This paper attempts a comparative analysis of classification and framing relationships as they are exemplified in the four papers presented in this Special Issue. In particular, it interrogates Bernstein's assertion that education is simply a relay for power relations external to it and examines approaches to educational leadership and administration that follow from such analysis. It is concluded that in different times and places power relationships external to education are often complex and contested, producing a variety of relays and attempts at classification and framing that serve differing interests and are articulated through policies containing significant internal contradictions. In such circumstances contingency and immediate local influence may affect the practice of educational leadership as well as offering scope for subversion, resistance, simulated consent and collective action. The possibility of a public pedagogy through which such complexities could be articulated is raised and its importance to the practice of educational leadership affirmed.
[Copyright of Journal of Educational Administration and History is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00220620802507185 ]

Leadership style has always been a controversial topic in educational administration and management. Following the recommendation of the Education Commission to introduce school-based management (SBM) into Hong Kong schools in the early 1990s, discussions about the kind of leadership style that is appropriate for SBM schools have never ceased. The government holds a continuing belief that SBM schools work better if they are managed by "better" principals, and emphasises the value of "transformational leadership." However, this paper articulates the limitations of that leadership style and argues for complementing it with "educational leadership," which purports that principals have an obligation to learn with others about ways of promoting student learning. Secondly, the staff should also be encouraged and helped to carry out certain leadership functions. These arguments are supported by references to the most relevant literature. The discussion is useful to school principals, leaders, and teachers by offering them a better understanding of how to facilitate the implementation of SBM.
[Copyright of Asia Pacific Journal of Education is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02188790600937292]

A lack of analysis and research into primary education in general, and primary school leadership in particular, has left primary practitioners exposed like never before to the vagaries of policy-makers and unpredictable contextual pressures. The purpose of this article is to initiate discussion on the state of primary school leadership in Hong Kong since 2000. It attempts to explore some of the major reforms and other contextual factors impacting primary school leaders and comment on the challenges which accompany these. It further proposes that when initiatives confront the existing structural and cultural make up of primary schools they are blocked by what we call the bottleneck effect. The article also attempts to explain and illustrate this effect and what it means for primary school principals. It is hoped that the analysis serves to highlight interest in primary school leadership in Hong Kong and stimulate research in the area locally and internationally.
[Copyright of School Leadership & Management is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13632430802499994]

In a Hong Kong study, the author examined the effect on undergraduate business students of university business school instructors' exhibiting a transformational leadership style in the classroom. Transformational leadership is one of the central concepts in management, and research has indicated that a positive association exists between this style of leadership and desirable leadership outcomes. The author examined this relation in a university classroom context, and the results indicated that transformational classroom leadership was significantly and positively associated with desirable classroom leadership outcomes such as extra effort.
[Copyright of Journal of Education for Business is the property of Routledge. Full article may be available at the publisher's website:
http://dx.doi.org/10.3200/JOEB.84.1.2-6 ]