School Leadership in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

This report summarizes the findings of a 2020 survey of school leaders, teachers, and parents from schools in India, Indonesia, Kenya, and Malaysia on the topic of school leadership. This group of schools will continue to be surveyed over the next five years to track how school leader mindsets and practices change over time.

The key findings are as follows: 

• The belief that all students can learn, and that teachers are critical in this process, is not universal.
• School leaders are providing teachers with limited opportunities to grow professionally.
• School leaders use little data for decision making.
• School leaders spend around half their time on administrative tasks.

The report highlights the following key areas to be addressed in working to empower school leaders:

• • Professional development of school leaders that focuses on student achievement, with a focus on meaningful classroom observations, high student data use, and increased in-service training of teachers.
• • Building a culture of equity and high expectations where all stakeholders believe they can positively impact all children irrespective of their backgrounds and taking steps to manage their biases and mental roadblocks to equity in learning.