Howard Youngs

(Un)Critical Times? Situating Distributed Leadership in the Field.

It is time to situate distributed leadership as a critical conceptualisation of school leadership; its popularisation has generally preceded conceptual and empirical development. Over the last 10 years distributed leadership has often been presented as a new construct of school leadership, though critique against education policy reforms and conceptual and historical links to the wider leadership field have generally been underemphasised. The theorisation and research of distributed leadership is currently situated at a critical point in its development; it is at the ‘crossroads’ of where it could dominantly be situated in the field of school leadership. A review of the literature and research suggests that distributed leadership is tending towards an uncritical position that is decoupled from critique of past and present education reforms and predominantly silent on how power relations at the local school level shape leadership activity.

The Application of a Multiphase Triangulation Approach to Mixed Methods The Research of an Aspiring School Principal Development Program

Mixed methods research has emerged as a credible alternative to unitary research approaches. The authors show how a combination of a triangulation convergence model with a triangulation multilevel model was used to research an aspiring school principal development pilot program. The multilevel model is used to show the national and regional levels in the research design, whereas the convergence model illustrates how data were analyzed through a series of phases so that both formative and summative findings could emerge. The authors illustrate through some of the findings how their design contributed to adjustments to the program and to their findings. The challenges of undertaking such a mixed methods design reveal a complexity not always evident in abstract conceptual models.

Leadership Development for Experienced New Zealand Principals Perceptions of Effectiveness

This article presents the perceptions of approximately 300 experienced New Zealand principals who participated in a pilot leadership development initiative funded by the Ministry of Education. The Experienced Principals Development Programme (EPDP) underwent a rigorous evaluation that included formative (mid-point) and summative (end-point) feedback to participants and providers over an 18-month period. As the literature on leadership development indicates, particular issues arise for those who are experienced in their leadership roles and have progressed beyond early career challenges. To sustain and develop experienced principals, leadership development programmes need to be relevant, personalized and unique. The evaluation methodology used in this study employed a mixed methods approach comprising quantitative and qualitative analysis of two major participant surveys and data collected for three case studies via observation of delivery events and focus group interviews with participants. The findings confirm that the programme was highly relevant for the participants because it was responsive to individual needs and learning styles. A highly effective component was the school-based inquiry project which was viewed as a conduit for personal development and school improvement. Overall, the programme provided opportunities for both personal and professional learning.

Aspiring principal development programme evaluation in New Zealand

Purpose – The New Zealand Ministry of Education has constructed a wide‐ranging “Professional Development Plan” providing a four‐stage national pathway for progression to principalship; the first stage has been the conduction of the National Aspiring Principals Pilot (NAPP) programme in five regional locations. The purpose of this paper is to outline the evaluation of the programme.Design/methodology/approach – A mixed method approach for evaluation was employed where qualitative and quantitative data were collected almost simultaneously, and compared and contrasted.Findings – Key findings indicated overall sound programme delivery, curriculum coherence, high relevancy to stakeholders and good rates of principal appointments. Greater emphasis is placed on distinctive findings that have not been reported elsewhere. These included: primary‐sector participants rating course facilitation, online learning, and “relevancy of the course for principal development” more positively than their secondary counterparts;...

A critical exploration of collaborative and distributed leadership in higher education: developing an alternative ontology through leadership-as-practice

ABSTRACT Since the turn of the millennium, interest in collaborative and distributed conceptualisations of leadership has gathered momentum, particularly in education. During the same period, higher education institutions have been embedded in practices shaped by New Public Management. The resultant reconfiguration of structural arrangements within institutions has led to the existence of two staff groups, professional and academic. The former is often aligned to the rise in managerial practices over claimed academic collegial practices, thus creating conditions for a possible dualistic positioning with the two groups. Distributed leadership and collaboration are claimed to be approaches that overcome this dualism, yet they may also be susceptible to maintaining this dual state and subtly reaffirm embedded interests and structures. As an alternative, a leadership-as-practice approach ontologically shifts the way in which sense is made of organisations. The practice-based model for understanding organisations presented in this paper offers a theoretical and applied framework that incorporates and also goes beyond collaborative and distributed leadership due to its association with practice theory.

‘There and Back Again’: My Unexpected Journey into ‘Servant’ and ‘Distributed’ Leadership

The journey that a practitioner takes into the realm of postgraduate research can be one that is sometimes filled with an unexpected cycle of security followed by doubt, and learning as a means of rediscovering a sense of security; there can be a continual sense of ‘coming back again’ to familiar ground. This article is an autobiographical account of how I journeyed from the intense practice of School Deputy Principalship to the unfathomable depths of postgraduate research. I trace my transition from a knowledgeable practitioner in a school setting to that of a developing practitioner researcher undertaking a case study of servant leadership at Master’s degree level. I then travel through to my current positioning as a developing researching professional about to embark on a doctoral thesis on distributed leadership practice in schools.

Practicing leadership-as-practice in content and manner

A collective and collaborative response to an article appearing in Leadership’s “Leading Questions” department is prepared by a team subscribing to the leadership-as-practice approach. The focus is to represent the manner in which leadership-as-practice operates as a leadership theory and in its communal practice orientation. Among the themes addressed are leadership-as-practice’s theory development, its contribution in comparison to critical leadership theory, its approach to power, and its practicality. Emerging issues in leadership-as-practice theory and application are also reviewed.

Leadership Succession: Future-proofing Pipelines

The challenges in deaf education illustrate the requirement and importance of leadership in this specialized field. The significant and impending talent depletion unfolding as baby-boomers retire, positions leadership succession planning as a strategic issue. This mixed methods study is the first of its kind in New Zealand. The aim is to understand leadership demographics and assumptions to determine the need for strategic succession planning to identify and address leaky pipelines. The findings from 82% of the deaf education workforce through a questionnaire and interviews with seven senior leaders reveal that senior leaders do not appear aware of four key areas that dissuade and shrink the pool of potential leadership aspirants. The four areas are prioritizing family; safeguarding health; concerns about bureaucracy, paperwork, and workload; and, a reluctance to move away from teaching. Aspirant identification appears informal, as there is no formal succession plan in place, which suggests a leadership crisis is imminent in New Zealand deaf education provision. Recommendations are provided that may help address this situation in New Zealand and other first-world nations if sufficient leaders are in place to deal with the challenges facing deaf education today and in the future.