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Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the current provision for school leadership in Kenya, the extent to which they have an impact on student outcomes and the return on school leadership preparation and development investment. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper draws from educational leadership, management and administration courses delivered by universities and other institutions to aspiring and practising educational leaders in Kenya. It employs a method for evaluating return on leadership development investment first articulated by Eacott (2013). Findings: While there is growth in provision, consistent with international trends, this provision is more recognised for its standardisation than points of distinction; there is minimal attention to identified dimensions of leadership leading to higher student outcomes which raises questions regarding the universality of school leadership preparation and development curriculum; and the high course costs of current provision is an inhibiting factor in assessing the return on investment in school leadership preparation and development. Research Limitations/Implications: The study was limited to publicly available documents from a limited sample of institutions. There is a need for more studies in the area. Practical Implications: Institutions seeking to offer school leadership development have grounds on which to make decision about what programs their school leaders should undertake in terms of cost and quality. The study provides institution offering school leadership development courses evidence on which to base future policy direction. Social Implications: The findings provide a case for investing in school leadership development given the impact courses may have on student outcomes. Originality/Value: The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current provision on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya. It contributes to its understanding in Africa in terms of quality, performance impact and return on investment.

Purpose -- The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the quality of the current provision for school leadership in Kenya, the extent to which they have an impact on student outcomes and the return on school leadership preparation and development investment. Design/methodology/approach -- The paper draws from educational leadership, management and administration courses delivered by universities and other institutions to aspiring and practising educational leaders in Kenya. It employs a method for evaluating return on leadership development investment first articulated by Eacott (2013). Findings -- While there is growth in provision, consistent with international trends, this provision is more recognised for its standardisation than points of distinction; there is minimal attention to identified dimensions of leadership leading to higher student outcomes which raises questions regarding the universality of school leadership preparation and development curriculum; and the high course costs of current provision is an inhibiting factor in assessing the return on investment in school leadership preparation and development. Research limitations/implications -- The study was limited to publicly available documents from a limited sample of institutions. There is a need for more studies in the area. Practical implications -- Institutions seeking to offer school leadership development have grounds on which to make decision about what programs their school leaders should undertake in terms of cost and quality. The study provides institution offering school leadership development courses evidence on which to base future policy direction. Social implications -- The findings provide a case for investing in school leadership development given the impact courses may have on student outcomes. Originality/value -- The paper provides a comprehensive overview of the current provision on school leadership preparation and development in Kenya. It contributes to its understanding in Africa in terms of quality, performance impact and return on investment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper we demonstrate, through content analysis of university-based programmes and one management institute, the construction of 'leadership' in the particular context of Kenya. The study paid attention to how the particularities of the locale are infused with universal discourses to develop an indigenous conceptualisation of 'leadership'. In the particular context of Kenya, school leadership is similar to the universal construction of leadership - with an emphasis on instructional leadership, the management of resources and change occasioned by rapid reforms in the education sector - but there are some context-specific differences. School leadership is also about negotiating between competing cultural and political interests, especially in relation to access, equity and equality. School leaders need to manage internal conflict in the school as well as external ethnic conflict. Leadership is also about implementing government initiated reforms that called for flexibility and innovation not only in the use of scarce resources, but also in identifying less traditional sources of funding. These unique roles have implications for leadership preparation and development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]