School Leadership Succession and the Challenges of Change

Background: Throughout the Western world, the fallout from the standards/standardization agenda has resulted in potential leaders questioning educational leadership as a career path. Moreover, the aging of the baby boom generation has created a shortage of qualified principals in many educational jurisdictions. Policy makers have responded to these twin pressures by initiating major programs to identify, recruit, and prepare future leaders. Leadership succession, whether planned or unplanned, has become an accelerated and cumulative process that is including people of increasing levels of inexperience. Succession is now a chronic process rather than an episodic crisis. Purpose: This article argues that succession is not the key issue. What is crucial is the degree of autonomy that principals can exercise on behalf of their school community. Findings: During the 30 years of the Change Over Time? study (described elsewhere), we have seen this autonomy eroded to the point that leaders have become managers of systems’ agendas rather than serving their schools and students. Staff members have become cynical about both leaders and leadership succession in the face of cumulative and accelerated succession and perceived changes in their principals’ roles and obligations—increasing the degree of resistance to change. Only when young people begin to see that leadership roles in schools once again make a difference to students learning not just test scores, then quality leaders will emerge and effective succession planning policies developed.