LEADERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABILITY: COMPETENCIES AND DEVELOPMENT PATHWAYS FOR SCHOOL PRINCIPALS

Abstract

The increasing complexity of global challenges like climate change, resource depletion, biodiversity loss, inequality, and social instability has positioned schools as key institutions for cultivating sustainability-oriented knowledge, values, and actions. School principals, as central agents of school transformation, require renewed leadership competencies that move beyond managerial efficiency toward systemic, future-oriented, and ethically grounded forms of sustainability leadership. This article provides a comprehensive analysis of sustainability leadership in education by: (1) critically synthesizing global scholarship on sustainability competencies, (2) contextualizing those competencies for school principalship, and (3) proposing multilayered development pathways; pre-service, in-service, and policy/system-level supports. Drawing on a large body of evidence from educational leadership, sustainability science, and ESD (Education for Sustainable Development), the article offers an expanded competency framework for principals, encompassing systems, futures, normative, strategic, interpersonal, intrapersonal, implementation, integration, and socio-political competencies. It argues that advancing sustainability leadership requires not only individual competence but also supportive institutional cultures, collaborative structures, and enabling policies. Implications for policymakers, scholars, and professional development providers are presented, emphasizing the need for long-term, practice-based leadership formation grounded in ethical, ecological, and equity-oriented principles.