Search results

1 – 10 of over 2000
Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Elizabeth Benson

As the role of senior school leaders has become more complex, the leadership of improvement, innovation and change has been distributed to middle leaders. However, middle leaders…

Abstract

As the role of senior school leaders has become more complex, the leadership of improvement, innovation and change has been distributed to middle leaders. However, middle leaders are often not prepared for the shift to strategic thinking and leading. This chapter provides an overview of what it means to think and lead strategically when leading from the middle. Then, the theory is translated into practical templates and tools that can be employed by a middle leader. The context of this chapter is leading a faculty in a secondary school; however, the ideas and examples provided are easily translated to any middle leading context.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Michael Harrison and Louisa Rennie

This chapter explores the development of middle leaders in the specific context of Catholic schools. It considers the interplay between contemporary thinking on educational…

Abstract

This chapter explores the development of middle leaders in the specific context of Catholic schools. It considers the interplay between contemporary thinking on educational leadership and the insights of Catholic theology and ministry. Two key themes foundational to this interplay are examined: the connection between leading and following, and the central importance of relationships for leadership. For each of these themes, the reader is provided with related questions for middle leaders in a Catholic school context, an activity for engaging with leaders, and an exercise inviting middle school leaders to reflect on their own experience and the context within which they lead.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Samuel Alexeeff, Emma Dearing, Kylie Lipscombe and Sharon Tindall-Ford

This chapter explores middle leadership identity through the real-world accounts of how two middle leaders construct and develop their leadership identity and how this impacts the…

Abstract

This chapter explores middle leadership identity through the real-world accounts of how two middle leaders construct and develop their leadership identity and how this impacts the way their middle leadership is practiced. Leadership identity, an internal narrative of oneself as a leader which is practised professionally in context, represents a concept that is best understood as being unique to an individual, enduring over time, and a consequence of human experiences. Middle leadership is often the first promotion for teachers from teacher to leader and, as such, how middle leaders perceive themselves as a leader and how this formative process of leadership identity underpins middle leaders’ practices can make a significant impact on a leader’s decision making, professional relationships, behaviours, and actions. This chapter is co-authored by two researchers and two middle leaders with the intention of understanding middle leader identity development and its influence on middle leadership practices. Using interviews, middle leaders’ stories of identity were co-composed and re-storied to construct each middle leader’s narrative. This chapter concludes with a discussion on the influences of identity for middle leaders and considerations for leadership development.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

Content available
Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Abstract

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Elizabeth Benson, Jenny Lewis and Danny Pinchas

This chapter offers Australian and international insights into leadership development and discusses how aspirant and current middle leaders can use leader and teacher professional…

Abstract

This chapter offers Australian and international insights into leadership development and discusses how aspirant and current middle leaders can use leader and teacher professional standards to foster their professional growth. Standards help inform performance and development planning, and shape feedback and provide a framework for professional learning design. This chapter provides an overview of how systems such as New Zealand, Australia, and Scotland, among others, describe leadership in terms of standards. When used alongside an annual performance and development process, middle leaders can tap into the power of standards to continually sharpen their leadership practice and create a thriving career leading from the middle. Practical guidance is provided for middle leaders to engage with national teacher and leadership standards.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Jodie Schafer and Patrick Duignan

This chapter explores the potential impact of middle leaders on their learning environments and on learning outcomes, focusing primarily on authenticity in leadership in schools…

Abstract

This chapter explores the potential impact of middle leaders on their learning environments and on learning outcomes, focusing primarily on authenticity in leadership in schools. In outstanding schools, middle leaders are very active and visible in their curriculum areas, as well as more broadly around the school. They work together to build leadership capacity through the promotion of shared leadership practices based on a collective ethic of responsibility. They actively influence others to break down silos between departments and teams within a school. It is through the quality of their engagements that they project, maintain, and sustain their presence and influence with and on others. The work of authentic middle leaders is transformational insofar as they promote and support transformational teaching and learning for their students.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 4 March 2024

Haim Shaked

Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of…

Abstract

Purpose

Instructional leadership is a school leadership approach that places great emphasis on enhancing the quality of teaching and learning. This study explored the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators.

Design/methodology/approach

The participants in this qualitative study were 24 subject coordinators in elementary schools in Israel. Data collection was based on semi-structured interviews, and data analysis included three stages: sorting, coding and categorizing.

Findings

The findings identified three significant enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators: pedagogical knowledge, relationship capability and support from the principal.

Originality/value

This study suggests that the enabling factors of instructional leadership in subject coordinators differ from those of instructional leadership in principals because of their different places in the school structure and explains the enablers of instructional leadership in subject coordinators as middle leaders.

Details

Journal of Educational Administration, vol. 62 no. 2
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0957-8234

Keywords

Abstract

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Article
Publication date: 26 March 2024

Colleen Fitzpatrick and Adam Friedman

This study explores how one novice teacher navigated his first-year teaching sixth-grade social studies.

Abstract

Purpose

This study explores how one novice teacher navigated his first-year teaching sixth-grade social studies.

Design/methodology/approach

One-sixth grade novice teacher was observed during his unit on the Islamic Empire. The teacher was interviewed before the unit began to understand his approach to combating Islamophobia and interviewed again after the unit so he could reflect on the unit and discuss if he believed he had accomplished his original goal. Classroom artifacts (handouts, slide decks, etc.) were collected.

Findings

The findings highlight the various forces that impacted the decisions the teacher made in the classroom. Lack of support from administration and various colleagues left the teacher feeling overwhelmed and unable to accomplish his goals. While the teacher started the unit with a clear purpose for teaching against Islamophobia, he ultimately taught a unit where students memorized discrete pieces of information.

Originality/value

This study adds to previous research on the need for providing administrative support for novice teachers to be able to teach in ambitious ways by highlighting the numerous shortcomings.

Details

Social Studies Research and Practice, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1933-5415

Keywords

Book part
Publication date: 5 February 2024

Danielle Cioffi, Nichole Tiller, Lucy Warnock and Barbara Watterston

The focus of this chapter lies with women middle-level leaders. It reports on themes from women in leadership programmes designed and delivered by Barbara Watterston, through the…

Abstract

The focus of this chapter lies with women middle-level leaders. It reports on themes from women in leadership programmes designed and delivered by Barbara Watterston, through the lens of a programme especially developed for the Association of Independent Schools of South Australia (AISSA). This chapter begins by profiling a description of the programme. The main aim was providing women leaders with an opportunity to take stock of their careers, consider ongoing challenges impeding their work as school leaders, and identify options for the future. After the programme finished, volunteers were invited to write a narrative encapsulating their career journey. Three women leaders volunteered, and their insightful reflections regarding their career trajectories constitute a significant portion of this chapter. The final part of this chapter identifies three common themes that emerged from their stories, resonating with ideas which are frequently illuminated in similar programmes and research. These include the importance of ongoing professional learning to be a successful leader, gender-based barriers that caused the women to doubt their abilities and readiness for leadership, and the deep appreciation the women expressed from learning with and from like-minded other women leaders.

Details

Middle Leadership in Schools: Ideas and Strategies for Navigating the Muddy Waters of Leading from the Middle
Type: Book
ISBN: 978-1-83753-082-3

Keywords

1 – 10 of over 2000