put them into practice. Packed with real-world examples, Succession Planning That Works shows how real companies have attempted to tackle succession planning issues and examines both their victories and their failures to highlight the most common pitfalls and how to avoid them. Topics include: - 13 reasons to begin succession planning now - How to calculate the ROI of promoting from within - The Succession Planning Critical Path - the most efficient and effective way to implement a succession plan - How to gain or strengthen executive buy-in for succession planning - How to measure your success Also included are 20 downloadable templates and tools to help make succession planning easier to comprehend and implement....