In Australia the preparation and development of school leaders is important for school success and there is now interest in the leadership demands of early career teachers, teacher leaders, middle leaders, senior leader and principals (Gurr et al., in press). Australia is an example of a country where there has been considerable interest and research on school leadership preparation (Watterston, 2015), but there is little in the way of formal requirements, with, for example, across the many systems (government, Catholic and independent schools) there being no general mandatory certification process for school principals (Drysdale & Gurr, 2021). Despite many systems now having leadership institutions of some form, generally aspirant leaders must navigate their own career pathway and self-identify as a leadership candidate (Gurr & Drysdale, 2015). Unfortunately, the self -managed process offers little guidance to judge preparedness for middle leader and principal/senior leadership roles. Despite a variety of leadership preparation and development programs being available only a third of principals will report having formal leadership qualifications (McKenzie, et al., 2014). School leadership management in Kenya falls under the Teachers’ Service Commission (TSC). This is the singular body mandated to managing the teaching workforce in Kenya’s schools. It hires teachers and principals for public schools, but those in private schools also have to register with it. In 2018, the TSC introduced the Career Progression Guidelines. This document outlines promotion criteria for principals and deputy principals. To serve as a deputy principal, one needs to be at the level of Senior Master III T-Scale 10 for a minimum of 3 years. The deputy principal position consists of three levels: level III (T-Scale 11), level II (T-Scale 12) and level I (T-Scale 13). These are promotional levels that involves transitioning form level III to level II to level I. Upon competition, the individual can apply for promotion as a Principal. The three promotional grades for secondary school Principals include: Principal (T- Scale 13), Senior Principal (T- Scale 14), and Chief Principal (T- Scale 15). In all these levels, there is a requirement to have a master’s degree in a relevant area. However, there is no specification of it being in school leadership.

Drysdale, L. & Gurr, D. (2021). Finding and Promoting Effective Leaders, in F.W. English (Ed.) The Palgrave Handbook of Educational Leadership and Management Discourse, (London, UK: Palgrave). Gurr, D., Gurr, A., Gurr, Z., Jarni, B. & Major, E. (in press) Leadership demands on four early career teachers. Liu, P. & Thien, L.M. (Eds) Understanding Teacher Leadership in education change: An International Perspective, (London: Routledge). Gurr, D. & Drysdale, L. (2015). An Australian Perspective on School Leadership Preparation and Development: Credentials or self-management?, Asia Pacific Journal of Education, 35(3), pp. 377-391. McKenzie, P., Weldon, P., Rowley, G., Murphy, M., & McMillan, J. (2014). Staff in Australia’s schools 2013: Main report of the survey. Camberwell: Australian Council for Educational Research. Prikaz ot 26 avgusta 2010 goda N 761n (red. 31.05.2011) «Ob otsenke Yedinogo kvalifikatsionnogo spravochnika dolzhnostey bukhgalterov, spetsialistov i sluzhashchikh, razdel “Kvalifikatsionnyye