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PurposeAims at conceptualizing and investigating the meaning of good school principalship within the space for manoeuvring that is available within the context of Danish comprehensive schools. The paper aims to present findings from case studies of two Danish schools within the frame of reference.Design/methodology/approachOutlines the educational context for the Danish schools and gives a short account of the point of departure for the analysis. The perspective in this study is that leadership is about communication, decision making and community building at several levels in schools. In the beginning of the project a series of interviews with stakeholders in those schools was conducted. That formed the basis for the accounts of the first two schools. Later on a number of key stakeholders in the schools were observed and interviewed and that is the basis for the account of the third Danish school.FindingsThe findings show that whilst there is a high degree of consensus amongst the schools and the stakeholders, there are also different points of view. Also shows a pattern of successful leadership communication and community building.Originality/valueAn investigation of the importance and contribution of the principal to the quality of education in Denmark.

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Purpose -The purpose of this paper is to revisit three successful schools to see how the principals and the schools had sustained success over a period of five years. Design/methodology/approach -A case study research design was used building on the 2005 design. This time the principals were interviewed. Findings -The study is a case study over five years. In the first round of visits to schools four-to-five years ago in the ISSPP context, it was found that the modernization of Danish society was beginning to show new forms in the every day life and discourses of schools. It could be seen that the links between the state, local authorities and schools were changing. Some were being loosened and some were beginning to be tightened. Returning to three schools in 2008, it was found that the tightening of links had accelerated, so the new governance of schools through accountability, contracts and networks was at this stage implemented with a number of effects in schools and in school leadership. While rather big differences were seen between the schools at the first visit with respect to relations and leading, the differences seem to have diminished over the past four-to-fast years. Principals then considered it a major responsibility to act proactively in "setting and negotiating" the direction of the school. Now they are more inclined to name those activities as "translations" of external expectations to staff in a more reactive way because the expectations have been made more explicit and detailed. The political trend towards narrowing the focus of schooling seems to be successful in terms of test results. All three schools perform better now than previously in the national tests. Practical implications -The challenge to the principals and teachers is to sustain this development and at the same time take care of the comprehensive vision of "Democratic Bildung". And the challenge to principals is to find ways of communicating with teachers and influencing teachers that are legitimate and effective. Originality/value -The paper adds knowledge to the literature on sustaining school success and to the literature on relations between external policies and internal practices.