Theories of Educational Leadership and Management

Citation

Doyle, J.L. (2004), "Theories of Educational Leadership and Management", International Journal of Educational Management, Vol. 18 No. 3, pp. 205-205. https://doi.org/10.1108/09513540410527211

Since 1980, the British Educational system has been transformed not only in its structure and purpose, but also politically. The introduction of managerial processes into an education system since 1945 that had adopted a welfare model, provides the connection as B. Atherton argues on the one hand between political models of change and a response to educational consumers, and on the other, the institutional reform of education as a welfare service. Managerialism for the better or worse has remodelled all aspects of the education service from its organizational structure, to power relations, to the very experience of schooling to those involved. Therefore, it is hardly surprising that a casual examination of postgraduate perspectives will show a dominance of management degrees in education.

Tony Bush is rightly a well known and respected author in this area, and certainly when I used to lecture on such courses his work would fill my reading lists. I found that his books dealt with the issues thoughtfully, are free of jargon, and that the feedback from students was universally very positive. This particular text is obviously the third edition of an excellent book and is usefully updated to include the greater significance of the global context of management, and in particular Tony Bush has consciously updated the reference material. The first chapter that considers the nature of educational leadership and management will be especially insightful to those new to this area of study, and is followed by eight chapters that examine the various models of leadership and management. The final chapter that considers the value of these models in relation to each other will certainly help students clarify their thinking.

This, like all of Tony Bush's work, is an essential reading for students following higher degree courses in the area of management studies in education, and increasingly those social policy students on higher degrees with an education option.