Leadership Matters in Catholic Education: An Introduction

This chapter presents an overview of the whole of Part 1 of Leadership Matters in Catholic Education. It does this by drawing attention to the numerous ways in which Leadership Matters in Catholic Education appears to involve a more pressing set of issues when compared to other educational contexts. This introduction frames the whole volume within the theology of leadership. This theology fruitfully draws on Christology and the sorts of leadership Jesus exercised. It is explained that there are both positive and challenging dimensions to the typical ways of framing leadership in Catholic schools. One of the key questions facing researchers of Catholic education is how best to draw on the theology of leadership to make sense of and to critique Catholic school leadership matters. This introduction also includes a summary of all the chapters in this volume and a reminder of the importance of reading it as a whole.