The book A Decade of Research on School Principals show that there is a large variation between countries research about principals. There are clear connection between expectations on school leaders and their societal, cultural and historical context. At the same time it is obvious that principals is important and make a difference and there is a common understanding around certain results that goes over national boundaries. To stimulate further thinking on what is ahead of us we need robust and informative research that are able to look beyond today’s practice and problems. This symposium focus on what can be considered as the main qualities in principals’ leadership beyond 2020. What is necessary to understand about how to lead education for the next generation of school leaders and what research will be needed to understand the challenges in principal’s work, role and life? The complexity in school organizations and the surrounding world make it even more important to focus on what we can learn from each other despite differences in context. This is the first part of a two part symposium exploring what is necessary coming research on principals from a German/Switzerland, English, Polish and South African perspective.

Ärlestig, H. , Day, C.,& Johansson, O. (2016) A Decade of Research on Principals. Cases from 24 Countries. Dordrecht: Springer