Book excerpt: The contributors in this book discuss key issues facing schools and school systems from both Western and Asian cultural perspectives. In doing so, they expose both the similarities and differences (convergence and divergence) of school leadership in the two regions. A number of themes that are currently "hot" policy issues run through the book, including school performance, school effectivenesss, leadership, and management; school design, improvement, and change; and the globalization and internationalization of policies and policy reforms.