Introduction: Leadership in Catholic school -- Leadership Ideals for the 21st Century: Servant and Christ-Centred Leadership -- Contemporary Catholic Leaders and Teachers Responding to Challenging Times -- Servant Leadership in Catholic schools: ‘whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant’ -- Time to ‘reclaim’ the notion of servant leadership -- Dynamic Fidelity: exploring ‘Spiritual Capital’ in Catholic Independent Schools -- A Cloister in the World: an exploration of emerging visions of leadership in contemporary Benedictine school chaplaincy -- Welcoming bricolaging believers and occasional belongers: an empirical study of families in church schools -- Recruiting Catholic headteachers -- Pivotal to the Future of Catholic Primary Schools: Non-Catholic Teachers -- School Eldership: learning from experiential wisdom of the elders in shaping a new vision for leading Catholic schools -- Inscribed in the VeryHeart of their Identity: Recruitment, Retention and Formation of faith leaders in Catholic primary are schools in Scotland -- Implementing a Vision for Christian Education Ethos: the experiences of school leaders in two schools and implications for practice -- The extent to which Catholic Education affects and influences the formation of Women Leaders in the Philippines.

This edited collection focuses on the theme of ‘leadership’ in Catholic education settings. It addresses a number of broader issues about leadership matters in Catholic education, which include an overview of the importance of ‘servant-leadership’ in understanding and framing Catholic school leadership, a critical survey of why leadership in Catholic schools matter to ensuring what typically counts as the success of Catholic education, what counts as the defining characteristics of leadership in Catholic education, and how this relates to the aims or philosophy of Catholic education. The chapters in this book draw from the insights and experiences of serving catholic school leaders, and from academics and researchers in Catholic education studies. Each chapter recognises and explores the importance of leadership in driving forward the improvement and effectiveness of Catholic schools and places of learning, with the shared recognition that there is an urgent need to find, nurture and sustain outstanding leaders for Catholic schools and colleges. .