· 6 min read
AI planning, leadership trust and gender equity
Three research reads for international-school leaders, with evidence limits, implementation ideas and timely professional development.
Read this weekly editionResearch briefs
Read the paper. See the limits. Decide what to test.
Original summaries for school leaders, grounded in primary research and written for implementation rather than display.
Teacher retention
Teacher retention strategies for school leaders
Start before the resignation letter: examine professional voice, growth and working conditions. The review identifies useful questions, not a guaranteed retention programme. Nguyen et al. (2026; online 2024)
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Professional learning
A timetable slot is not a professional learning community
A defined PLC model in Texas showed favourable outcomes in a non-randomised, provider-funded evaluation. Review the meeting’s work and selection limits before applying that evidence locally. Mansell & Kirksey (2025)
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Governance
When educational purpose, parent pressure and reputation collide
International-school leadership is shaped by programme, ownership, market and community. Good governance makes the trade-offs visible before a crisis.
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Inclusion and equity
Your school average can improve while some learners lose ground
Equity work becomes actionable when leaders pair universal provision with targeted support and monitor access, participation and progression.
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Workforce planning
Build a teacher-shortage dashboard before the next recruitment cycle
National shortage indicators frame the question. Local workforce planning needs clear definitions, role-level exposure and a distinction between expected and actual departures.
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Teacher workload
How school leaders can review and reduce teacher workload
Start with a work demand teachers can identify and leaders can change. A task-level review is more useful than adding another wellbeing activity without changing the work.
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Attendance and access
Attendance improvement starts with understanding the barrier
Attendance communication is one part of support. Identify the reason for absence before choosing a response; a message cannot by itself remove every barrier.
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Evidence and implementation
How to judge whether education research fits your school
Ask two questions: what can this source establish, and what would need to be true for the approach to fit here? A strong study still concerns a particular population and implementation.
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