Abstract
Over the past three decades, the forces of globalisation — economic, political and cultural — have significantly affected institutions and people across the world: altering in some ways the very terrain of public and private life. Public education has in no small way been challenged by new realities and new demands in an increasingly interdependent yet competitive world environment. School principals are uniquely positioned as formal leaders of diverse and complex educational systems to mediate the often times opposing forces of globalisation and localism with their communities. This article examines school leaders' understanding of their work and their work role priorities, especially with regard to teaching and learning, within a policy environment characterised by increasingly convergent policy and leadership discourse. Two major questions are addressed, theoretically and empirically: in what ways do school principals in Sweden, which has strong democratic traditions, address the tension between localism and national interests and the press for conformity to new global imperatives and demands; and to what degree, if any, has globalisation created a new hegemony in school leadership? It is concluded that school principals in Sweden respond to questions about their schools without any reference to new global imperatives and demands. Their attention was generally related to national demands. Also, we see no clear evidence that globalisation has created a new hegemony in school leadership in Sweden.