Conclusion
The high exp ectatio n pla ced up on le aders in sc hools has le d to an extensive
inter natio nal interest in the effectiveness of the jou r ney to le adership, the natu re of
57
Coac hing
fo r le adership
in sc hools
Downloaded by KHON KAEN UNIVERSITY At 06:45 02 October 2015 (PT)
succes sful he adte ac her development and the tran sition of aspirant le aders to senio r
le adersh ip and he adship (Crow, 2006; Br undrett an d Crawfo rd, 2008; Bush, 2008;
Rhodes et al. , 2009). The management of leadership talent from its identification to
experienced incumbency remains an important issue for schools and authorities in
many parts of the world. In this paper we have approached leadership in schools as
being typified by the journey from aspiration to incumbency as a headteacher. We do
not seek to generalise this perspective to be typical of all aspects of leadership in every
school in an international context and nor do we generalise about the role self-efficacy
plays in the journey to school leadership. Ours is a perspective rooted in society where
belief in an individual’s self-efficacy is paramount. The three-stage framework we
propose for the professional development of aspirant and incumbent heads is designed
to increase their own self-efficacy (see Table II-IV) via processes of acculturation,
assimilation and actualisation. We argue that opportunities for mentoring and
coaching that can effect acculturation; assimilation and actualisation so as to enhance
self-efficacy may have potential benefits in schools in many countries, not only to
promote the transition to senior leadership, but also to strengthen coping and
perseverance with the demanding daily tasks of leadership in schools