Deirdre Torrance

Distributed Leadership: challenging five generally held assumptions

This article reports on a study exploring a distributed perspective on school leadership through three head teacher case studies conducted in Scottish primary schools. Drawing from a sequence of in-depth, semi-structured and narrative style interviews conducted with each head teacher, as well as from a semi-structured questionnaire and sociometric analysis conducted with staff, the article analyses the experiences and the perceptions of head teachers. The paper finds that in practice, distributed leadership is more complex and challenging than often represented, challenging five generally held assumptions in the theoretical, policy and practice frames. Implications are drawn for educational leadership at both school and system levels.

The shifting discourses of educational leadership: International trends and Scotland's response

Increasing emphasis has been placed on leadership within educational theory, policy and practice. Drawing on a wide range of academic literature and policy documents, this paper explores how the discourse of leadership has shifted and for what purposes. The authors are critical of the lack of conceptual underpinning for that discourse, evident both nationally and internationally, and they identify key issues that the teaching profession has been left to try to understand and make sense of. They caution that, despite attempts to align contemporary policy developments to position leadership as inherent in the role of every teacher, flaws in the conceptualisation of leadership, and particularly in favoured forms such as ‘distributed leadership’ and ‘teacher leadership’, pose significant challenges to a serious attempt to ‘reprofessionalise’ teachers. Contemporary developments in Scottish education are referred to, exemplifying key tensions inherent in translating international trends into practice.

Distributed leadership in Scottish schools Perspectives from participants recently completing the revised Scottish Qualification for Headship Programme

This paper analyses the experiences of the first cohort of participants graduating from the revised Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) programme at the University of Edinburgh, in relation to the School Improvement Projects that form part of the qualification. The problematic nature of the distributed leadership approach fostered by the SQH programme is outlined, and the strategies employed to overcome these issues are explored. The implications of such tensions are discussed in relation to professional learning and more specifically, the continued development of preparation programmes for aspiring Scottish Headteachers. Further exploration within this field is recommended.

Redefining what it means to be a teacher through professional standards: implications for continuing teacher education

Abstract This article connects with an international debate around the place of professional standards in educational policy targeted at enhancing teacher quality, with associated implications for continuing teacher education. Scotland provides a fertile context for discussion, having developed sets of professional standards in response to a recent national review of career-long teacher education. That review called for a reprofessionalisation of the teaching profession and the revision of the standards was an element of this process. Scotland is utilised as a lens through which one country’s response to international trends is viewed, with a focus on ‘teacher leadership’ and ‘practitioner enquiry’ as policy endorsed sets of practices. The analysis demonstrates the complex and contested nature of these terms and the tensions posed between the need to meet professional standards as part of teacher education and aspirational dimensions of the current policy project of reprofessionalisation. The article concludes by considering the implications for continuing teacher education.

The challenges of developing distributed leadership in Scottish primary schools: a catch 22

This article analyses the experiences and perceptions of headteachers taking forward a distributed perspective on school leadership. It reports on research conducted in Scottish primary schools through three case studies. It draws on findings from a sequence of headteacher interviews, staff questionnaire and sociometric analysis data. The article analyses the headteachers role within a distributed perspective. It presents and discusses key findings which suggest that headteachers are caught in a ‘catch 22’, having both an enabling and constraining effect. Implications are drawn for educational leadership at both school and system levels.

Social justice and leadership development

The revised professional standards for the teaching profession in Scotland are underpinned by a set of values which includes a detailed articulation of social justice for education covering rights, diversity and sustainability. There is a future orientation in these standards that privileges the contribution of teachers and leaders to realizing a wider social aspiration for social justice. This expectation on leaders to contribute to this wider aspiration for social justice raises questions about the practice of leaders and their development. This article considers the implications of the articulation of social justice in the professional standards for career-long leadership development. The article explores some of the issues related to social justice and the role of leadership in school. The article then focuses on the context of Scottish education, looking firstly at the professional standards and secondly at the issues related to social justice leadership. From this discussion the implications for career-long leadership development are considered. The article concludes with a framework for social justice leadership development identifying key aspects of values, knowledge and understanding, inclusive practice, policy, issues of equity and equality that can be developed progressively across a leadership development continuum.

A Social Justice Perspective on Women in Educational Leadership

Social justice is fundamental to feminism. Feminist theorists place women’s experiences of gender inequalities at the centre of their theorisations about leadership. Feminist critiques of leadership are set in a wider social context. In this chapter, the perspectives of women educational leaders are explored within the wider ‘social justice leadership’ perspective. Internationally, social justice leadership represents a major theme within policy, research and literature with a resurgence of interest into the experiences and perceptions of women in educational leadership. This chapter critically appraises women’s perspectives on educational leadership, by drawing on the experiences of four women head teachers/principals in each of four international contexts, 16 women in total. Case studies, conducted in Scotland, England, Jamaica and New Zealand, provide contrasting, cross-national contexts to compare the influences, possibilities and challenges that women school leaders experience. Each of the country researcher teams was guided by the same interview questions, adopting a common methodological approach for conducting in-depth interviews and the analysis of findings.

