The international evidence base concerning the improvement of schools considered to be underperforming is diverse and wide-ranging. Schools that fail to meet acceptable levels of performance, often measured in standardised ways, regularly fall under scrutiny and frequently are in receipt of local or national interventions (Brown & Malin, 2022). This paper reviews the contemporary evidence (2010-2020) to ascertain how far leadership remains a critical factor in the turnaround process. This paper draws upon a selected evidence base to explore the influence of leadership on the improvement of underperforming schools. The review process involved identifying, screening, and selecting 19 articles, 16 books, and 10 reports related to the topic. The findings emphasise the critical role of leadership in addressing the complex issues faced by underperforming schools as the key resource for improvement. The paper offers a current lens on leading the improvement of underperforming schools and adds to the knowledge base by providing seven new themes based on the evidence considered. Collectively, these seven themes reflect the way that leadership is understood and enacted within schools that are underperforming. Based on the evidence, implications for policy, research, and leadership practice are derived and discussed.

Brown, C., & Malin, J. R. (Eds.). (2022). The Emerald Handbook of Evidence-Informed Practice in Education: Learning from International Contexts. Emerald Publishing Limited.