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Open research questions in Education, Leadership, and Health Research

78 unresolved questions extracted from the limitations and future-work sections of 5,174 Education, Leadership, and Health Research papers in our library. Each links back to the study that raised it.

What the literature leaves open

  • To improve Grade 12 academic attainment, School Management Teams should undertake focused leadership training programs that teach school leaders adaptive management practices. Professional learning communities can help teachers collaborate more effectively, fostering a culture of shared accountability for student success. Furthermore, SMTs should stress parental and community involvement, since studies show that active stakeholder engagement improves student motivation and performance. Schools should also implement data-driven monitoring tools to assess students' development and identify areas that require help. Policy frameworks should encourage established mentorship programs, which ensure that students receive personalized academic help. In addition to these strategies, schools should prioritize the integration of technology into the classroom. Providing teachers with training in educational technology can enhance their instructional methods and engage students more effectively. Furthermore, the implementation of blended learning models can accommodate different learning styles and paces, ensuring that all students receive the support they need. Regular workshops and seminars that focus on innovative teaching techniques and the use of digital resources will empower SMTs and educators to create dynamic learning environments. Lastly, establishing partnerships with local businesses and organizations can provide students with real- world experiences and internships, further motivating them to excel academically and prepare for a future career.

    Optimizing Grade 12 academic achievement: Strategic interventions by School Management Teams · 2026 · DOI

  • Included interventions’ ability to demonstrate improvements in these outcomes were limited by a lack of objective outcome measures and the ability of educational interventions alone to change deeply rooted speaking-up behaviours. Mixed results were found for the efficacy or effectiveness of these interventions. Cave, 2016 Insufficient data reported, not quantitative study. No standardised betas are provided.

    The Pause Before the Answer: Psychological Safety as the Missing Condition Between Visionary Leadership and Genuine Teacher Voice · 2026 · DOI

  • With the 2010s already in the rearview mirror, it is time to peek into the future of theory development in the field of educational leadership by initiating a forward-looking discussion. For the theoretical foundation to continue to grow, there are impediments that must be overcome. To catalyze the theory development in educational leadership, we provide two recommendations: pruning theories and integrating theories. Given the substantial expansion of the theoretical foundation, as indicated by the network size, the first recommendation is to use empirical research to strengthen the theoretical foundation of educational leadership through a process known as “theory pruning.” Theory pruning refers to identifying and eliminating theories that are redundant, obsolete, or less accurate (Leavitt et al., 2009). Similar to how pruning a tree promotes its growth by removing unnecessary branches, theory pruning prevents the accumulation of ostensibly different but potentially identical theories. Theory proliferation, such as value-based and moral leadership, as well as ethical and servant leadership, poses a salient problem in leadership research (Banks et al., 2018). Educational leadership is no exception. In a recent study that evaluated construct validity in educational leadership research, it was found that researchers often used the same survey items to measure different constructs (e.g., teacher collaboration and teacher cooperation), and used different survey items to measure the same construct, such as distributed leadership (Wang & Ahn, 2023). Moreover, much of the empirical educational leadership research was designed to existing theories—ranging from instructional leadership, shared instructional leadership, to leadership for learning, from distributed leadership to teacher leadership, and from social justice leadership to culturally responsive school leadership—without presenting evidence that the new theories offer stronger explanatory power, as evidenced by incremental validity. expand To prune theories, researchers are recommended to use empirical research to test construct validity and applicability of theories rigorously. Construct validity refers to the extent to which a measure’s items reflect a theoretical content domain (Messick, 1995). This process includes comparing competing theories, refining definitions, and using evidence to either support, refute, or modify theoretical propositions. A particularly effective approach to pruning theories is to evaluate discriminant validity, which refers to the extent to which a construct is truly distinct from other constructs (Shaffer et al., 2016). For example, an evaluation of the discriminant validity of transformational, ethical, and servant leadership raised concerns over whether the three leadership theories were truly empirically distinct (Banks et al., 2018).

    The Expansion, Fragmentation, and Cliquishness of the Theoretical Foundation of Educational Leadership in the 2010s · 2026 · DOI

  • The LDTHE opens several avenues for future research in higher education leadership scholarship. First, empirical studies should test and refine the theory across diverse disciplinary, institutional, and national contexts. Comparative research across faculties such as medicine, education, engineering, and the social sciences could clarify which elements of the theory are broadly applicable and which require contextual adaptation. Second, longitudinal research is needed to examine how leadership competencies and capacities evolve over time, particularly in relation to wellbeing, equity, and leadership sustainability. Studies that follow leaders across career stages could provide insight into how leadership development trajectories are shaped by institutional culture, governance arrangements, and policy environments. 111 Third, mixed-methods research that combines qualitative inquiry with psychometric and organisational measures could deepen understanding of leadership development processes and outcomes. Such approaches could examine how leadership development informed by the LDTHE influences outcomes such as leader wellbeing, equity advancement, institutional resilience, and innovation. Finally, future scholarship should explore how the LDTHE engages with emerging global challenges, including digital transformation, climate change, sustainability transitions, and decolonisation. Examining leadership development in relation to these challenges will be essential for ensuring the continued relevance of the theory in rapidly evolving higher education landscapes.

    Reimagining Academic Leadership: Introducing the Leadership Development Theory in Higher Education (LDTHE) · 2026 · DOI

  • 26 New Directions for Student Leadership, 2026 Third, the scope of this research was limited by the lack of infor- mation and data from the students’ line managers and colleagues.

