Principal rotation in China: policy goals and succession strategies adopted by rotated principals

Yulian Zheng is Professor at Guizhou Education University, China. She is currently leading a national funding project on the topic of Chinese Innovation on Principals’ Knowledge Governance in School Networks. Her research interests are in all aspects of educational leadership and management in China, principal development, principal rotation systems, principal succession and knowledge governance and the exchange of school principals.

Haiyan Qian is Associate Professor in the Department of Education Policy and Leadership and Director of the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust Asia Pacific Center for Leadership and Change at the Education University of Hong Kong. Her main area of interest has been school leadership in China and the influence of the social and cultural context on schooling across Chinese societies. She will change her affiliation to “The Department of Educational Administration and Policy, The Chinese University of Hong Kong” in July, 2024.

Shuangye Chen is Professor in the Institute of Curriculum and Instruction at East China Normal University. She is the founding Executive editor-in-chief of ECNU Review of Education, the first diamond-OA International Journal of Education and Research in China. She is serving as executive dean of research and international engagement at the Faculty of Education at East China Normal University. Her research interests include education policy and educational leadership. She has published widely in English and Chinese. She completed her undergraduate and postgraduate studies at Peking University. Her research interests include education policy, educational leadership and educational changes in Chinese societies. She has published widely in English and Chinese.

Allan David Walker is Adjunct Research Chair Professor of International Educational Leadership and Co-director of the Joseph Lau Luen Hung Charitable Trust, Asia Pacific Center for Leadership and Change in the Education University of Hong Kong. Allan’s research interests include the impact of culture on educational leadership and school organization, school leadership in Southeast Asia, particularly China, leadership development, leading international schools and values and educational leadership.