The Future of Education

The paper draws from the work conducted in the context of the European Policy Network on School Leadership (EPNoSL). Based on an in-depth review of the literature, on research conducted by the EPNoSL partners, on the discourse that took place in EPNoSL’s webinars and forums and in national workshops and Peer Learning Activities (PLA) events implemented, it identifies three principle policy goals as most critical for the promotion of school leadership under the scope of equity and learning in  school systems across EU. These identified goals for action taken are:

(a) the promotion of an enabling school leadership environment

(b) the promotion of professional standards, evaluation and research on school leadership for equity and learning.

(c) school leadership capacity building for equity and learning.

The paper analyses each of these goals in depth, tracing their impact on equity and learning and proposing concrete policy interventions in the form of policy measures, investments, programmes, data generation and mechanisms. The discussion raised pertains to issues of importance in the current academic underpinning and policy intervention approaches in the field of school leadership such as school autonomy, accountability, distributed leadership, professional standards, evaluation mechanisms and structures, and the education, training and selection of school leaders.

As a general conclusion, the paper raises concerns over one-size-fits-all solutions for educational policies and calls for place-based solutions that are context-sensitive and take into account the existing state of school leadership policy development in selected EU Member State as well as their specific needs, constraints, and potentials. Finally, the paper argues that a comprehensive and coherent approach to policy development is critical Policy decision-making affecting school leadership in one area, such as, for example, reforms in the procedures and criteria for the selection of school leaders, or the introduction of new standards in the preparation of school leaders, can have multiple implications in others.