Leadership and education
Leadership is at the heart of quality education. It has been argued that it is the second most important school factor explaining learning outcomes. Leaders at multiple levels matter, from those within the school, to those outside of the school, and even those outside of education systems.
The new concept note for the 2024/5 GEM Report, developed based on a think-piece by David Gurr, details how the theme will be explored.
Join our consultation using the comments section on the webpage or by emailing gemreport@unesco.org to provide feedback on this concept note, suggest relevant evidence for the theme or new areas of research to be explored.
The 2024/5 GEM Report will examine the requirements of good leadership in education and how they vary between countries and over time. It will look at the visions and goals that are driving leadership in education and will examine the extent to which – and through what practices – the exercise of leadership contributes to better education outcomes.
External factors, related to society, culture and governance, will be looked at with respect to their impact on effective leadership. Policy levers to develop leadership skills in different contexts will be reviewed.
The report will cover education leaders at three levels:
- Within education institutions
- Outside education institutions, at system level
- Outside the education system
The 2024/5 GEM Report will aim to address the following questions:
- Role: What are the requirements of good leadership in education and how do they vary between countries and over time?
- Influence: What vision and goals drive leadership in education and what are the signs of exercising positive influence?
- Impact: To what extent and through what practices does the exercise of leadership contribute to better education outcomes?
- Context: What social, cultural, governance or other preconditions are needed for the effective exercise of leadership in education?
- Nurture: What policy levers can be used to help develop leadership skills and how do such policies emerge around the world to respond to need?
Country profiles on laws and policies related to leadership in education will feature in the PEER website and will complement the report.
The concept note presents the early thinking of the team in the preparation of the 2024/5 GEM Report.
We invite you to:
- provide substantive feedback to the proposed lines of research;
- recommend examples from around the world that illustrate good leadership and solutions to challenges found in various education systems; and
- recommend potential areas of new research drawing on various sources of data.
Last but not least, we invite you to respond to the call for expressions of interest to contribute background papers for selected areas of the 2024/5 GEM Report. The deadline 10 April 2023.
