Educational Leadership: International Perspectives and Global Innovations

A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 May 2025 | Viewed by 2745

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: transnational education leadership and management; international education; decolonization of education; education for social justice; action research in education

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
School of Education, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
Interests: distributed leadership; social justice leadership; professional development of leaders and teachers; education leadership policy-making; comparative education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

International perspectives on educational leadership and management are critical for advancing our understanding of successful school leadership globally (Gurr, 2024; Miller, Hancell, and Jones, 2022). By understanding the unique contributions from different countries, cultures, and education systems, and the multi-faceted approaches to the management of education, we can draw innovative solutions to global education challenges (UNESCO’s Agenda 2030). Exploring international perspectives on social justice issues in education such as access, inclusion, social inequities, colonization, etc., will promote equitable and solution-driven ‘glocal’ policies and practices in education. Understanding community-based approaches and the influence of different philosophies and cultures of education will allow for the development of global solutions led by educational leaders and practitioners to improve education systems and respond effectively to the educational demands of a globalized world.

Transnational education, or the export of an educational system (e.g., national curricula, assessment approach, etc.) into another country, is a multitrillion dollar business reaching every country in the world across early years, primary, secondary, and adult and higher education. It is an economically strategic export for key countries, including the UK, the US, Australia, Canada, and China. Importing transnational education is globally recognized as an important contributor towards advancing social justice and educational and economic opportunity globally (IHEC, 2023), with ever-increasing opportunities and mechanisms for these endeavors, such as the facilitation of hybrid and distance learning and platforms for collaboration. It is also recognized as a significant act of colonization and capitalist imperialism (Phan, 2017), and international perspectives on transnational education are critical to advance and explore our understanding.

In addition to the important contributions of traditional theories of educational leadership and management (Bush, 2020), scholarship in international educational leadership can advance theoretical insights in novel applications such as complexity theory (Tian, 2023), critical global citizenship education theory (Schugurensky and Wolhuter, 2022), critical citizenship theory (Johnson and Morris, 2010), and other global leadership theories (Perkins, 2009), which can directly inform leadership approaches as well as school-level activities (e.g., curriculum selection, student empowerment, community engagement, etc.) globally.

The aim of this Special Issue is to advance our collective knowledge and understanding of educational leadership globally. Articles are invited that address themes such as, but not limited to:

  • International, transnational, and global education;
  • All phases of education, from early years to higher education and beyond;
  • Traditional and non-traditional educational settings and approaches;
  • Leadership and management of education;
  • Colonial influences on international education and decolonization of education;
  • Sustainable education, globalization in education, and education futures.

We welcome a diverse array of research approaches, including systematic reviews, meta-analyses, intervention studies, experimental studies, quantitative and qualitative approaches, as well as mixed-methods research, ethnographic research, close-to-practice research, and theoretical, conceptual, or critical thought pieces. All papers should place findings and conclusions within the local context and highlight the contributions of the piece to broader understanding, i.e., the broader methodological, theoretical, policy, and/or applied practice contributions for the field.

If you would like to contribute to this Special Issue, please submit an abstract of between 250 and 300 words.

Dr. Dawn Elizabeth England
Dr. Meng Tian
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • educational leadership and management
  • international education
  • transnational education
  • global education
  • decolonization
  • sustainable education

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Published Papers (1 paper)

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Review

16 pages, 456 KiB  
Review
Academies in England and Independent Schools in Finland: A Distributed Leadership Perspective
by Meng Tian and Matti Rautiainen
Educ. Sci. 2024, 14(12), 1376; https://doi.org/10.3390/educsci14121376 - 14 Dec 2024
Viewed by 945
Abstract
Many education systems adopt neoliberal privatisation and marketisation approaches to diversify education provision and improve quality. England is a leading example, transforming local authority-maintained schools into academies. In contrast, Finland resists neoliberalism and maintains a small number of independent schools. This paper examines [...] Read more.
Many education systems adopt neoliberal privatisation and marketisation approaches to diversify education provision and improve quality. England is a leading example, transforming local authority-maintained schools into academies. In contrast, Finland resists neoliberalism and maintains a small number of independent schools. This paper examines how resources and leadership are distributed in academies and independent schools to explain the different educational paths taken by England and Finland. This study uses a scoping review approach to explore and contrast academies and independent schools. The comparison covers aspects such as history, education administration, local governance, accountability, curriculum and performance, teacher professional development and home–school–community relationships. The findings reveal that academies in England often concentrate leadership roles and resources among a privileged few, including large Multi-Academy Trusts, technocratic trustees and curriculum experts. This concentration tends to marginalise local communities and parents, particularly those from disadvantaged backgrounds. In Finland, independent schools serve a supplementary role within the education system, catering to specific cultural, linguistic and religious groups while adhering to the national core curriculum and regulations. While existing studies critique the academisation movement in England and commend the high-performing public school system in Finland, a direct comparison between academies in England and independent schools in Finland has been lacking. This systematic review offers original insights into these two types of schools and clarifies why neoliberal approaches often exacerbate rather than mitigate disparities in education access and equity. Full article
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