The role of leadership and management in determining the nature and quality of education at all levels is widely acknowledged, and the pressure on educational leaders has rarely been greater. Surprisingly little is known about those who manage and lead, and the contexts within which they work. This series draws upon the latest ideas and research in order to develop and promote new ways of understanding and ago-old activity. It sets out to facilitate better and more reflective practice, stimulate theoretical debate and contribute to improvement in policy. The Making of Educational Leaders: Even though leadership is one of the most popular topics in the social sciences, there is, to date, no systematic, comparative study of the ways in which those working in education learn to lead and become educational leaders, The Making of Educational Leaders is a clear, incisive and no-nonsense discussion of the nature of leadership in general and educational leadership in particular. It fills an important gap in research into educational leadership.Peter Gronn offers a unique insight in to educational leadership from a career perspective and provides a model of the process by which leaders' characters are shaped for leadership in different educational contexts.
He focuses on the attributes of the individual and the circumstances which have shaped their perceptions. This informed understanding of the ways in which leaders are typically made, particularly through long-term career learning, will facilitate a much more efficient selection of candidates and effective negotiation of succession processes. Peter Gronn is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education, Monash University, Australia.