The International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) has for the last decade sought to understand the characteristics, dispositions and qualities of successful principals in successful schools. It has done this across for than 15 countries, through more than 100 multiple perspective case studies, and a leadership survey administered successfully in three countries. More than 80 journal papers, four project books, three country specific books, and four special issues of journals have documented the findings. This symposium brings together several research groups from the ISSPP to report on particular research findings that both highlight some of what the ISSPP has found, and to point to future research directions (which is the subject of a related symposium).

The first project book of the ISSPP (Leithwood & Day, 2007) comprised of country reports from the initial group of seven countries. The view of Leithwood and colleagues that successful school leadership comprises at least four core dimensions of setting direction, developing people, developing the school and leading the instructional program was supported. There was also evidence for additional practices such as strategic problem solving, articulating a set of core values, building trust and being visible in the school, building a safe and secure environment, introducing productive forms of instruction to staff, and coalition building.

The second and third project books saw a move to cross-national analysis, with book two exploring instructional leadership, organizational learning and culturally responsive practices (Ylimaki and Jacobson, 2011), and book three the sustainability of successful leadership (Moos, Johansson & Day, 2011). This symposium builds on the work of these two books and explores the following themes:

·      Leadership sustainability, resilience and preparation: Lessons from the US and Australia ISSPP cases.

·      Democratic and heroic leadership

·      Distribution of leadership or distribution of responsibility: a question of loyalty for school success?

·      Leading with Passion, Moral Commitment, and an Ethic of Care

The brief presentations will be focused on key findings from across the case studies and will be supported by short papers that will be made available at the symposium. In providing commentary on these papers, the discussant, Prof. Day, will address the issue of the extent to which context matters in the exercise of successful school leadership. There will be sufficient time allocated to allow for discussion with the symposium presenters.

Please note: references details can be supplied on request