«This book is a fascinating addition to the literature on school leadership. It is based on the real-life experience of a long-serving school principal and is a must-read for prospective and serving school leaders and academics everywhere.»


(Áine Hyland, Emeritus Professor of Education, UCC)


«The author has used his detailed and intricate knowledge of research on school leadership together with his experiences as a long-serving principal to provide us with a comprehensive, illuminating and very readable account of the role and its many challenges. This book is essential reading for current and aspiring school leaders.»


(Judith Harford, Professor of Education, UCD)





Books on school leadership are usually written from a theoretical viewpoint. The insights that emerge, whilst very valuable, are based on an imaginary school, devoid of distinctive human agency, and located in a context-free setting. However, in the real world leadership is not enacted in a vacuum. This study is set in a school where the author served as principal. He describes the impact of various contextual factors, including policy developments at national level since the 1980s, that had an important effect on a principal’s role and the nature of provision.





In the history of Irish education, a book of this nature has never before been written from the perspective of a principal. The author analyses the various theories on leadership, and describes the practice that he and his colleagues devised and implemented in a real life setting. Finally, he explores the thinking of various scholars in an attempt to identify the core elements that are essential for successful principalship.