A Descriptive Examination and Synthesis of Leadership Succession

Abstract

Leadership succession planning is a means to identify the need for systematic and purposeful change in education. Policy, planning, and research suggest that there is an acute shortage of school leaders globally. By illumination of these facts, we detail and describe what is happening within a Canadian context, and this we argue is similar to what is occurring globally. Our article puts forward practices that that have not been effective and need further investigation—particularly, the practice of rotating administrators every 3 to 5 years and assigning new principals and candidates to new schools without adequate preparation and knowledge of the school culture. The time is opportune for school boards to evaluate and assess their current practices related to succession planning, recruitment and selection, and induction programs to ensure that current and aspiring leaders are supported and encouraged to meet the leadership challenges of the future.