Cross-National Differences in the International Successful School Principalship Project (ISSPP) Lauri Johnson, University at Buffalo Jorunn Moller, University of Oslo Stephen Jacobson, University at Buffalo Kam-cheung Wong, University of Hong Kong

Leithwood and Riehl (2005) Successful School Leadership: 1) Improves student learning; 2) Is, and ought to be, distributed; 3) Includes core practices of setting directions, developing people, redesigning the organization, and managing the instructional program; 4) Acknowledges the accountability-oriented policy context; 5) Promotes social justice in diverse schools through strong school-community relationships and expanding students’ social capital valued by the schools.

Comparative Context USA: Decentralized Resources, High Accountability Norway: Democratic Values, Democratic Leadership China: Respect for Authority and Experience, Top Down Leadership

Research Context Selection Criteria: What Constitutes Success? Differences in Project Funding and Methodology Language Differences

Conclusions School leadership is socially constructed and contextually bound. Successful school leaders are highly sensitive to local and national contexts. High accountability contexts: Student performance on external tests is a key m easure of success Scandinavian countries prioritize citizenship and social relationships to a greater extent

Further Research Cross country analysis of the ISSPP case studies to examine school-community relationships in culturally diverse schools Conduct case studies in other international contexts (outside a Westernized context) to examine how different value orientations and leadership priorities influence successful leadership