Exploring how school principals use their time - Introduction

Background and purpose of the book.

In August 2016 we hosted a research conference on Cross-National Exploration of Principals’ Time Use, funded by the American Educational Research Association (AERA). Thirty-two leading researchers on school leadership from ten different countries, covering regions such as Africa, Asia, Middle East, Europe, Oceania, and North America, participated in the conference. The researchers presented and discussed their cutting-edge studies aligned to the conference theme. This edited volume is a major outcome of the AERA-funded conference. This volume aims to deepen our understanding of principal time use from an international perspective and thereby to advance current knowledge of principal leadership across different countries. Specifically, the edited book aims to (1) document common or particular patterns and effects of principal time use across countries, (2) identify common or major causes that shape principal time use across countries, (3) contribute to theorizing the under-researched area of principal time use, and (4) develop a framework of data collection and related analytical tools of principal time use that can be applied to contexts of different countries. Despite a large body of literature on principal leadership, research focusing on “principal time use” is limited, and a handful of empirical studies exist (see Chapter 1 for details). This relative dearth of studies is surprising given that principal time use is a useful indicator of principal leadership; clearly, principals should spend more time on what is most important for school improvement.