When Phil Ridden’s book School Management: A Team Approach was
published in 1992, it met with critical acclaim. In it he described the
evolving meaning of school leadership, promoting the notion of team
leadership and exploring the implications for practice.
While understandings and expectations have moved on, some of the
essential principles conveyed in that influential work are yet to be
adeptly applied in schools. Keys to School Leadership reviews the core
concepts that are still fundamental to leadership success today through a
contemporary lens, and expands on these to reveal emerging directions
for school leaders.
Keys to School Leadership works because it comes from a principal and
an academic whose dual perspectives inform and underpin this practical,
highly accessible guide. Each chapter contains ‘Reflect’, ‘Shift the Focus’,
‘Make it Personal’ and ‘Further investigation’ sections that scaffold the
developing themes.
Moving from leadership to influence, from individual to team, from
classroom to school, and beyond, Keys to School Leadership embeds a
critically reflective mindset not just for principals, but for all school-based
people who lead or who aspire to lead.