School Governance and Educational Leadership for Sustainable School Improvement: A Systematic Literature Review

This Systematic Literature Review (SLR) examines contemporary research on school governance and educational leadership for sustainable school improvement, focusing on studies published between 2024 and 2026. This review addresses the growing need for schools to strengthen governance, leadership capacity, accountability, inclusiveness, and long-term improvement. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, articles were retrieved from Scopus, Web of Science (WoS), and ERIC through advanced searching strategies. After the screening and eligibility process, 30 primary studies were selected for final analysis. The Quality Assessment (QA) revealed that 24 articles were classified as high quality, and six as moderate quality. The findings were organized into three major themes: (1) Collaborative and Inclusive Leadership for School Improvement, which highlights distributed leadership, stakeholder participation, family engagement, and inclusive culture; (2) Governance, Accountability and Evidence-Informed School Improvement, which focuses on policy alignment, school inspection, data use, research-informed decision-making, and accountability; and (3) Sustainable School Development, Resilience, and Leadership Capacity, which emphasizes professional learning, organizational resilience, digital transformation, leadership development, and continuous improvement. Overall, the review concludes that sustainable school improvement is strengthened when governance, collaborative leadership, evidence-informed practices, and leadership capacity work together. The findings suggest that schools need supportive governance structures, shared decision-making, professional trust, and adaptive leadership systems to sustain improvement over time.