Kenneth "Ken" Leithwood is an educational researcher and professor at the Ontario Institute for Studies in Education in Toronto, Canada.
His research has focused on school leadership, processes of school reform, and assessment of educational policy.
Research and consulting.
Leithwood co-authored "How Leadership Influences Student Learning" (2004), an extensive review of successful school leadership practices. Among its conclusion were "of all the factors that contribute to what students learn at school...leadership is second in strength only to classroom instruction," and "effective leadership has the greatest impact in those circumstances (e.g., schools "in trouble") in which it is most needed." The study also outlined leadership practices associated with student success, including:
Leithwood has led research on transformational leadership, in which schools move beyond first-order surface changes, to second-order changes which involve pedagogy, curriculum and assessment—enabled by a collaborative culture.
In 2009, Leithwood was appointed research adviser to the Ontario Ministry of Education's Ontario Leadership Strategy.
Leithwood has consulted in several Canadian provinces on the topics of school leadership and student achievement. Internationally, he has consulted to the Greater New Orleans School Leadership Center, and to the State of Connecticut. He has also been an external evaluator to England's National Literacy and Numeracy Strategies.