    Leadership Identity Development: Insights Into the Lived Experiences of Undergraduate Business Students on a Placement Year · 2026 · DOI

  • A limitation of this approach is the small size of the student planning groups. While this model can be replicated, it is not easily scalable to all students in a program and is labor intensive for the faculty sponsor. However, we found that even a small group of students in a leadership seminar can have a substantial impact on the entire student body, by inviting and inspiring peers to attend and volunteer to support a student-led learning event. Another potential limitation is cost. We rented a hotel conference ballroom and provided a luncheon, but events could be held on campus, public library, or community center to lower the venue cost.

    Learning by Leading · 2026 · DOI

  • , 2022) suggest such lack of consensus and weak structure stems from a lack of commitment to defining the ultimate goals for leader development programs, matching curriculum and pedagogy to meet these goals, and then rigorously evaluating programs.

    From mission statements to mission critical: a conceptual model for getting serious about student leader development · 2024 · DOI

  • This study addresses this gap in the research via a systematic review of scientific papers, published within the 2019–2022 timespan and compiled under the PRISMA framework, reporting on the challenges faced, the crisis management strategies employed and the personality traits that were most commonly associated with effective crisis leadership throughout the turbulent COVID-19 era.

    Crisis Management, School Leadership in Disruptive Times and the Recovery of Schools in the Post COVID-19 Era: A Systematic Literature Review · 2023 · DOI

  • Recommendations included conducting further studies of hospitality management educators’ leadership styles, enhanced statistical tests to build significant results to methods of transformation leadership in classroom instruction, and effective leadership training for hospitality management educators and administrators.

    Leadership skills with classroom instruction integration in hospitality management higher education · 2022 · DOI

  • Finally, the study focuses on the context of junior high school education in Vietnam, and the generalizability of its findings across different cultural backgrounds, educational levels, or subject areas remains uncertain.

    Distributed Leadership as a Catalyst for Change: Building Emotional Capital to Enhance Teachers' Beliefs in AI-Integrated Teaching · 2026 · DOI

  • However, the understanding of the factors involved in both the rise and efficacy of leadership remains controversial, as different researchers present fairly divergent conclusions.

    How to study the efficacy of leadership: A research framework proposal · 2026 · DOI

  • In addition, her college is not improving post‐pandemic faculty turnover, faculty productivity in terms of teaching and research lags compared with other colleges, and the recent college culture survey provided mixed results.

    Who Leads the Leaders? The Dean's Role in Chair Development · 2025 · DOI

  • Several studies have examined the crucial role played by middle leaders in school improvement, but little is known about the experiences of novice middle leaders during their initial years in their positions, particularly the enabling and constraining factors they encounter.

    Stepping into middle leadership: a hermeneutic phenomenological study · 2023 · DOI

  • The current manuscript offers a 5-year prospective study, addressing a critical gap in the literature regarding the generalization of established predictive leadership success models to leadership in extreme conditions.

    Predicting Leadership Success in Extreme Organizations: A Prospective Study From Pre-Recruitment Through Leading in Real-Life · 2022 · DOI

  • I offer these lessons as informal suggestions for further research on knowledge leadership in education and as useful guidance for young scholars aspiring to knowledge leadership roles.

    Leadership in Educational Studies: Lessons from Established Leaders · 2020 · DOI

  • Although leadership is widely considered an aspect of giftedness, few studies have examined gifted students’ beliefs regarding their own leadership abilities and their potential to become leaders.

    Gifted students’ perceptions about leadership and leadership development · 2020 · DOI

  • Purpose The article asserts that systems thinking and its concurrent organizational processes are central organizing structures in schools, yet “hide in plain sight” and are therefore underexplored and underutilized in leadership theorizing.

    Hiding in plain sight: systems thinking and school organization · 2020 · DOI

  • Thus, the main purpose of this conceptual article is to explore the under-theorized and under-researched relationship of the new public management mix of autonomy and accountability on the one hand and leadership styles (as they are practiced by school principals) on the other hand.

    New Public Management in Education: A Call for the Edupreneurial Leader? · 2018 · DOI

  • Leadership should be seen more widely and should be explored along the characteristics and style of leadership and how leaders are manifested externally through their work, which means to explore the nature of leadership work.

    Research of the Nature of Leadership Activities · 2017 · DOI

  • Consequently, there are gaps in literature regarding the interactions between the leader and the follower from the perspective of the exchange of emotions.

    Follower-Centric Leadership and Emotions: an Interdisciplinary Perspective · 2017 · DOI

  • Communication is a topic frequently linked to leadership; however, the linkage often is limited to a view of communication as a tool to be employed by leaders in efforts to achieve particular purposes.

    Leadership as Social Influence · 2016 · DOI

  • It concludes by noting that the trend towards specific preparation is global but that approaches vary widely, in response to local contextual factors.

    International perspectives on leadership development: making a difference · 2012 · DOI

  • Although leadership for social justice and distributed leadership have separately garnered a great deal of interest among educational administration scholars, no studies have explored the possible conceptual and empirical links between these important and promising areas of inquiry.

    Distributed Leadership for Social Justice: Exploring how Influence and Equity are Stretched over an Urban High School · 2007 · DOI

  • It is for these reasons that a special issue of the Australian Journal of Education on the theme of leadership is warranted, especially in the field of school renewal.

    Special Issue: Educational Leadership and School Renewal Introduction by the Guest Editor · 2007 · DOI

  • It remains to be seen whether systematic generalizations about insti- tutionalized political actors can be developed for fluoridation and other issues.

    Executive Leardership and Community · 1966 · DOI

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78 open questions have been extracted from the limitations and future-work passages of 5,174 Education, Leadership, and Health Research papers in our library. Each one below links back to the study that raised it, so you can read the original claim in context.

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