Leadership: the Engine of Adaptive Change in Education

This article reviews recent developments in leadership that are to upgrade the preexistent knowledge in this field. Also, it discusses the shift towards the language of performance outcomes used increasingly to describe leaders and leadership and the changing political and economic environments in which educational leaders act. As governments worldwide articulate the rhetoric of a 'knowledge economy', traditional cultures of education management and leadership are found to be wanting. At the same time, growing recognition that market and managerial reforms have not improved levels of educational performance, has increased government interest in the transformative powers of business and charismatic leadership. This paper considers this phenomenon with reference to the changing conditions of corporate leadership taking place in the education sector. In so doing the paper seeks to examine how principals and senior managers mediate changing education policy agendas in a sector recovering from an intense period of financial crisis, industrial action and low staff morale. The paper concludes with an example of visionary leadership in education.