Ana Paula Cabral

Developing nursing leadership talent-Views from the NHS nursing leadership for south-east England

AIMnThis article explores the views of current nursing leaders in the National Health Service on the actions and resources that are required to develop and maintain nursing leadership talent.nnnBACKGROUNDnAlthough there is considerable talent and expertise within the nursing leadership community, numerous unfilled vacancies and gaps have been identified in competence and capability, with a national analysis indicating that nearly a third of National Health Service director posts are filled by interim appointments or are vacant. Nursing director posts are amongst those vacant for the longest periods.nnnMETHODnSemi-structured interviews were conducted with NHS directors of nursing, chief nurses, directors of quality and their deputies in south-east England to explore the characteristics of their roles, development needs, barriers to applying for posts or staying in their posts, future talent identification, and support networks.nnnRESULTSnNursing leadership roles are perceived as demanding, poorly remunerated, isolating, and representing a major increase in responsibility and career risk. Too much development is currently informal.nnnCONCLUSIONSnTalent identification and support need to be timely, structured, experientially based, and focused on building resilience and confidence. Coaching, mentoring, and support networks are considered crucial.nnnIMPLICATIONSnNursing leadership talent needs to be formally identified, developed and supported within organisations and networks should be maintained to reduce professional isolation and counter negative perceptions.

Accelerated degrees in education: a new profile, alternative access to teaching or part of a re-tooling process?

Abstract In the UK, the provision of accelerated undergraduate programmes is responding to the needs of an increasingly diverse and career-focused student body and a flexible, ever-changing labour market. These fast track degrees are particularly new in education where recent developments in school autonomy and teacher training have had consequences on the design and delivery of programmes, definition of professional profiles and implications for the future of education as a subject of study in universities. This article portrays a small-scale research study about the views of students undertaking a new two-year accelerated degree in one English university using surveys at the beginning and end of the first academic year. The great majority were not planning to attend the programme but have chosen it for its career options and for being a quicker and cheaper route to access a degree – with teaching as the career goal. After one year, students reported gains in knowledge and skills, recommended the programme and kept their intention to pursue a career in teaching. Overall, we address a gap in the literature and start the discussion about the (dis)association between the students’ career routes and goals, the provision of these programmes and the teacher training offers.

Issues of agency, discipline and criticality: an interplay of challenges involved in teachers engaging in research in a performative school context

Abstract While the engagement of teachers in research about practice is becoming a prevalent feature of professional learning and career development in the United Kingdom, there is still a lack of research about the challenges of teachers raising questions in the current school setting. Drawing on the principles of teacher research, this article reports on a small-scale study based on the experience of primary and secondary teachers conducting action research as part of a development project promoted by a school alliance with university researchers working as facilitators and conducting a study about teachers performing research. Interviews about their motivations, experience and perceived outcomes revealed a singular interplay of variables influencing the way they engage in, use and share research and see themselves as researchers. We argue that management directives and contextual factors are influencing the teachers’ engagement, with attitudes oscillating between their commitment to deal with assigned projects and pursuing issues emerging from practice. Moreover, entering a research community with its agreed practices and approaches was received with reluctance, with teachers struggling to embody an enquiring approach within their demanding professional lives. Nevertheless, according to the participants, action research allowed them to listen to the children’s voices, needs and interests, and inspired the adoption of a more systematic approach resulting in pedagogy shifts and gains in motivation, engagement and attainment.