Professional learning for distributed leadership: primary headteachers’ perspectives

This article draws from a small-scale study of headteachers motivated to positively impact on the quality of pupil experience by involving all staff in a distributed perspective on leadership. Each headteacher perceived leadership as involving learned processes requiring support and experience, expending considerable effort in providing a fertile environment for learning about its practice. This perspective developed from their personal experience of challenging established leadership orthodoxies prior to and since appointment to headship. The article explores the impact of formal work-based postgraduate leadership preparation and experiential professional learning on each headteacher’s understandings of distributed leadership and its practice. It then explores the ways in which they supported the professional learning of staff. The article concludes by suggesting that headteachers and staff encounter a range of challenges in developing school practices inherent in distributed leadership and can benefit from ongoing support with informed reflection on practice beyond initial preparation for headship.

Leadership and management development in education

Internationally, the importance of school leadership continues to be emphasised, having been identified as a key constituent of effective schools, particularly in the UK (Gunter 2001; MacBeath and Mortimore 2001; Leithwood et al. 2006). In recent years, leadership and management development has attracted increasing interest by those engaged in the field of educational leadership and management. The apparent headteacher/principle recruitment crisis being globally experienced has led to engagement in discussion as to what constitutes effective preparation for headship. This is set against a background of concern related to the changing role of the headteacher, within a predominantly global shift towards the devolved governance of schools. Leadership and management development in education offers a valuable contribution to the current debates on what constitutes effective preparation for the unique role of headteacher. The text is arranged in nine chapters covering key considerations for the field. Interspersed throughout are questions raised and possible solutions proposed. Beyond the search for quick-fix solutions, Tony Bush draws on his more than 20 years’ experience of engagement in theories of educational leadership and management, to engage in balanced discussion of complex issues and challenging dilemmas affecting us all. He provides a thorough analysis of the underpinning issues facing a wide range of countries around the world within both developed and developing countries. Whilst recognising the different contexts and specific challenges facing individual countries, he explores a number of common themes that strike a chord with efforts to develop continually the Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) programme. Bush cautions that careful consideration must be given in order to balance the identification and progression of candidates’ personalised learning needs (as a requirement for successful adult learning) with considerations for cost-effective quality provision and a level of standardisation required to justify a national qualification. Equally, candidates’ individual entitlement cannot sit in isolation from national requirements. Bush discusses whether a core curriculum should become the national or international norm, proposing a possible model of broad content to be included. However, he also highlights the issue of to what extent process or content should be emphasised in headteacher preparation and, linked to that, whether the preferred learning styles of candidates should influence processes and, if so, how this would be

Developing school leaders: an international perspective

Developing school leaders: an international perspective offers a valuable contribution to the current debates on what constitutes effective preparation for the unique role of headteacher. The text is arranged in 11 chapters beginning with an introductory overview of the global context before focusing on leadership development in 10 diverse cultural contexts. The views of some of the most senior commentators in this field are brought together to trace historical and recent developments in leadership preparation. Explored throughout the text are five key questions or themes, which encapsulate the issues and dilemmas currently facing all of us within the field, regardless of the different contexts and specific challenges facing individual countries. Internationally, the importance of school leadership continues to attract considerable attention, having been identified as a key constituent of effective schools, particularly in the UK (Gunter 2001; MacBeath and Mortimore 2001; Leithwood et al. 2006). In recent years, leadership and management development has attracted increasing interest from those engaged in the field of educational leadership and management. The apparent headteacher/principle recruitment crisis being globally experienced has led to engagement in discussion as to what constitutes effective preparation for headship. This is set against a background of concern related to the changing role of the headteacher, within a predominantly global shift towards the devolved governance of schools. The text is of particular interest to this reviewer who manages the development of the Scottish Qualification for Headship (SQH) programme for the South East (SE) of Scotland Consortium (based at University of Edinburgh). The five key themes explored throughout the text are extremely pertinent to the continual development of the SQH programme. The SQH programme, introduced in 1998 first as a pilot and then as a national programme, was originally delivered through three consortia. Each consortium comprises a collaborative partnership between education authorities and at least one university who work in a unique partnership to oversee, deliver and develop the programme. That partnership ensures dialogue and mutual consideration of the operational priorities of the employer and the concerns of university staff to situate current Scottish practice in a broader literature and academic framework. Revised in 2005, each consortium introduced key changes born through experience of working with the programme, situated within the specifics of local contexts. Given