Collaborative School Leadership investigates how and why more collaboration is taking place in a wide range of settings in the UK, South Africa, New Zealand, China, the USA, the Seychelles, Tanzania and Greece, and considers the implications for leadership and the overall effectiveness of schools. David Middlewood, Ian Abbott and Sue Robinson explore various models of collaboration, considering their strengths, weaknesses and how they affect school leadership, including:
- executive leadership
- school-to-school collaboration
- federations
- alliances
- academy chains.

The supportive structure of each chapter, with bullet point introduction, case studies, points of reflection, further reading and summaries, guides the reader and supports learning. Drawing on research, the authors identify the key areas for consideration, addressing questions such as:
- Where does leadership reside in collaborating partnerships?
- Who exactly are the leaders?
- What impact does this leadership have on others -staff, parents, governors, learners?
- What kind of leadership development is desirable?
They look at the fact that the skills and approaches used by leaders of single schools are not automatically transferable to the leadership of several schools and propose possible ways forward for leadership and consider potential implications for education systems as a whole. They provide both an invaluable insight and also a practical guide for the school leaders of tomorrow.