Cited by 16Educational Leadership and PracticesEducation and Teacher TrainingTeacher Education and Leadership Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

Definitions of Sustainable Leadership in Education: A Systematic Review and Analysis

Open access
Ali Mohammad Al-khamaiseh, Ra’ed, Bailey, Richard Peter, Jarvis, Adrian·2025·Journal of Research on Leadership Education

Abstract

Sustainable leadership has become a significant focus in educational leadership. Still, concerns persist regarding the clarity of its definitions and their impact addressing critical educational needs. This study employs a systematic review to address these definitional challenges. Seven themes emerge, categorized into three meta-themes: effectiveness and impact, sustainability systems thinking, and collaborative responsibility and future orientation. These findings reveal the diversity of sustainable leadership themes and challenge the assumption that achieving a universal definition is the key to collaborative progress. This methodologically rigorous study enhances our understanding of sustainable leadership in education, offering valuable insights for further research.

Overview

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1177/19427751241283029

Cites

1 of 1 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

The claims and statistics of this paper haven’t been checked yet.

Run the check — free, no account needed. It reads the open-access text and checks the sources it cites.

A few free checks a day · papers already verified open instantly · results are public

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

The self-check needs the paper’s full text.

Citations

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Research works printed but not linked: 56

  1. Angit S. Jarvis A. (2024). An indigenous view of social justice leadership in the Malaysian education system. AlterNative: An International Journal of Indigenous Peoples. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1177/11771801241235 · DOI
  2. Aslam S. Parveen K. Alghamdi A. A. Abbas S. Shah A. H. Elumalai K. V. (2022). Hopes for the future: Capturing the perspectives of students on higher education and sustainable development in the post-pandemic era. Sustainability 14(19) 12531. https://doi.org/10.3390/su141912531 · DOI
  3. Aslamiah A. Hashim N. H. Yusof M. R. Fauzee M. S. O. Aziz M. N. A. Khun-Inkeeree H. Habibi A. Bing K. W. (2020). Critical success factors of sustainable leadership: Evidence from High-achievement School. Universal Journal of Educational Research 8(5) 1665–1675. https://doi.org/10.13189/ujer.2020.080502 · DOI
  4. Avery G. C. Bergsteiner H. (2011). Sustainable leadership practices for enhancing business resilience and performance. Strategy & Leadership 39(3) 5–15. https://doi.org/10.1108/10878571111128766 · DOI
  5. Bailey R. P. (2021). Defining physical literacy: Making sense of a promiscuous concept. Sport in Society 25(1) 163–180. https://doi.org/10.1080/17430437.2020.1777104. · DOI
  6. Bailey R. P., Glibo I., Koenen K., Samsudin N. (2023). What is physical literacy? An international review and analysis of definitions. Kinesiology Review, 12(3), 247–260.
  7. Bala P. Tan C. E. (2020). Digital inclusion of Orang Asli of Peninsular Malaysia: Remote virtual mechanism for usability of telecentres amongst Indigenous peoples. The Electronic Journal of Information Systems in Developing Countries 87(4) 12171. https://doi.org/10.1002/isd2.12171 · DOI
  8. Barut Y., Onay M. (2017). Sustainable leadership for sustainable corporations. International Journal of Economic Studies, 3(3), 399–408.
  9. Bendell J. Little R. (2015). Seeking sustainability leadership. Journal of Corporate Citizenship 60(1) 13–26. https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.4700.2015.de.00004 · DOI
  10. Boeske J. (2023). Leadership towards sustainability: A review of sustainable sustainability and environmental leadership. Sustainability 15(16) 12626. https://doi.org/10.3390/su151612626 · DOI
  11. Bulmer E. Roca M. R. Blas J. (2022). Sustainable leadership in project management. The need for a new kind of leadership. Highlights of Sustainability 1(4) 224–232. https://doi.org/10.54175/hsustain1040016 · DOI
  12. Burns H. Diamond-Vaught H. Bauman C. (2015). Leadership for sustainability: Theoretical foundations and pedagogical practices that foster change. International Journal of Leadership Studies 9(1) 132–143. http://archives.pdx.edu/ds/psu/14421
  13. Burnyeat G. Johansson M. S. (2022). An anthropology of the social contract: The political power of an idea. Critique of Anthropology 42(3) 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1177/0308275X221120168 · DOI
  14. Chaudhry M. J. Noureen S. (2023). Exploring sustainable leadership. International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research and Analysis 6(10) 1–13. https://doi.org/10.47191/ijmra/v6-i10-13 · DOI
