Conceptualising innovation in education: a scoping review of implications for school leadership and change

Abstract

School leadership is increasingly recognised as a critical lever for driving innovation in education, yet the concept of innovation itself remains conceptually ambiguous and inconsistently enacted across contexts. This scoping review examines how innovation is conceptualised in the school leadership literature and explores its relationship to leadership and change. Drawing on 63 peer-reviewed studies published between 2014 and 2025, the review follows the PRISMA framework and employs thematic synthesis to identify key patterns and tensions. Five themes emerged: innovation as a situated and relational process; leadership as enabler, mediator, or constraint; tensions between policy and practice; conditions and cultures that support innovation; and equity, inclusion, and the politics of innovation. The findings highlight the centrality of leadership, particularly distributed and transformational models, in shaping innovation, while also revealing persistent gaps in addressing issues of equity and inclusion. The review proposes a conceptual framework that integrates these themes and underscores the need for context-sensitive, equity-focused approaches to innovation. It concludes by identifying implications for leadership development, policy coherence, and future research, particularly in underrepresented and transitional contexts. This work contributes to a more nuanced understanding of innovation as a dynamic, relational, and contested process within school leadership and educational change.