School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review

The literature shows that leadership is the second most important factor influencing school and learner outcomes, including levels of literacy and numeracy, school leaving examination results, and progression to secondary and higher education. This paper focuses on school leadership in West Africa,...

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Main Authors: Bush, Tony, Glover, Derek
Format: Article
Published: UNISA Press 2016
Subjects:
Online Access:https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34716/
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author Bush, Tony
Glover, Derek
author_facet Bush, Tony
Glover, Derek
author_sort Bush, Tony
building Nottingham Research Data Repository
collection Online Access
description The literature shows that leadership is the second most important factor influencing school and learner outcomes, including levels of literacy and numeracy, school leaving examination results, and progression to secondary and higher education. This paper focuses on school leadership in West Africa, drawing on a systematic review of the academic and 'grey' literature, commissioned by UNESCO. The aim of the desk research was to ascertain the state of school leadership at all levels. The paper shows that no West African countries provide specific preparation for school principals. It also shows that the predominant leadership style is managerial, with accountability to the hierarchy, within and beyond the school. The paper concludes that specific development programmes should be provided for current and aspiring principals.
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spelling nottingham-347162020-05-04T17:57:22Z https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34716/ School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review Bush, Tony Glover, Derek The literature shows that leadership is the second most important factor influencing school and learner outcomes, including levels of literacy and numeracy, school leaving examination results, and progression to secondary and higher education. This paper focuses on school leadership in West Africa, drawing on a systematic review of the academic and 'grey' literature, commissioned by UNESCO. The aim of the desk research was to ascertain the state of school leadership at all levels. The paper shows that no West African countries provide specific preparation for school principals. It also shows that the predominant leadership style is managerial, with accountability to the hierarchy, within and beyond the school. The paper concludes that specific development programmes should be provided for current and aspiring principals. UNISA Press 2016-06-07 Article PeerReviewed Bush, Tony and Glover, Derek (2016) School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review. Africa Education Review . ISSN 1753-5921 (In Press) School Leadership Principals West Africa Leadership Models Managerial Leadership Leadership Preparation
spellingShingle School Leadership
Principals
West Africa
Leadership Models
Managerial Leadership
Leadership Preparation
Bush, Tony
Glover, Derek
School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title_full School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title_fullStr School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title_full_unstemmed School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title_short School leadership in West Africa: findings from a systematic literature review
title_sort school leadership in west africa: findings from a systematic literature review
topic School Leadership
Principals
West Africa
Leadership Models
Managerial Leadership
Leadership Preparation
url https://eprints.nottingham.ac.uk/34716/