  15. Cuhadar S. Rudnák I. (2022). Literature review: Sustainable leadership. Studia Mundi – Economica 9(3) 55–65. https://doi.org/10.18531/studia.mundi.2022.09.03.55-65 · DOI
  16. Dalcher D. (2020). Leadership in times of crisis: What’s different now. PM World Journal, 9(5), 1–18.
  17. Dandapani K. Shahrokhi M. (2022). Guest editorial: Historical perspectives on corporate governance debate and introduction to the special corporate governance and sustainability. Managerial Finance 48(8) 1117–1122. https://doi.org/10.1108/MF-05-2022-0237 · DOI
  18. 10.4135/9781446288290 · DOI
  19. 10.1111/rsp3.12512 · DOI
  20. Evans T. (2011). Leadership without domination? Toward restoring the human and natural world. Journal of Sustainability Education, 2(1), 1–16.
  21. Farooq M. (2018). Sustainable leadership practices in higher education institutions: An analytical review of literature [Symposium]. International Symposium on Chaos Complexity and Leadership (pp. 235–245). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-64554-4_18 · DOI
  22. Ferdig M. A. (2007). Sustainability leadership: Co-creating a sustainable future. Journal of Change Management 7(1) 25–35. https://doi.org/10.1080/14697010701233809 · DOI
  23. Filho W. L. Eustachio J. H. P. P. Caldana A. C. F. Will M. Salvia A. L. Rampasso I. S. Anholon R. Platje J. Kovaleva M. (2020). Sustainability leadership in higher education institutions: An overview of challenges. Sustainability 12(9) 3761. https://doi.org/10.3390/su12093761 · DOI
  24. Fry L. W. Egel E. (2021). Global leadership for sustainability. Sustainability 13(11) 6360. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13116360 · DOI
  25. Gerard L. J. McMillan J. D’Annunzio-Green N. (2017). Conceptualising sustainable leadership. Industrial and Commercial Training 49(3) 116–126. https://doi.org/10.1108/ict-12-2016-0079 · DOI
  26. Hallinger P. Suriyankietkaew S. (2018). Science mapping of the knowledge base on sustainable leadership 1990–2018. Sustainability 10(12) 4846. https://doi.org/10.3390/su10124846 · DOI
  27. Hargreaves A. (2007). Sustainable leadership and development in education: Creating the future conserving the past. European Journal of Education 42(2) 223–233. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2007.00294.x · DOI
  28. Hargreaves A., Fink D. (2004). The seven principles of sustainable leadership. Educational Leadership, 61(7), 8.
  29. Hargreaves A. Fink D. (2006). Redistributed leadership for sustainable professional learning communities. Journal of School Leadership 16(5) 550–565. https://doi.org/10.1177/105268460601600507. · DOI
  30. Hargreaves A. Goodson I. (2006). Educational change over time? The sustainability and nonsustainability of three decades of secondary school change and continuity. Educational Administration Quarterly 42(1) 3–41. https://doi.org/10.1177/0013161X05277975 · DOI
  31. Hategan V. P. Hategan C. D. (2021). Sustainable leadership: Philosophical and practical approach in organizations. Sustainability 13(14) 7918. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13147918 · DOI
  32. Iqbal Q. Ahmad N. H. Halim H. A. (2020). How does sustainable leadership influence sustainable performance? Empirical evidence from selected ASEAN countries. Sage Open 10(4) 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1177/2158244020969394 · DOI
  33. Iqbal Q. Ahmad N. H. Halim H. A. (2021). Insights on entrepreneurial bricolage and frugal innovation for sustainable performance. Business Strategy and Development 4(3) 237–245. https://doi.org/10.1002/bsd2.147. · DOI
  34. Iqbal Q. Ahmad N. H. Nasim A. Khan S. A. R. (2020). A moderated-mediation analysis of psychological empowerment: Sustainable leadership and sustainable performance. Journal of Cleaner Production 262 121429. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2020.121429 · DOI
  35. Iqbal Q. Piwowar-Sulej K. (2023). Sustainable leadership and heterogeneous knowledge sharing: The model for frugal innovation. European Journal of Innovation Management 26(7) 655–673. https://doi.org/10.1108/ejim-03-2022-0144 · DOI
  36. Jarvis A. (2021). Untangling collegiality and distributed leadership: Equality versus utility. Management in Education 38(3) 138–143. https://doi.org/10.1177/08920206211057980 · DOI
  37. Jayashree P. El Barachi M. Hamza F. (2022). Practice of sustainability leadership: A multi-stakeholder inclusive framework. Sustainability 14(10) 6346. https://doi.org/10.3390/su14106346 · DOI
  38. Kantabutra S. Saratun M. (2013). Sustainable leadership: Honeybee practices at Thailand’s oldest university. International Journal of Educational Management 27(4) 356–376. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541311316304 · DOI
