The purpose of this paper is to systematically review the literature on the professional development of school leaders in the world with empirical and theoretical evidence related to school leaders, educational administrators, and school principals in several countries. Interpretative analysis on literature covering professional development, pre-service training, in-service training programs, mentoring, models of school leaders, coaching, history of education in Sri Lanka, and the background information of Education Administrative Service in Sri Lanka is carried out. Training and professional development date back to several centuries and it was found that the influence of imperialists mainly by the British is dominant in Sri Lankan education and professional development programs. Sri Lanka continues to implement training and development with the least changes in contents and scopes compared to the past.  It was further found that authorities paid little attention to the effectiveness of the training and development but rather were concerned about the compliance requirement. At present, school leaders undergo training programs, and improvements in leaders are also seen at varying degrees. The study finds that School leaders who are good at leadership skills and competencies produce better results in terms of both students’ performances and school management. However, the use of technology in training was trivial but the need for more sophisticated,  comprehensive, and sustainable training for school leaders for better performance is highlighted. Provision of training and development is perceived by authorities as a practice and not as a key driver of improving school performance and effective management. The outcome of the study can be used to further enhance and implement professional development and training programs for school leaders with an outcome-oriented approach. Therefore, findings will help lay a foundation for policymaking and implementation can be broadened to enhance the quality of education in Sri Lanka.