In the Erasmus+ project HEAD: Empowering school principals for inclusive school culture, the Netherlands School Leadership academy NSO-CNA and the National School of Leadership in Education of Slovenia (NSLE) share their experiences on school leadership training with partners from Croatia and North-Macedonia with the purpose of supporting them in finding their own approaches and structures tailored to their national context, in order to the further professionalization of school principals in primary and secondary education in Croatia and North-Macedonia.

To benefit from diverse international experiences and practices NSO-CNA and NSLE illustrate in this paper their national educational context, approaches and methods on school leadership training. They compare and contrast these two practices and conclude with some recommendations for our Croatian and North-Macedonian partners regarding the professional development of their school leaders and its training.

The paper points out that prerequisite for a meaningful mainstreaming of standardized formative paths for future school principals is a common understanding of the relevance of school leadership training in the education system and wider society.

Read the full paper Heading for Headship – Contrasting school leadership training in the Netherlands and Slovenia here.