  39. Khan Malik N. (2021). Sustainable leadership and school improvement: A conceptual research [Conference session]. 2021 Sustainable Leadership and Academic Excellence International Conference (SLAE) (pp. 1–6). IEEE. https://doi.org/10.1109/SLAE54202.2021.9788098 · DOI
  40. Kondrotaitė G. Burinskienė A. (2023). Applying sustainable leadership for organizational changes toward sustainability [Conference session]. 11th International Scientific Conference “Business and Management 2020.” https://doi.org/10.3846/bm.2023.979 · DOI
  41. Lambert S. (2012). The perception and implementation of sustainable leadership strategies in further education colleges. Journal of Leadership Education 11(2) 102–120. https://doi.org/10.12806/vl1/i2/rf6 · DOI
  42. Lee H. (2017). Sustainable leadership: An empirical investigation of its effect on organizational effectiveness1. International Journal of Organization Theory and Behavior 20(4) 419–453. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijotb-20-04-2017-b001 · DOI
  43. Liao Y. (2022). Sustainable leadership: A literature review and prospects for future research. Frontiers in Psychology 13 1045570. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1045570. · DOI
  44. Lund C. Brooke-Sumner C. Baingana F. Baron E. Breuer E. Chandra P. S. Haushofer J. Herrman H. Jordans M. J. D. Kieling C. Medina-Mora M. E. Morgan E. Omigbodun O. Tol W. A. Patel V. Saxena S. (2018). Social determinants of mental disorders and the sustainable development goals: A systematic review of reviews. The Lancet Psychiatry 5(4) 357–369. https://doi.org/10.1016/s2215-0366(18)30060-9 · DOI · Paper page
  45. Lynn T. Fort E. College L. (2011). Leadership without domination? Toward restoring the human and natural world. Journal of Sustainability Education 2 1–16. http://journalofsustainabilityeducation.org/
  46. Metsämuuronen J. Kuosa T. Laukkanen R. (2013). Sustainable leadership and future-oriented decision making in the educational governance—A Finnish case. International Journal of Educational Management 27(4) 402–424. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513541311316331 · DOI
  47. Miceli A. Hagen B. Riccardi M. P. Sotti F. Settembre-Blundo D. (2021). Thriving not just surviving in changing times: How sustainability agility and digitalization intertwine with organizational resilience. Sustainability 13 · DOI
  48. (4) 2052. https://doi.org/10.3390/su13042052 · DOI
  49. Nicholas C. (2021). Looking forward, looking back: Orang Asli self-government and democracy. Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact.
  50. Sanford K. Hopper T. Robertson K. Lancaster L. Collyer V. (2019). Sustainable leadership supporting educational transformation. In Education 25(2) 3–22. https://doi.org/10.37119/ojs2019.v25i2.433. · DOI · Paper page
  51. Scheffler I. (1961). The language of education. Charles C. Thomas.
  52. 10.1108/S2055-3641202022 · DOI
  53. Sultan M. F. Shaikh S. Tunio M. N. Asim M. (2022). Sustainable leadership. In Shaikh E. Tunio M. (Eds.) Advances in human resources management and organizational development (pp. 111–118). IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-6684-4981-3.ch007 · DOI
  54. Svensson G. Wood G. (2006). Sustainable components of leadership effectiveness in organizational performance. Journal of Management Development 25(6) 522–534. https://doi.org/10.1108/02621710610670100. · DOI
  55. Waldner S. (2023). Sustainable leadership. Scandinavian Journal for Leadership & Theology 10 299–314. https://doi.org/10.53311/sjlt.v10.78 · DOI
  56. Yukl G. (2006). Leadership: What is it? Sage.

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Metadata

Authors
Ali Mohammad Al-khamaiseh, R., Bailey, R. P., & Jarvis, A.
Affiliations
  • UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
  • UCSI University (MY)
  • University of Huddersfield (GB)
Corresponding author
Bailey, Richard Peter
Venue
Journal of Research on Leadership Education
Published
2024-10-08
Volume
20
Issue
3
Pages
280-297
ISSN
1942-7751 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W4403215020
Cited by
16
References
1
Citations by year
2026: 13 · 2025: 3
FWCI
2.22
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Journal of Research on Leadership Education (publishedVersion)
  • Huddersfield Research Portal (University of Huddersfield) (publishedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Education › Educational Leadership and Practices
  • Social Sciences › Education › Education and Teacher Training
  • Social Sciences › Education › Teacher Education and Leadership Studies
Keywords
sustainable leadership, educational leadership, definition of leadership, systems thinking, collaborative leadership, future orientation, leadership effectiveness, sustainability

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review