Introduction to Special Issue International Perspectives on Team Leadership

During the last several decades, the rise of the global economy launched an array of social, economic, and political changes in nations throughout the world. These shifts contributed to heightened concern about the quality of schools and resulted in what “arguably is the most intense, comprehensive, and sustained effort to reform education in America’s history” insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Björk, 2001, p. 19);. As policymakers and economists linked academic performance of students to their nation’s long-term economic survival, the scope and duration of educational reform around the globe expanded exponentially insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Daun, 2002; Pang, 2013; Zhao, 2009);. In retrospect, efforts to ensure national economic wellbeing have been defined by educational policies focused on ensuring broad-based access to schooling insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Means, 2018);, achieving academic excellence among students insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Hanushek, Jamison, Jamison, & Woessman, 2008);, networking among schools and students insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Bathon, 2011; Glazer & Peurach, 2013);, and reconceptualizing schooling insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Ball, 2009; Mullen, 2017; Osborne, 2017);. In many instances, these protracted efforts altered the conversation about education reform, particularly with regard to reconfiguring how leaders work insert ignore into journalissuearticles values(Fusarelli, Kowalski, & Petersen, 2011; Hairon, 2017; Nir, 2014);.