Relevance of the research: the quality of education depends not only on the teacher, but also on the principal. For this reason today in the developed countries increasing emphasis is made on the problem of training for school leaders. Purpose of the article-to analyze the Kazakhstani practice of managerial training in education, to carry out comparative analysis of the best foreign models of training of school leaders. Research methods: comparative analysis, questionnaire for principals. Results: the summarized understanding of functions of the manager in education, completion of analysis of foreign models of training of managers of education, substantiation for the necessity for development of leadership skills in principals, presentation of questionnaire results and recommendations on the improvement of the system for retraining of education managers in Kazakhstan. Most of the respondents are focused on specific goals and achievements, but relate their effectiveness to successful control over educational process and quality of teaching staff. The importance of the research is that the presented results can be considered when designing programs of training and retraining of education managers.