Effective School Leadership

Effective leadership teams create positive environments that support teachers and enhance learning conditions, ultimately improving students’ achievement, well-being, and reducing gender and equity gaps. Worldwide, only 3 in 10 countries regulate training for new principals after appointment, even though ongoing coaching, mentoring, and experiential learning are essential. In Africa, few countries have dedicated school leadership policies, and government ownership of large-scale leadership professional development remains limited. 

What is Effective School Leadership? 

At VVOB, effective school leadership focuses on what leaders do to support teachers, foster learning environments, and unlock every learner’s potential. VVOB’s dimensions model of leadership behaviours, detailed in its technical brief on school leadership, underpins this approach. 

A cornerstone of VVOB’s work is the professional development of school leaders—both aspiring and in-service—throughout their careers. Well-designed professional development serves as an effective entry point to strengthen leadership competences and practices. Successful initiatives: 

• Are embedded in comprehensive school leadership support systems;
• Are encouraged by education leadership at higher levels;
• Build on existing knowledge, practices, and contexts;
• Are sustained, ongoing, and include regular follow-up support;
• Promote learning-by-doing, reflection, and practical application;
• Prioritise equity, student learning, well-being, and achievement;
• Challenge unequal representation in educational leadership. 

Because leadership effects cascade throughout entire schools, strong leaders can elevate the performance of all teachers and learners. Consequently, investing in the professional growth of school leaders offers one of the highest potential returns in improving education systems

Flagships go beyond a single project or isolated pilots; they represent VVOB’s long-term commitment to systemic change in education. 

VVOB’s flagship on Effective School Leadership, as part of its Learning Unlimited. strategy, drives innovation, evidence generation, and large-scale collaboration to strengthen leadership across education systems. 

The African Centre for School Leadership (ACSL) is VVOB’s flagship initiative to promote effective school leadership as a key driver of quality, inclusive education in Africa. Conceived in 2021, the Centre serves as a regional hub that works with governments, researchers, and professional development providers to connect, support, and scale school leadership systems across the continent. 

The African Centre for School Leadership operates through four interlinked focus areas, each coordinated by a Pan-African partner: 

• ADEA leads advocacy, policy development, and reform in collaboration with ministries of education.
• VVOB supports professional development providers in designing and delivering leadership training programmes.
• ESSA convenes researchers and learning partners to build evidence and insights that inform policy and practice.
• FAWE ensures gender and equity are integrated into policy, professional development, and research. 

Partnership and localisation are central to the Centre’s success. Working closely with ministries, professional development providers and research partners, the ACSL adapts VVOB’s school leadership model to national contexts, embedding it within education systems. Best practices and lessons from participating countries are shared at the Pan-African level to inspire broader transformation in school leadership across the continent. 

Our ambition is to place school leadership at the heart of Africa’s education transformation as a driver of quality and inclusion. The African Centre for School Leadership strengthens school leadership through a phased, evidence-based approach. In its foundation phase (2022–2024), it partnered with Rwanda, Kenya, and Ghana to generate success stories and data for broader engagement. Building on this, the Centre now supports countries to develop leadership policies, standards, and professional development for school leaders, combining theory and practice through locally relevant, system-embedded programmes. A continent-wide research programme examines the impact of professional development, explores African-rooted leadership models, and addresses gender in leadership. Insights ignite policy dialogue, awareness, and partnerships with governments, universities, development partners, and the African Union for lasting change. 

If our Effective School Leadership flagship is something you would be interested in supporting, please get in touch with our Partnerships Team, who will be sure to respond.

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