The question of political leadership is a hot topic at the time of writing. So it is perhaps a good time for those interested in education to reflect on the politicians who have led education through history.

This week we published Leading Education 2, a collection of seven essays on seven politicians, a sequel to an earlier collection of fourteen essays on the same theme.

Leading Education 2 begins with an essay by Melvyn Roffe on William Forster, vice president of the committee of the Council on Education, whose 1870 Elementary Education Act was one of the most important pieces of education legislation.

After Forster, only five women were put in charge of education over the following 130 years. And yet seven women have held the top job this century (albeit one was in post for a day).

Read more at: https://www.schoolmanagementplus.com/school-leadership/lessons-from-educations-female-leaders/