The Recruitment and Selection of School Leaders – First Findings of an International Comparison

Abstract

This chapter looks at the growing importance placed on activities to select and recruit school leaders that has led to the development of systematic selection procedures in many countries in recent years. The central question is: Do we have policies and strategies that ensure that qualified individuals are recruited to be principals?

The chapter offers an overview of current practices to select and recruit school leaders which is international in scope, draws on experience and a synthesis of existing literature as well as from the first findings of a comparative research study that includes 20 countries worldwide (in this first exploratory phase, data from around 10 countries were gathered). For the purpose of illustration in this chapter, we offer brief summaries from five countries, including examples from Europe, Asia, Australia, and North America. The countries selected are England, Germany, Singapore, Australia, and the United States.

The respective Country Reports focus on providing answers to questions such as the following:

• What is the overall approach to recruit and select school leaders?

• Are the selection procedures conducted centrally or de-centrally?

• Who is responsible for conducting the selection procedure?

• Do the countries have standards for school leaders?

• Do the countries have prerequisites for applicants for leadership positions?

• What are the steps of the selection process?

• What methods are applied?

• What criteria are relevant for the decision on who is selected?

The final section examines similarities and differences with regard to the countries’ approaches to recruitment and selection. It asks what can be learned more generally about the selection and recruitment of school leaders from these examples and looks for common solutions. Finally, emerging issues are identified and discussed.