Journal archive

Abstract: There is great interest in educational leadership in the 21st century because of the widespread belief that the quality of leadership makes a significant difference to universities and student outcomes. There is also increasing recognition that schools require effective leader if they are to provide the best possible education for their learners. While the need for effective leaders is widely acknowledged, there is much less certainty about leadership behaviors that are most likely to produce favourable outcomes. We examine the underpinnings for the field of educational leadership and discuss the evidence of their relative effectiveness in developing successful universities especially during the periods of change. Based on the experience of Ural State Pedagogical University (USPU), Yekaterinburg, Russia, uncovering the risks and opportunities, and taking into consideration the complexity of global society, the authors make an attempt to show the ways the university team chooses to accomplish the desired goals to become the leading pedagogical university in the region. There is always a need to realign the infrastructure of education with the needs of the people it serves. The article emphasizes the importance of university social responsibility culture alongside commitment to learning, research and student experience. It is the authors’ strong believe that universities stimulate social vitality, which itself has an economic impact, drives innovation and productivity growth in global economy. This paper shows how educational leaders at all levels can help to build learning communities through collaborating and negotiating with their colleagues and students, as well as with external agencies and local communities, to sustain and develop the successful learning. Different practices are used for leader education. The article describes the experience of USPU in its development of educational leaders over the past years.