A Systematic Literature Review on the Development and Implementation of School Improvement Plans (SIPs) Around the World

Many countries around the world require some or all schools to develop and implement a school improvement plan (SIP), which is a tool intended to guide the identification of school-specific needs for improvement along with a series of priorities, goals, and actions to help address those needs. Yet, the literature on this topic remains rather sparse. In this article, we conducted a systematic review of the international literature on SIPs published from 2010 through 2025, identifying 62 relevant articles for analysis. We organized this review’s findings around six areas related to SIP development and implementation: assessing current conditions, determining needs, setting direction, organizing resources, taking action, and evaluating progress. Findings suggest that while divergences exist between contexts with respect to these six areas, there are considerable convergences in how educators and others conceptualize and interact with SIPs. We close with recommendations for future research that both strengthens and broadens the extant literature on SIPs.